Improvisation can be weird, funny, easy, it can have everyday topics or personal stories – but it can also be political, reflect current social and political events, develop new perspectives or alienate them. How can we let politics influence our improvisation and how do we connect it to our attitude as a performer? Or are some of the events that actually happen too complex to be improvised on stage? Farah draws from her vast experience as an actress and improviser in Lebanon, which is not only a different experience from ours in our everyday lives, but also restraint by governmental censorship of the arts.

 

 

Farah is a Lebanese improviser, actress and director whose work in film and theatre deals mainly with major issues facing women in Arab society. She holds a BA in communication arts from the Lebanese American University. Farah is a member of Impro Beirut’s team since 2009 and has regularly performed in improvised and/or interactive shows. As an actress, she participated in the World Actors Forum (Dublin, Ireland) and she impressed the Berlin audience at the IMPRO 2014.

 

Improvisational theatre is known for its genuine contact with the audience. Instead of making theatre pieces that stand strongly no matter if there is audience or not we tend to create events that are influenced and shaped by everyone in the room. We are classical breakers of the fourth wall but can we go further than being classical? In this workshop we will explore different ways of finding contact with the audience, taking inspiration from other contemporary performative arts on one hand and on the other search deeper into what impro theatre has to offer. Where is the border between performers and viewers, how strong is it and especially, how can we play with it?

 

 

Maja Dekleva Lapajne lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and works as a freelancer in the field of contemporary theatre. She is a director and a performer, the artistic director of internationally acclaimed Kolektiv Narobov and of the Naked Stage Festival and a member of the international theatre collective “Orcas Island Project”. She has worked in various different projects and mediums - from clown theatre and contemporary dance to radio, television and film - but her main focus and passion has always been improvisation.

 

Live performance takes place in a three-dimensional space. The way we approach this space has a direct and strong effect on what we communicate as performers. In this workshop, Daniel focuses on exploring ways in which space and its perception can be manipulated and expressed in pictures, images, and other two-dimensional planes. Daniel has been working with physical improvisation and clowning and has recently wowed audiences worldwide as a member of „Speechless“, improvising longforms without words. Drawing from his extensive experience, he teaches you how to play with space in order to tell stories: Drawing the space, defining it by actions, creating the sensation of a large area in a small space, considering 360 degrees and last but not least using comics as a way of telling stories by frames, his workshop attempts to develop new tools to play and transform the way we address the stage.

 

 

Daniel pushes the boundaries between improvisation and physical theatre, bringing elements of drawing, painting and his life experience as tools for expression and story telling. His practice is complemented with a degree in graphic design and more than eight years experience with physical theatre and improvisation, studying under renowned professionals such as Avner Eisenberg and Keith Johnstone. As a performer, he was invited to a lot of international festivals and runs the company PICNIC, specialised in creating devised work collaborating with different artists.

 

On Friday there will be a panel-discussion with actors of the cast of IMPRO 2016. They will discuss the chances and risks of including politics in improvisation and of course you are invited to join the discussion.

 

After taking the workshop there will be a possibility for you to get a personal feedback from your workshop instructor, where you can discuss further options to become a more experienced improv actor.

Registration: 225,- Euro

 

At the IMPRO 2016, all shows from 17th to 20th of March are included in the BIF days fee as listed in the program schedule above. Tickets for the other shows of IMPRO 2016 have to be purchased additionally. It is not possible to change those show dates to other dates.

There is the possibility to have lunch at the workshop location on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the additional cost of 20,- Euro.

Ulrike Dettmann

Reservation of workshop in order of registration plus receipt of payment.

Transfer of 50% of the workshop fee until Jan 15^th of 2016 (first come, first served!), second 50% until February 15^th of 2016.

Early Bird: Registration plus receipt of payment of 100% of the workshop fee until Dec 31^st.

 

Participation in the workshops on your own risk, there is no insurance protection by Die Gorillas.

 

Rescission/refund.

More than 6 weeks before workshops: full refund.

More than 4 weeks before workshops: 75% refund.

4-3 weeks before workshops: 50% refund.

3-2 weeks before workshops: 30% refund.

2-1 week(s) before workshops: 10% refund.

Less than 7 days before workshop: no refund.