Devised Theatre
A series of workshops on devised theatre

The Athens Festival educational programme returns for its second year with a series of seminars and workshops on theatre, dance and music.

The theatrical workshops centre on the concept of “Devised Theatre” – a collective effort that gives an ensemble of actor-performers the opportunity to explore their physical language, and tell a story by theatrical means.

‘Devised Theatre’ can develop out of nothing. It is determined and defined by a group of people who explore and experiment with ideas, images and concepts. Their creativity is stimulated by such elements as music, texts, props, art installations and movement.”

The workshops are aimed at Greek and international visual artists, directors, actors, and third-year drama students.

All those interested in attending should send their CV to the Hellenic Festival by 10 June, either by post (Registry Department, 23 Hadjichristou Street, on the corner of Makriyanni Street, 117 42 Athens) or by e-mail (pdouros@greekfestival.gr – Subject: Educational Programme). Places are limited to a maximum of 20 per seminar. All teaching will be conducted in English, but participants are welcome to act in their own language. Participation costs will be met by the Hellenic Festival. The names of those accepted onto the programme will be posted on the Hellenic Festival’s website no later than 15 June.

25 June - 1 July : In This Room Now
With Cathy Naden

In This Room Now is a seven-day workshop based on the boundaries between fiction and real time, acting and performing. Drawing on Cathy Naden’s long history as a performer and deviser with Forced Entertainment, In This Room Now will investigate what it means to create work within a group context using whatever means are available – the imaginations of the people present and the possibilities of the space in which they find themselves. Using text, physical action, games and rules, the workshops will focus on different aspects of Forced Entertainment’s artistic and collaborative processes, taking an in-depth look at how to generate, perform and structure original material. With an eye always open to the possibilities and randomness of exploration and playfulness, misunderstandings and mistakes, In This Room Now will seek to raise questions, rather than provide answers, about the nature of performance.

2 - 9 July : Physical Theatre
With Marcello Magni

All theatre is physical, from the commedia dell’arte to Shakespeare, from Noh theatre to Ibsen. At its centre are the actors – their presence, and how they work together.

The Ensemble

The workshop aims to create an ensemble through an understanding of how actors can work together:

–     The collective has its own individuality, its own physical language. The ensemble can create, suggest and change the “theatrical space”.
–    By producing a physical and vocal style, we can evoke emotional and imaginative landscapes.
–    Games, improvisation, challenges and texts will be used to discover a “physical text”, to create a theatre that goes beyond “words”.

Devising a Story: how to create a theatrical event

–    Understanding the relationship with an audience: the “contact”.
–    Developing trust and collaboration; the energy and “play” between two actors.
–    Finding openness in a “performer”, playfulness, pleasure and inventiveness.
–    What is the process for building the structure of a story?
–    Developing a language in order to present the narrative, both visually and through the use of text.

Participants will be asked to bring a story that captures a greater universal truth or law, that sheds light on “our life”. They should draw them from their own culture, and I would like them to be able to tell them in their own language. So, not fairy tales or morality tales, but more like Sufi parables or popular legends.

23 - 30 July : To Set a Trap - playing with false emotions and true lies
With Albrecht Hirche

The trap.
How to set it?
How to lure your prey?
Who walks in?
Whom do we want to walk in?
What kind of trap suits what kind of prey?
Is it politically correct?
What do you think?

In his career as director, Albrecht Hirche has worked with classical texts but has also produced projects based on newspaper articles, poems, jokes or even conversations from the adjacent table in some restaurant. In his workshops, a variety of exercises encourage performers to invent material with theatrical qualities that range from high art to low, from pulp to the poetic. His interest in exactitude, perfect timing and the stopwatch cultivates a sense of correct proportion regarding events performed on stage. One might call it rhythm or flow. On the other hand, he has a vivid interest in failures, accidents and absurdities. Overall, these performances could be seen as investigations into calculated happenings. Another focus of his work is an interest in group action and systemic thinking on stage. He seeks to stop the big “ego-monologue-machinery” of theatre. Never forget: keep your heart light.

26 - 31 July : “Devising”: A series of masterclasses on how to originate new material and how to create a theatrical event
With Jozef Houben

The workshop will deal with the following subjects:

-    Drawing from daily life: observing, replaying faithfully, filtering
-    Determining and developing a theme in a situation
-    Body, space, time, action: the laws of life confronted with the laws of theatre
-    The use of constraints in the creation process
-    How to construct: setting up and building a situation, counterpointing space and objects, scale, and dramatic level
-    Finding and maintaining a style, a tone, a world
-    Provoking, mixing, revisiting….

Participants are expected to attend all classes, and should wear simple, comfortable clothing. The work is based on movement and collaboration. Everyone must engage with the class fully – there are to be no observers, and no note taking.