RIDE THE IMPULSE
One week workshop-creative process for eight monologues led by Daniela Marcozzi
GENERAL
Ride the impulse is a 1 week workshop-creative process for eight performers, focussed on exploring narrative flows in the training and performance of a short monologue. The training seeks an organic expression that includes physical, vocal, emotional and spiritual expression.
It is a development/continuation of the 2 day intensive Workshop for Performers: The Urge of Being, that I created during the Master of Art in Artistic Research, an innovative training program informed by the latest biological and neuro-biological theories of emotions.
The work is based on the principle that urgency pushes us to survive. If the expression of the artist is triggered by urgency, her communication will be perceived as authentic and necessary, because it is rooted in her physiological need to express herself.
From a biological point of view, urgency can be understood as the basic motivation that pushes living creatures to verbally and non-verbally express themselves. The higher the degree of urgency, the more effective the communication, and the higher the possibility to survive.
With the term “urgency” I mean any type of urgency, not only biological: individual, collective, social, cultural, sentimental, relational, environmental, etc.
CONCEPT OF "RIDE THE IMPULSE"
A monologue is an occasion to narrate something: a fact, a thought, a reflection, a stream of consciousness, an invitation, a statement, a nightmare, a declaration, a desire, a fear, a possibility, a doubt.
How can we narrate all of this possible content with our whole beings?
By exploring possible NARRATIVE FLOWS that originate from inner impulses of the performer. In order to experiment with potential narrative flows, we will go through the following steps:
PHASES AND COMPONENTS OF THE WORK
1. Training the urgency
based on the Workshop The urge of Being.
2. Accessing the realm of impulses
“We attempt to eliminate his organism's resistance to this psychic process. The result is freedom from the time lapse between inner impulse and outer reaction in such a way that the impulse is already an outer reaction. Impulse and action are concurrent: the body vanishes, burns, and the spectator sees only a series of visible impulses. Ours then is a via negativa - not a collection of skills but an eradication of blocks.” (Grotowski, 1968, 16-17)
A series of exercises to trigger energetic dynamics of the organism and different types of impulses will be introduced, with the aim to work with impulses.
The exercises are informed by energetic laws of physics and biology and by the principles of expression, as well as by the principles of Deep Ecology and Systemic Biology.
3. Exploring narrative flows
After accessing the realm of the impulses and after understanding how we can channel the energy into a specific expression, we'll work to build up NARRATIVE FLOWS by exploring movement research, vocal expression, somatic consciousness, the imagination, Plastique sequence flow (From Grotowski's training), visual inputs, localization and the journey of the monologue in the physical and vocal organism, energetic processes and their amplification.
In this work, the text is a tool to channel and amplify energy, a pretext to handle the physical impulses of the organism and channel his urgency of expression.
Meaning is not necessarily the first nor primary access to the text. Instead, we will train our inner source of energy, the “seed” of energy that is still unconditioned and undifferentiated.
This is the impulse through which we can build an energetic process that supports the content of the monologue.
By activating this process, the text acquires different meanings and readings and the performer works in a "non-representational" way.
The monologue can take any type of “form”: it can be mute, physical, vocal, spoken, danced, symbolic, etc, and, most of all, we'll work to orchestrate all of these possibilities; to put the voice in the body; to bring movement and dance in dialogue; to train the intentions of the organism and set its energies free.
The monologue will be explored by focusing on the balance between improvisation dynamics and settled energetic processes and intentions.
4. Open demonstration of the short monologues
An open demonstration of our work to a small audience is planned for the last day of the process. It is an occasion to gain and channel the energy of the audience and to create a community of artists and interested people, and to establish a dialogue about artistic personalities and practices.
THE MONOLOGUES
The monologue should be chosen before the beginning of the workshop. It can be performed in any language, it can be a personal writing, an article, a short narrative text or a published text; it can be poetic, theatrical or any other type of text.
If the performer doesn't have a monologue, we can discuss that and I can assign one.
The length is minimum 5 lines and maximum 12 lines, ca.
IS THIS WORK FOR ME?
Physical work: Medium-High intensity
This work is addressed to performing artists interested in overcoming the labelling of performative expression that divides theatre from dance, dance from theatre, music from theatre, singing from dance and who is willing to step out of their own comfort zone.
The inclination in working cooperatively in group and individually is desired.
WHEN
Berlin 7 > 14.12
Saturday 07.12, from 14:00 to 20:00 @Studio 2, Mime Centrum
Sunday 08.12, from 13:00 to 20:00 @Studio 2, Mime Centrum
Tuesday 10.12 from 18:30 to 22:00 @Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte
Wednesday 11.12, 14:30 to 18:00 @Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte
Thursday 12.12, 14:30 to 18:00 @Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte
Friday 13.12, from 18:30 to 22:00 @Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte
Saturday 14.12, from 17:00 to 22:00 @Studio 2, Mime Centrum (from 17:00 to 19:30: training. From 20:00 to 21.00: open demonstration. From 21.00 to 22:00: closing session of the workshop)
TECHNICAL DETAILS
The workshop is limited to a maximum of eight performers.
The sessions of the first week-end (Saturday 07.12 and Sunday 08.12) will be mainly based on a group work, and the sessions from Tuesday to Friday will be mainly individual. To organize the work from Tuesday to Friday, we'll prepare a schedule to work individually with each performer. During the individual session, the rest of the group is invited to join.
A maximum of 2 absences are allowed from Tuesday and Friday, while presence on Saturdays and Sunday is mandatory.
IS THIS WORK FOR ME?
Physical work: Medium-High intensityThis work is addressed to performing artists interested in overcoming the labelling of the performative expression that divides theatre from dance, dance from theatre, music from theatre, singing from dance and willing to step out of the comfort zone.The inclination in working cooperatively in group and individually is desired.
PRICE and REGISTRATION DETAILS
220 euro: normal fee190 euro: early birds for payment by November 1st, for students and for pupils of Marcozzi Contemporary Theater. Registrations are open until November 27th.
To register write to daniela.marcozzi@gmail.com and, please, briefly describe WHY you are interested in this work and what are your (eventual) previous experiences in performing arts or expressive work. Thank you!