Tag: training

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