In partnership with the Grotowski Institute, Arden 2 and UCLA Live!, Teatr Zar return to Los Angeles with the premiere of Triptych, the first part of which was shown at UCLA 2 years ago (Gospels of Childhood). viaCorpora is honored to be organizing 4 days of workshops with this special ensemble of unique performers.While Teatr Zar's work incorporates a coordinated physical and polyphonic vocal and rhythmic approach to performer training, the workshops will be separated in order to allow more concentrated time on one particular path. While we encourage participants to experience both workshops, we believe this separation will allow those participants who only wish to challenge their comfort in their "specialized" medium sufficient access.
Workshop 1
practical meeting led by Matej Matejka
Wakening the Listening Body
The meetings aim to explore a specific line of personal and individual expression of the performer. It addresses practical questions present in our work in theatre, a search for the process of the performer that retains the essential expression and avoids unnecessary aesthetics.
The work evolves from the centralizing of energy in the body, awakening the center of the body and grounding the energy of the performer. Special attention is place on isolation techniques as well as improving subtle expression, or inner-articulations, of the body.
During the work we address the following aspects:
*Sensitivity in the work with the partner. Exploring different qualities of physical contact. Induction between partners.
*Using stimulus - needs, inner impulses or reflections from everyday like - as a source for improvisation and the creation of physical scores. awakening an Intuitive body.
*Searching for forms of expression through the nature of one's own personality.
The session is targeted towards practitioners with an interest and experience in dance or theatre.
This challenge requires serious focus and precision from all engaged in the work.
It is open to those who are willing to search in less common fields of physical and vocal expression.
Workshop 2
The work session will be focused on the natural harmonics of the voice expressed through rhythmical breathing patterns and connected to actions based on physical contact between the singers. Participants of the session will be introduced to the following elements: Svanetian harmonies (from the high Caucasus); Georgian Liturgical songs (Gelati tradition); cries/calls. The work will explore rhythm / breath-rhythm (based on Balkan rhythmical patterns), co-ordination and exploration of natural rhythmical tendencies through improvisation, exploring the breath through physical impulses and acrobatic elements. A separate part of the work session will be a practical reconnaissance into the forms of Kyrie Eleison, as complex scores of breath, belonging to different traditions.
Into The Sound
Led by Jaroslaw Fret and Teatr Zar
Led by Jaroslaw Fret and Teatr Zar
Information
Date: Monday-Thursday, 16-19 November 2009Time: 11-2 (Wakening the listening body), 3-7 (Into the sound)
Price: One workshop: $270.00-Before 15 Oct, After-$300 Both Workshops: $500
To pay: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/6719
Notes: 1) There is an application for this workshop as space is extremely limited, please contact bryan@viacopora.com
2) Times may be subject to change. If you are interested in these workshops, but cannot make the times, please fill out an application form and tell us the times you are available.
3) These workshops will most likely be held at a space downtown rather than our Hollywood building. Please factor that in.
Biographies
Jaroslaw Fret:Director of the Grotowski Institute, and a founder and leader of Teatr ZAR. Beginning in 1999, together with Kamila Klamut, he organised several expeditions to Georgia, Armenia, Greece and Iran, conducting research into the oldest forms of religious music of Eastern Christianity. This research became the point of departure for the performance Gospels of Childhood, which has since been presented in Poland, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, the United Kingdom and the United States. He has conducted work sessions in various countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Brazil. He produced the world’s first documentary film devoted to the Mandeans – the only ancient Gnostic group remaining in the south of Iran. He graduated in Polish philology from the University of Wroclaw in 1994. In 1994–1995 he collaborated with the Centre for Theatre Practices 'Gardzienice'. Fret was co-editor of a special annual bound volume of Pamietnik Teatralny, dedicated to Jerzy Grotowski (Warsaw, 2000-2001). He worked in the Centre for the Study of Jerzy Grotowski’s Work and for Cultural and Theatrical Research from 1995, assuming the director’s function in February 2004. He has been director of the Grotowski Institute since 29th December 2006.
Teatr Zar:
The ensemble of the Teatr ZAR was initially formed through almost three years of expeditions and rehearsals concerning the project Gospels of Childhood. Members were gathered for the project from training sessions at the Grotowski Centre and their work was directed towards the long-term development of actors’ skills, as well as towards discovering new forms of expression, based mainly on acting through song. Therefore, the character of the project proved to be musicological, but was not so much dedicated to conventional ethno-musicological research as to an attempt to recompose and reshape the musical material acquired during the expeditions.
Matej Matejka:
Matej is originally from Slovakia. He has been a collaborator of The Grotowski Institute since 2005 where he is engaged in research of physical expression in the theatre. He is an actor with Teatr ZAR and one of the leaders of physical training for the company. He performs in Gospels of Childhood, Cesarean Section and is currently working on Anhelli, Calling. He has performed with the Theatre Studio Prague, and Farm in the Cave on Dark Love Sonnets, Journey to the Station and SCLAVI / The Song of an Emigrant. He is has also recently been collaborating with choreographer and dancer Jaro Vinarsky.
