February's whirlwind of learning opportunities!

Links Hall February 2009 Winter Workshop Intensives

Starting this week, Links Hall will present our first ever Winter Intensives programming. Winter is the perfect time to get introspective, to research, define and refine one's artistic practice. Winter Workshop intensives were created for the express purpose of widening artistic practice and creating meaningful creative sparks. We have specifically invited seasoned teaching artists practicing a diversity of body based forms.

Pre-registration required for all workshops: www.linkshall.org

Why Suzuki?

Starting Monday, Jeremy Sher will conduct a series of workshops in the Suzuki method, a rigorous physical practice that assists actors, dancers and directors in understanding their corporeal awareness on stage, how to enliven and sense of presence during performance and integrating a deeper sense of physical awareness during the delivery of text.

Suzuki workshops are a great primer for the Suzuki and Viewpoints intensive that will be taught by internationally renowned SITI Company this August 3rd-14th at Links Hall. You can read more about Suzuki and viewpoints training in this article written by former Links Hall Artistic Associate, Barbara Whitney: http://www.americanrepertorytheatre.com/articles/1_3/dispute/siti.html

Jeremy Sher
Suzuki Method of Actor Training
Mondays, February 2, 9, 16, & 23, 6:15-8pm
$125
Sher, a professional actor in Chicago who has trained in Suzuki for nine years, teaches an introductory class in Suzuki, a powerful physical training technique drawing from ballet, martial arts, and Kabuki. No prior experience required.

Links Hall’s Move on Mondays
Jeremy Sher: Intro to Suzuki Training
Monday, February 23, 8-9pm
FREE (SOLD OUT)
Move on Mondays is Links Hall’s free, monthly forum that connects arts practitioners and the public through dialogue and performance practice. This month, learn about Suzuki Training in a hands-on lecture/demo led by Jeremy Sher. No experience necessary.

*****
Feeling as Investigation

Have you ever wanted a laboratory that could broaden the dialogue between your body, time and space? Acclaimed dance artists, Lisa Gonzales and Jennifer Kayle of the Architects in conjunction with Synapse Arts Collective offer an exciting three part workshop where a deep investigation of compositional structure allows participants to move towards more freedom and ownership over their improvisational dance making. http://www.architectsdance.org/company/company_page.html

Lisa Gonzales & Jennifer Kayle
Feeling into Form: A Motion Laboratory
Saturdays, February 7, 14, & 21, 12:30-3pm
$75 ($60 students)
Explore ways to compose new dance work through the balance of solo improvisation and a rigorous group practice. Presented by Synapse Arts Collective and led by Gonzales and Kayle, both teachers and founding members of improvisational performance company The Architects. Open to all movers with prior improvisation experience. http://www.synapsearts.com/

***
Roy Who?

The Roy Hart Vocal Techniques and subsequent performance ensemble that was built around it derived its origins from the sounds of wounded soldiers in World War One. Students and performers of Roy Hart's embodied vocal techniques are often surprised to discover the extended range of their voices, creating a richer palate of performance choices from the dark to the sublime.

Based at the headquarters of the Roy Hart Theater and School in France, Carol and Saule are veteran teachers with over 20 years of practice with the form. This is a rare opportunity to study with some of the greatest teachers of this technique. Although professional singers and actors take and benefit from Roy Hart study, the workshop is open to anyone with a strong interest in taking risks and learning about their voice.

Anyone interested in learning more should check out the excellently written book by Noah Pikes: Dark Voices, The Genius of Roy Hart Theater.

Carol Mendelsohn & Saule Ryan
Roy Hart Embodied Voice Workshop
Saturday & Sunday, February 21 & 22, 12:30-5:30pm
at UIC Department of Performing Arts, 1044 W. Harrison St.
$175
In this highly physical workshop, participants will learn how Roy Hart Theatre voice work can help break through the artificial limits placed on the voice and enable fuller expression. Mendelsohn and Ryan have taught Roy Hart technique internationally for decades, and are the premier instructors of the form. Presented in collaboration with Department of Performing Arts, College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago.

*****
Behind the Mask

Paola Coletto-Kaplan’s workshop is based on the three forms of mask studied at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq: http://www.ecole-jacqueslecoq.com/jacques_lecoq-biographie-uk.php?bg=01

These forms offer the performer an in depth understanding of their physical presence on stage. Paola is one of the most gifted and humorous teachers I have encountered. This workshop and study is not to be missed if you want to deepen and expand your physical vocabulary for the stage.

Paola Coletto-Kaplan
The Body of Mask
** POSTPONED**New dates are being scheduled and will be posted shortly**
This master class is a hands-on experience that provokes artists (actors, playwrights, directors, and designers) with a European-based, physical theatre approach toward mask performance and creation. Coletto-Kaplan was certified as a pedagogue under Lecoq’s personal direction at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.

*****

Keep on the look out for other exciting workshops and community programs as Links Hall hosts our third annual summer school July and August 2009.