classes & workshops – Page 3 – a field of crowns

Fall Writing Circle (2022)

As the air gets chilly and the leaves take their rest after a long summer of absorbing the sun’s rays kinda nonstop, I invite you to join me online on Tuesday evenings with your computer and the writing implement of your choice to throw down some words.

Back together with Frog in Hand (who are up to a wide array of things this fall, including a touring dance photography exhibit, a Worldbuilding for Choreographers class and a new class collab with onUP Productions called Dance on Film), Writing Circle is a weekly class to get you writing by exploring prompts and trying your hands at a variety of mediums.

FALL WRITING CIRCLE

About the Class

“This class is a must for anyone who fears the blank page (as I did).”
Writing Circle Participant

This 8-week writing class will be led by Andrew Gaboury from 7pm-9pm (EST) on Tuesdays, October 25th to December 13th.

The purpose of this course is simply to put pen to paper, or fingers to keys. You will embrace stream of consciousness and write with abandon to escape the clutches of your inner critic. You will acknowledge and discover your natural creativity. As you define a healthy writing practice, you will explore various writing forms to help widen your creative vision. This class will touch upon fiction, poetry and playwriting. As the course progresses there will be time set aside for sharing and feedback.

Each class will be a combination of writing prompts, a guided “lecture” facilitated by Andrew, group or solo writing time, and sharing circles.

What you will need:

+Zoom access & a webcam
+A Google account (the class work will be posted to a Google Classroom site)
+Writing implements
+Books (of any kind) close by
+Paper or a notebook or a napkin or the back of a receipt

Section 1: Fiction

Stream of consciousness, self-reflection, narrative styles, genre & world building.

Section 2: Poetry

Metaphor & the senses, free verse, beat & spoken word.

Section 3: Playwriting

Playwriting features, narrative structure, character voice & dialogue.

Testimonials from past participants!

“I would say that the Circle helped me to put a pen to a page in all the best ways. With so many different mediums of writing to discover, the 8 weeks provided me the accountability to write! And write some more! That can be the hardest part but with other writers to inspire me, I learned how to develop a consistent writing practice.”

“Andrew made it totally comfortable and easy to engage at any level. Strongly recommend.”

“Writing circle is a great opportunity to develop your creative writing and to gain feedback from others on your work.”

Postponed: CLOWNING FOR DANCERS

UPDATE (OCT. 19th, 2022)
This session has been postponed to the near future. Stay tuned for new details, dates and options for clown training! In the meantime, check out the Writing Circle and World Building classes I’m leading with Frog in Hand to keep your creative juices flowing.

Explore the joy of movement mixed with the hard-biting truth of the present moment.

This class is for dancers and movers of all kinds who want to explore the ridiculous, the weird and the joy within.

I’ve found that clowning as a training tool for dancers helps us get out of our heads and back into the room; it helps us make connections with our audiences; and gives us permission to try things out and commit fully without worrying if it’s right or wrong.

In this 6-week class we will explore the joy of play, presence, nonverbal communication, puppetry of the body, a trip on the old emotional rollercoaster and duo dynamics. Throughout this, you will start to find the foundations of your clown persona. We will work towards crafting a “turn” – a short individual performance with multiple chances to present and receive direct feedback.

Wednesdays, 6-9pm

Oct. 19 & 26, Nov. 2 & 9, 23 & 30th

(note: no class on Nov. 16)

@ the Winchester Theatre

(80 Winchester St. Toronto)

$280+HST

Registration is required to attend. You can use the Registration form at the bottom of this post or send an email to afieldofcrowns@gmail.com

A limited number of spaces are available.

Andrew Gaboury as his clown Trowel (photo: Colleen Snell)

Andrew Gaboury has been clowning for a decade, studying closely with Helen Donnelly and performing at festivals and on stage nationally (World Stage Design 2022, Calgary) and internationally (Ei! Marionetas, Portugal). As a collaborating artist with Frog in Hand, Andrew leads the Summer Company in clown training and performance. Andrew’s clown projects have performed for thousands of audience members at events and festivals across the GTA. Alongside Derek Kwan, Andrew is also co-executive director of Red Nose Remedy, a therapeutic clowning not-for-profit that brings the art of clown to people in healthcare settings through compassionate connection, lightness and joy.

thursday morning viewpoints

This year I’ve been fortunate to delve back into the Viewpoints system of movement with two separate post-secondary groups. Building from the ground up: I relish pairing down movement to its basics and building it up again with specific focus, concern and intention. Tasks and movement. Listening to and trusting your impulses. Relationships onstage between performers and space, between action and time, between audience and performer. I love investigating the different aspects individually, interrogating them, exhausting them only to then add another on top. This deconstruction to layering is complex and insatiable. Leading this work, I am pleased to realise how deeply ingrained it is in my own practice: oftentimes focusing on one of the nine viewpoints over others to help craft a character, or, unconsciously playing and adjusting the dials to explore a whole vocabulary.

Which is why I’d like to open up a community jam on Thursday mornings. I want this training to keep going. I know there are many actors, dancers and other performers who have crossed paths with Viewpoints throughout their training. I know there are others who have never experienced it before but have heard its name.

If you fall into any of these categories, I invite you to join me at hub14‘s new Artscape studio @ 910 Queen Street West on certain Thursday mornings, from 9 – 10am, to come jam and explore this movement for yourself. Space will be available from 8:45am for personal warm-ups.

In an effort to make cross-disciplinary training more commonplace and low-risk, all of these drop-in sessions will be offered at no cost. All you have to do is send a message to afieldofcrowns(at)gmail(dot)com (there’s a form here) so I can come and get you.

*note: unfortunately, hub14 is not an accessible venue, as it is located in a basement without access to a public elevator.*

Upcoming sessions will be:

March 7th, 21st & 28th, April 4th, 18th & 25th

Collective Creations

This year has been a relentless teacher. Its lessons, and my shifting artistic interests, have had profound influence on my person – influences which I feel are only beginning to settle (or, at least, not float directly into my eyes as I’m trying to walk). As the fall approaches, I am looking forward to getting back into the studio to run my second series of classes at hub14. I don’t know how these lessons will influence the way I teach, but I do know these will be the next version of what I was exploring back in the spring. As we live and make theatre, theatre becomes our lifestyle. See you in the studio.

UPDATE Aug. 31st, 2016 — A show I’m part of, the [elephants] collective’s A Wake for Lost Time, has been accepted into the DaPoPo Live-In in Halifax! We’re going to be performing this intense 24-hour ritual for time on October 21st. Meaning, I’ll be in Halifax, rehearsing with our new, local Haligonian members the week leading up to it and, therefore, class on the 19th is cancelled. This iteration of Collective Creations will run for 5 classes.

Collective Creations ii

Collective Creations
@ hub14 (14 Markham St., Toronto)
Wednesdays
Sept. 21 & 28
Oct. 5, 12 & 26

7 – 9pm
$15 / class
$10 for multiple classes

Collective Creations returns this fall to hub14 led by Andrew Gaboury.

Collective Creations will focus on two main areas of theatrical exploration: (i) physical training for the theatre, and, (ii) collective creation techniques for material generation. The goals of these classes is to provide an affordable and accessible space for artists to continue their individual training; to provide a platform for the spontaneous generation of ideas; and offer an arena to challenge our understanding of what it means to work in a collective.

Each class will follow a similar structure with the second half, the collective creation aspect, exploring a different technique or launching point. These classes will combine vocal improvisation techniques and various movement forms, including aspects of Viewpoints, clown, contemporary dance improv and archetype work. Using time as our adversary (and collaborator), we will create new, imperfect works destined to fail and find success in the jewels hidden amongst the rubble.

Drop-ins welcome. Each class is standalone although we will be building on concepts as the weeks progress.

To reserve a spot send an email to afieldofcrowns@gmail.com