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Worshop Sessions and Instructors
Intro to Viewpoints
Instructor: Ruthie Buescher
Friday June 7 - 6:30-8:30pm
About the workshop:
Developed by Anne Bogart and implemented by a multitude of physical theater practitioners worldwide, Viewpoints is a physical theater method that trains actors to listen, collaborate, and understand their own movement and motivations. A foundational building block for much devised theater, Viewpoints is an essential method for any performer seeking to build a more powerful presence onstage.
About the instructor:
Trained in devised and physical theater methods, Ruthie Buescher is a director, playwright, and teacher with an M.A. in educational theatre from NYU Steinhardt. She has worked with Boston's Company One Theatre, New Plays for Young Audiences (NYC), Brooklyn Acting Lab, Pittsburgh's City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts (San Antonio) and spent time as a playwriting artist in residence at Laity Lodge (Texas), Harrison Center for the Arts (Indiana), and Grunewald Guild (Washington). She staged her original physical theater production We Sail On In Darkness for San Antonio audiences in Februuary 2023, and is excited to continue bringing high quality devised and physical theater to the San Antonio stage and theater community.
Intro to the Lecoq Approach
Instructor: Adrienne Kapstein
Saturday June 8, 9:30am-12:00pm
About the workshop:
Before there is text, the body reacts. Using the Lecoq approach, this workshop will focus on the performer’s body as the first instrument of storytelling. Students will engage with various improvisational and collaborative exercises that explore how physical engagement can create situation, character, emotion, psychology, and drama.
About the instructor:
Adrienne is a collaborative theater artist and educator creating visually rich, physically adventurous new work and immersive, participatory performance experiences. She is passionate about bringing experimental work to audiences of all ages. Adrienne’s original work has been presented at the Lincoln Center, Soho Rep, New Victory LabWorks, PS 122, as well as in Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Romania, Croatia, and China. As a theater educator, she has created and taught curricula in devising; masked performance; movement for actors; physical acting, and more. She has published creative and scholarly work in Youth Theatre Journal, Canadian Theatre Review, Vortex Music Journal, Methods: A Journal of Acting Pedagogy, among others. She holds a certificate of two years from Ecole Jacques Lecoq and an MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College. Adrienne is an Associate Professor and Head of the BA Acting and BA Directing programs at Sands College of Performing Arts at Pace University in NYC.
Intro to Moment Work
Instructor: Alex Grubbs
Saturday June 8, 1:00-2:30pm
About the workshop:
This workshop will be an introduction to the process of creating devised theater founded by luminary theater group Tectonic Theater Project. Spearheaded by the original company members under the direction of Moises Kaufman, the "Moment Work" technique approaches creativity and discovery in a collective and collaborative fashion. Participants will get an introduction to the process and theory, as well as an opportunity to compose and collage moments of their own.
About the instructor:
Alex Grubbs is a multi-hyphenate theater artist, composer, actor, producer, teacher and writer. He is one of the founding member of critically-acclaimed NYC theater collective "The Lobbyists" where he enjoyed performance and development opportunities at Naked Angels, EST, New York Stage and Film, Ars Nova, Page 73, The Flea, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, White Heron Theatre Company and many others. Nominated for 2016 Drama Desk Award for critically acclaimed production: Seawife. Other theatre credits : Spill, Kentucky (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Miss Keller Has No Second Book (Gulfshore Playhouse) Utility (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), Seawife (Naked Angels), Mary Kate Olson Is In Love, A cautionary Tail, These Seven Sicknesses (The Flea). Alex is a certified Moment Work teacher with Tectonic Theater Project, and lifetime member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, M.F.A in Acting from the University of Virginia.
Intro to Theater of the Oppressed
Instructor: Lizzy Gore
Saturday June 8, 3:00-5:00pm
About the workshop:
Explore the ensemble-building games, imaging, and story-building techniques of Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed to surface and explore everyday stories as a kaleidoscopic reflection of our historic and political moment. Create an interactive, choose-your-own adventure play to perform by the end of the workshop.
About the instructor:
Lizzy Gore is a performer, teacher, and facilitator with twenty years of experiencing leading creative group processes. After earning a B.A. in Radio Television Film at Northwestern University, with minors in Performance Studies and Writing, she discovered Theatre of the Oppressed and worked with Julian Boal, Jan Mandell, and Jiwon Chung. After earning a Masters in Education from Stanford and Brown University, she taught youth theater in the SF Bay Area, and produced several original plays, including a full-length musical composed and performed inside of 24 hours, and a devised verbatim theater piece in partnership with the Richmond police department and local youth groups. Her company, Red Room Mysteries, hosts immersive murder mystery experiences for corporate team-building and private parties. She designed a skit for this year's Cornyation (the Beetlejuice send-up... didja see it?)
