Lawrence MacGowan leads an intensive workshop in Viewpoints and Contact Improvisation.  How do voice and speech combine with memory to make a poet’s lines live through the actor?  How does the body give us expression, language, guidance?  How can a text written in verse, in another language and from another time become present, fresh, new and original through performance?  These are the questions that drive this intensive workshop for actors.  Exploring the answers through practice and in performance will lead to new potentials for you as an actor: greater relaxation onstage, improved memorization abilities, greater freedom in expression and emotional nuance, and a new openness to others in creative circumstances.

Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations (performed in French and English) is the source text for this intensive workshop in acting, movement and voice.  The goal of this workshop is to strengthen the dynamic relationship between feeling, physicality, and voice for the actor as an individual, in partnership, and in an ensemble.

This workshop develops core values of actor training (relaxation, personalization, intention, action, given circumstances, working moment-to-moment) through the dynamics of Contact Improvisation and the Viewpoints.  This highly physical approach to generating original work for the theatre cultivates your creative resources as an actor and collaborator.

Strengthen concentration and memory, explore self-expression and collaboration, and cultivate intuition and spontaneity through Rimbaud’s revelatory performance text.  Through the Illuminations workshop, students will develop individual pieces (useful for auditions) and a series of group Compositions that will be shared with an invited audience.

This unique course will give actors, directors, and screenwriters an opportunity to understand the needs of each others’ crafts.

Performance is paramount in any film, but how does the actor/director/screenwriter communicate to achieve the best results? What are the components that make a good collaboration between the artists? How do you protect the actor on set? How do the actor and director best communicate with each other and with the screenwriter?

These and dozens of other questions will be addressed in a constructive creative environment comprised of directors, actors and screenwriters, both seasoned and new to the craft.

Possibilité de prise en charges par l’AFDAS pour intermittents de spectacle.

How was it working with Julianne Moore? Is she kind of like an awesome movie mom?
Oh my gosh, it’s amazing. You know, I grew up idolizing her. She’s one of the reasons I started acting. As a kid I was super shy, so my mother put me on stage to help me get rid of my shyness, which is kind of a practical joke when you think of it. But then as I got into theatre, my mom and I would watch movies and go to plays together, and one of my mother’s favorite actresses was Julianne Moore. I grew up basically watching everything Julie did. Having her as an on-screen mom was kind of surreal, but the second I met her I got over it. She’s just so down to earth and makes everyone around her family. She’s really hard-working, and it’s really wonderful for me to watch her work because here’s someone who is at the top of her game and has had such an amazing career. Still, she just keeps working at it, challenging herself in such new ways. Watching her do this and carve this character out when we were working together was really, really inspiring.

Read more here.

Critically acclaimed UK company Elastic Theatre presents a screening of their latest production Baroque Box, following a sell-out success at the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival in London. Specially for BAW, director Jacek Ludwig Scarso and performers from the Company will also present a unique insight into the making of their new work Julius, through live demonstrations of their innovative approach to music theatre.

The class gives you strength and confidence to meet a variety of challenges presented by film and video, and to come out of each shoot with a sense of having achieved your best possible performance.

You and the Audition  **NEW!**

• Walk confidently into any room and present yourself effectively
• Choose and prepare the right material to showcase your unique talent
• Adapt your preparation to the casting director’s interests
• Develop skills to read scripts without preparation (“cold readings”)
• Learn how to handle rejections, and how to prepare when you are called back

You and Your Performance

• Learn how to warm up physically and emotionally before each shot/performance
• Listen and react honestly
• Develop a character step by step
• Use objects to reveal more about your character

You and the Camera

• Understand different types of camera shots and adjust your performance accordingly
• Learn how to control body movement in different shots
• Adjust the volume of your voice to a microphone

You and the Shoot

• Learn about the timing of your preparation – when to prepare, how to prepare, and how to deal with technical hindrances and obstacles on the set
• Understand the importance and challenges of shooting scenes out of order
• Find “triggers” that spark strong emotions for repeated takes

At the end of the semester, students will present a showcase of scenes and participate in discussions with an invited audience.