Theatre Practitioner Workshops 1

Theatre Practitioner Workshops

Theatre Practitioner workshops provide intensive, challenging and rewarding learning experiences for students. Taking the work and theories of 21st century dramatists, these sessions enhance and influence your students experience of theatre and sit nicely with the curriculum too. Practitioner workshops are tailored to suit your preferences but even a short session on one practitioner can open a world of new approaches in theatre. These workshops are available year round and can be booked by contacting 2engage.All our workshops are highly participative and challenge participants to make the most of it. Our most popular theatre practitioner workshops are:

Augusto Boal
Responsible for applied theatre techniques like ‘forum theatre’, ‘image theatre’ and ‘invisible theatre’ Boal used his skills as a facilitator to change the world, ask big questions during his sessions and allow people to affect change. 2engage’s existence is predicated on the values behind Boal’s work. If you are interested in how the application of theatre can highlight societal issues and help participants seek out solutions in group contexts, then this is the workshop for you.

Antonin Artaud
Artaud, the man who established the ‘theatre of cruelty’. This workshop always leaves the participants with a lot to consider, sparking a love for the alternative approach to theatre. Participants will explore a more unconventional form of theatre and experience a sense of freedom from the ritual of unadventurous, naturalistic performance styles. Students will be encouraged to devise their own Artaudian themed piece from a given stimulus. Forced to challenge traditional approaches to set and lighting. Confidently experiment with alienation techniques. A-level students will gauge an understanding of how Artaudian techniques are present in 21st century theatre and how others have been influenced.

Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German director and playwright and is well-known for his political approach to theatre.  Frustrated with the naturalistic and reductive theatre of his time, Brecht woke up his audience with alienation devices and removed the wall between actor and audience. His techniques are still used with potency and are just as relevant and ground-breaking today as they were when they were first introduced. This workshop offers participants an insight into the techniques of Brecht, using practical exercises to work through techniques such as ‘Gestus’, ‘Verfremsfdungeffekt’, also known as the ‘V-effect’, direct address and breaking down the fourth wall. These workshops are ideal for students at GCSE and A/AS level to practically encounter his techniques and get the chance to devise their own work using Brecht as a starting point.

Konstantin Stanislavski
Constantin Stanislavski was a Russian actor and playwright best known for his acting ‘system’ – a framework for actors developed through his book An Actor Prepares. Stanislavski’s system is well-known around the world and has influenced many actors and theatre practitioners since. The techniques and exercises found in this framework can be witnessed in many modern approaches by actors and directors today, especially in the film industry. Participants will gain an understanding of his ‘system’ covering ‘emotion memory’, ‘the method’, ‘physical action’, ‘motivation and objectives’ and the ‘magic if’. These techniques are introduced through a progression of practical exercises to help participants get to grips with Stanislavski’s techniques and create their own work using these approaches.

JOHN GODBER
John Godber is well-known for his highly entertaining and stylised plays that are energetic, comedic and extremely appealing to the GCSE, AS and A-level students we work with. This interactive workshop session, usually lasting 2 hours, examines Godber’s early style and allows students to devise their own work with the techniques they pick up. We explore and learn from a range of techniques, including:

  • use of language and choral speaking
  • multi-role (playing a range of characters)
  • direct address (Brechtian distancing techniques)
  • stereotypical characterisation and creation.

Perhaps you’re looking at Bouncers, Teechers or Shakers and as a starting point and want to enhance your students understanding of Brechtian commentary, stereotypes, and multi-role? This workshop liberates participants from conventional forms of theatre. All participants are encouraged to create more engaging and comedic styles of performance.