14TH ANNUAL LA MAMA INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM FOR DIRECTORS
JULY 13 – 27, 2013
TEACHING ARTISTS:
ESTELLE PARSONS, VÍT HOŘEJŠ, DAN SAFER, PING CHONG
The International Symposium for Directors at La MaMa Umbria is a training program for directors, choreographers, actors, and theatre-makers. Internationally renowned theatre artists conduct workshops and lecture/demonstrations. Visits to neighboring hill towns and cities for local arts festivals and community fairs are also included.
WEEK 1: July 13 – 19
ESTELLE PARSONS and DAN SAFER
ESTELLE PARSONS – THE ACTOR/DIRECTOR COLLABORATION
Estelle Parsons has been pursuing the art of acting for 77 years, and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2004. She has premiered plays on Broadway by Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams and David Lindsay-Abaire, among others. She has performed off-Broadway, on Broadway, across the country, Canada, London, Australia and Istanbul. She has won an Obie for two distinguished performances and an Academy Award for Arthur Penn’s Bonnie And Clyde. She has received four Tony Award nominations, and was honored with La MaMa’s Silver Bell Award in 2013.
THE ACTOR/DIRECTOR COLLABORATION
The workshop will explore the relationship between actor and director using traditional and experimental rehearsal techniques which are influenced by the style of the piece. Participants will come prepared with a variety of texts to explore.
DAN SAFER – SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE/THEATER
Dan Safer originally hails from the wild suburbs of New Jersey and is the Artistic Director of Witness Relocation. As a director or choreographer, his work has been seen at La MaMa, BAM, Dance Theater Workshop, Ash Lawn Opera; he has choreographed operas, rock videos and fashion shows, and is the winner of two NY Innovative Theater Awards. Dan is the Head of Movement Training at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School/ NYU.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE/THEATER
Creating dynamic, genre-defying dance and theater. Techniques that focus on what is happening in the room, building material from what is on hand and spiraling out from there into surprising and endlessly inventive territory. Task based, problem solving methods that eliminate the pressure to “be creative” and simply allow you to work and make constant discoveries. Making sure what we are doing is continuously fun and exciting, as well as a little scary at times. Bringing to the performance of what we generate a ‘rock band’ feeling – no fourth wall, we’re in the room with the audience making a feedback loop of energy to create a singular shared experience.
Week 2: July 20 – 27
VÍT HOŘEJŠ and PING CHONG
VÍT HOŘEJŠ – PLAYING WITH PUPPETS
Vít Hoŕejš studied traditional puppetry as a child and theater as an adult in Prague. He ultimately founded the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT) in 1990 with other émigrés from Prague. Vít has translated, written, adapted and directed a dozen plays for CAMT. Most recently, he wrote and directed King Executioner at Theater for the New City, which earned him an Innovative Theatre Award nomination for Best Director. Vít has performed for film, theater and TV productions.
PLAYING WITH PUPPETS
Master puppeteer and director, Vít Hoŕejš leads a workshop focusing on use of string puppets in combination with live actors in theatre. Participants will learn the basics of traditional marionette manipulation and discover new and unorthodox ways in which marionettes can be used. Scenes will be created based on Plato’s Republic.
PING CHONG – ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE: CREATING, DEVISING, DIRECTING
Ping Chong is an internationally acclaimed theatre director, playwright, and pioneer in the use of media in the theater. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, USA Artist Fellowship, two BESSIE awards and two OBIE awards, Mr. Chong’s work has been presented at major festivals and theatres around the world throughout his 40 year career. Ping Chong & Company has created over 40 Undesirable Elements productions, including Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo (Syracuse Stage), Secret Survivors, and Inside/Out: Voices from the Disability Community at La MaMa as part of their 20th anniversary Undesirable Elements Festival in 2012. www.pingchong.org
ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE: CREATING, DEVISING, DIRECTING
Interdisciplinary artist Ping Chong will lead a workshop focusing on the generative process. This is a studio workshop in which actor/creators, director/creators, performance/creators with a conceptual bent and open mind will explore and create non-traditional interdisciplinary work. Participants will explore space, image, movement, sound, media, and performance, both separately and in combination, and must be willing and open to collaborating with others from different disciplines. Participants are encouraged to bring texts of all kinds, recorded music and sound effects, and portable media with which to create.
