Physical Theater Festival
2024 Workshops
Physical Theater Festival is pleased to offer workshops with visiting and local artists during the festival. Hone your skills, add to your artistic toolbox, pick your curiosity, and meet physical theatre practitioners in an engaging setting.
Workshop pass: $175
IMPORTANT: The workshop pass no longer includes the CLOWN: Iconoclast, Subversive, Unpredictable, Innocent, Diabolical, Transcendent workshop because this workshop has reached full capacity. All other 4 workshops are included and the price has been adjusted.
See below for this year's workshop offerings!
THE CLOWN AND THE SILENCE
Wednesday, July 17th,10 a.m.- 1p.m. | Taught by Chula, The Clown
Location: Columbia College Chicago
1306 S Michigan Ave, Room 200
The workshop focuses on the potency of silence in clowning and the playful experience of the clown with its own poetic vision. By starting from a place of silence and stripping away preconceived notions, participants are encouraged to tap into a deeper, more genuine aspect of themselves. This journey involves finding one's own voice, truth, timing, and rhythm, allowing for a more meaningful connection with oneself and others.
In this way we can trust the journey and with total conviction accept the ride with no question. With physical expressions, participants will dig into a universal language that transcends words and connects directly with
emotions. Through this non-verbal communication, the clowns will awaken their imagination and internal fantasy.
Workshop Fee: $55
SOLD OUT: CLOWN: Iconoclast, Subversive, Unpredictable, Innocent, Diabolical, Transcendent
Thursday July 18 ,10 a.m.-1p.m. | Taught by Michael Montenegro & Theater Y
Location: Columbia College Chicago
1306 S Michigan Ave, Room 300
I admit Clowning is a bit mysterious to me. It seems miraculous when someone actually makes others laugh uncontrollably. And yet, this art is universal, even common.
There is something mystical about Clowning. A true joke or stunt can almost shock you into enlightenment, twisting your head around, flipping you upside down and inside out.
One secret, I think, is that, at its core, Clowning involves our insecurities, our vulnerabilities, our fears. Those things that we try to hide from society. The Clown accidentally, or unknowingly, reveals these anxieties, and by so doing, releases us all from OUR anxieties. In the process, the Clown/actor experiences magically, the great, potent power embedded in these insecurities.
I love exploring this mystery with a group of students. I will bring my own insecurities, vulnerabilities, and fears, and you do the same. And together we will find out how these hidden qualities transform into comedy. Our burdens are indeed our gifts.
Workshop Fee: $55
BLACK THEATER: SCENIC EXPERIENCES FROM CONTEMPORARY THEATER
Friday July 19 ,10 a.m.-1p.m. | Taught by Clayton Nascimento
Location: Columbia College Chicago
1306 S Michigan Ave. Room 200
The workshop aims to discuss the creative processes that have made reports, everyday situations and life stories of black people become scenic material. Currently, there is a strong black theater movement in Brazil to be able to (re)tell its narratives, whether everyday, diasporic, or historical. The desire here, then, is not only to talk about this experience, but also to reflect the daily lives of black people worldwide, and from that, to generate dramatic content interconnecting these experiences with black people in North and South America.
Workshop Fee: $55
CINEMATIC DEVISING WITH VOLOZ COLLECTIVE:
Saturday July 20 ,10 a.m.-1p.m. | Taught by Voloz Collective
Location: Theater Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Learn how to combine Lecoq-inspired physical theatre techniques with Voloz's own contemporary cinematic twist to devise surprising, clear, and imaginative narratives.
This dynamic workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of collaborative, cinematic devising. Participants will learn how to create effective unscripted work in an ensemble environment, inspiring their audience’s imagination with nothing more than their bodies, voices and found objects. Using Lecoq-inspired techniques employed in our own practice, participants will work in groups to create imaginative narratives through guided improvisation. This empowers participants to find a common creative language and build surprising theatre by relying on their dramaturgical instincts, rather than intellectual processes. We will guide participants in exercises focusing on the use of their bodies and found objects, allowing them to transform themselves - for example - from the protagonist, to an ant, to an aeroplane in the blink of an eye. This cinematic style is at the heart of our own theatrical practice.
Workshop Fee: $55
THE SOUND OF IMAGINATION: THE GOTTABEES’ GUIDE TO MUSICAL COLLABORATION
Sunday, July 21st -12 p.m. to 1p.m. | Taught by The Gottabees
Location: Theater Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
For ten years, the Gottabees have been sharing rich, complex stories for and with families around the world... all without performer Bonnie Duncan saying a single word.
How do they do it?
In this workshop, composers Brendan Burns & Tony Leva and performer-creator Bonnie Duncan share their secrets for creating original scores for devised work.
They explore how music and sound design can bring audiences deeply into emotional moments, while steadily propelling a storyline forward. The Gottabees share terminology and approaches that have allowed the collaborators to express their creative intent -- even when their artistic languages differ.
Workshop Fee: $25