Acro-Balance for All

"Acro-Balance" is a portmanteau encompassing a variety of weight-balancing techniques used to create creative and seemingly daring poses and perambulation. In this workshop, students of a wide range of age, experience and physique can work at their own level to expand their physiological vocabulary and push perceived limitations. Skills include:

• Dramatically improved strength and flexibility
  
• Enhanced body awareness
  
• Improved communication - spoken and unspoken
• Ensemble-building

A Commedia dell'Arte Introduction

• Improvisation & lazzi
• Public-space performance
• Working from a scenario (as opposed to a script)
  
• Physical characterization
  
• Scenario & character interpretation

Utilizing the traditions of the Italian comic, improvisatory style of theatre - the commeda dell'arte - participants work to create vivid characters based on classical archetypes. For shorter courses, the performers focus on originality and specificity of a character. For courses of a week or more, their study accumulates in a totally original, semi-improvised comic performance.

Physical Comedy

The era of silent film was the time of the first mega-stars in part because with no spoken language, the films were nearly universal. Learn how to articulate physical humor the same way you would a killer punchline: with specificity and timing. Workshop includes:

• Pratfalls & safety
• Feints and fainting
• Stage combat for laughs
• Prop scene work
• "Rule of Three"
• Sketch & story