Directors Acting

We are delighted to announce our Autumn series of workshops. This programme takes us all the way up until December. This season, we are excited to introduce our monthly mentoring programme led by Elen Bowman, commence work on our Director's Tree initiative as well as produce workshops led by some of the country's most exciting directors and teachers! We are also currently in preproduction for our staging of Gogol's Diary of a Madman performed by Robert Bowman. If you have any questions about Directors Acting, then please contact project manager Tom Hughes.

The season will begin in October with a weekend of Michael Chekhov Process work by expert Sinead Rushe. This weekend forms part of our residency at Chapter Theatre Cardiff who are hosting our production of Gogol's Diary of a Madman. The production, directed by Sinead, explores Chekhov's principles and will run October 6th - 8th.

Next, a workshop for the actor's voice led by Barbara Houseman. Barbara worked alongside Cicely Berry at the RSC for six years, and has written two books about the voice in theatre. We received brilliant feedback from both directors and actors when Barbara ran this workshop last year. Directors enjoyed learning about a voice coach's work on a production and the relationship between voice coach & director, and actors found her warm-up exercises very useful. Both actors and directors commented upon how useful for their future work they found her exercises combining voice work with text.

Later in October, we are delighted to welcome Bijan Sheibani to lead a week-long workshop. Bijan is regarded as one of the most exciting young directors in the country. His work like no other combines the ability to build a large, coherent ensemble with exceptionally close attention to detail.

In November, we welcome another first-time Directors Acting teacher in Joe Hill-Gibbins. Joe's work at the Young Vic (where he is Deputy Artistic Director) and Royal Court demonstrates his ability to guide actors and an audience into and through a complete and rigorously imagined world. He will be directing Thomas Middleton's The Changeling at the Young Vic in 2012, and in this workshop he will share some of his findings & methods for getting to this point. Also in November, we welcome back Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale of Shared Experience to lead one of their popular week-long workshops. In this week, Nancy and Polly will lead the physical games, exercises and improvisatory techniques that they have discovered for ensemble building and scene work. These weeks are always very popular, and this promises to be as energetic, fun and stimulating as always. Finally, in December we are delighted to run a one-off week-long workshop jointly led by co-director of Living Pictures Elen Bowman and Ian Rickson. Ian and Elen are two of the most popular workshop leaders for Directors Acting, and so the promise of having them both in the same room is enormous!

If you would like to reserve a place on any of the them or you have any queries, please email Tom Hughes, our Project Manager, on living.pictures@yahoo.co.uk

October

This two day process runs alongside Living Pictures production of Gogol's Diary of a Madman performed by Robert Bowman. at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, October 6th - 8th directed by Sinéad Rushe. This project also kick starts a new initiative titled Director's Tree. We will be filming rehearsals using Michael Chekhov's methods and collating interviews to aid online learning, beginning Chekhov and continuing with Meisner, Kogan, Meyerhold and others as part of our future shows. There will also be a post show discussion with director and actor on Friday 7th October.

In this workshop, Sinéad Rushe will take the participants through the techniques used during Diary of a Madman. The Michael Chekhov method is a psycho-physical approach to creating theatre. It privileges the imagination as the source of inspiration and favours an impersonal, objective approach to performance. The work is intended to create a real and spomntaneous connection between the actor's physical body and psychology and prepare the actor for what Chekhov calls inspired acting. During the workshop, Sinéad Rushe will introduce key approaches to building character: atmosphere, imaginary centres, imaginary body and the principles of improvisation and receiving.

Sinéad Rushe is a director and performer. She has studied the technique with Sergey Issayev (GITIS, Russia), Sarah Kane and Graham Dixon (Michael Chekhov Studio, London), Lenard Petit (Michael Chekhov Acting Studio, New York) and Jobst Langhans (Michael Chekhov Studio, Berlin). She teaches at Central School of Speech and Drama (London), specialising in the Michael Chekhov Technique and Meyerhold's Biomechanics. Sinéad is currently directing Something or Nothing with Guy Dartnell at The Place Theatre and was the director of Out of Time by Colin Dunne at The Pit, Barbican (nominated for a 2010 Olivier and Dance Critics' Circle Award).

For more information pleae visit: www.sineadrushe.co.uk

Elen Bowman has been mentoring Directors for over ten years. Last year, Elen began a monthly group in London which continues. If you wish to join a new group being formed this October then get in touch with your CV and details with your objectives for wanting to take part. The programme will provide guidance on scene analysis using a set text covering Story, Character, Themes, Objectives, Super objectives, Actions, Active analysis etc. Directors will also receive email contact with regards homework, self development and goal setting to fulfil directing projects.

"Elen Bowman is one of the most important teachers of directing in the UK. I was mentored by her over a period of two years and I owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for her care, precision and rigour." KATIE MITCHELL, OBE.

This workshop will enable you to understand the basics of how the voice works and what support actors need in rehearsals to use their voices safely, effectively and expressively. The workshop will be practical and will focus on the precise needs and interests of the group.

Barbara trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and as a director at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She assisted Mike Alfreds before concentrating more on her voice work and worked for six years at the RSC alongside Cicely Berry. She has written two books on voice: 'Finding Your Voice' and 'Tackling Text (and Subtext)'

For more information on Barbara please go to: www.barbarahouseman.com

Bijan Sheibani will run a workshop on The House of Bernarda Alba which he is directing next year at the Almeida.

He will share his process so far, including the decision to locate the play in rural Iran, the task of finding a suitable version, the casting process, the design process, and the intricate questions and challenges that emerge when you relocate a text. He will then share both textual and physical exercises that will be used in the rehearsal room with the actors.This course will be suitable for anyone who is thinking about directing a classic text.

November

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley is widely considered to be one of the greatest tragedies in the English language. A compelling exploration of desire and madness, it mixes rich, detailed characterisation with wild theatrics and gruesome humour. In preparation for his forthcoming production, director Joe Hill-Gibbins will run a fun, practical workshop that shares his approach to directing and explores questions about how to stage and rehearse The Changeling.

Joe is Deputy Artistic Director at the Young Vic where his directing credits include 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' by Martin McDonagh, 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams and 'A Respectable Wedding' by Bertolt Brecht in a new translation by Rory Bremner. He also works regularly at the Royal Court where he has directed world premieres of 'The Village Bike', 'The Girlfriend Experience', 'Family Plays', 'Bliss' and 'A Girl in a Car with a Man'.

NB There will be an opportunity for this group to see The Changeling at the Young Vic and have an informal discussion with Joe afterwards.

Shared Experience have pioneered a distinctive performance style that celebrates the union of physical and text-based theatre. Their work is dedicated to finding a language for the hidden world of the psyche and imagination. In this week-long workshop, led by co-artistic director Nancy Meckler (with co-artistic director Polly Teale guest teaching on limited days) they will share the methods, exercises and games they have developed for building an ensemble and exploring the inner lives of characters on-stage.

Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale are the Joint Artistic Directors of Shared Experience. Shared Experience is known the world over for its imaginative and highly visual productions combining the power of the spoken word with daring theatricality.

December

Ian and Elen are joining forces for this workshop to explore their approaches to rehearsing with Stanislavsky principles. Areas of discussion will be: How does method in principle differ from method in practice? How can directors benefit from sharing tried and tested formulas and yet develop their own unique voice? What are the virtues of rigour and also the need for openness in a rehearsal process? Ian and Elen will share their own journeys with regards process work and through specific exercises will guide you to discover your own unique approaches as a director.

Please note: this is an advanced workshop targeted at directors with some training or experience in this field. Please write a short paragraph briefly outlining your experience with this process and why you'd like to do the workshop along with your email.

Elen trained at RADA and then as a director, studying a contemporised version of the Stanislavsky technique at the School of the Science of Acting. She assisted Mike Alfreds at Method & Madness. Also during this time Elen taught directing methods to directors at the Royal Court Theatre and became a personal tutor to Katie Mitchell, Ian Rickson and others. Elen's work has formed part of Katie Mitchell's book on directing - The Director's Craft.

She was Associate Director for Sgript Cymru for six years and is currently Artistic Associate for Sherman Cymru. Her most recent directing credits include: Spring Awakening the Musical (Theatr Genedlaethol), The Devil Inside Him (National Theate Wales) and Amgen: Broker (Sherman Cymru). Previous work includes: Andromache and The Nest (Living Pictures). She has also been a freelance television and film director with two Welsh BAFTA nominations. Elen is co-director of Living Pictures Productions and she was lead tutor on the highly successful one year director mentoring scheme piloted by Living Pictures and Sherman Cymru with support from the Welsh Arts Council.

Ian was the Artistic Director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006 and currently works freelance. In 2009 he was made an Honorary Professor for Drama and Theatre Studies at the University of Kent's School of Arts. Recent theatre work includes: Jerusalem (Royal Court Theatre / West End / Broadway), Betrayal (West End), The Children's Hour (West End), Hedda Gabler (Broadway), The Seagull (Royal Court / Broadway); The Hothouse (NT). Film work includes: Fallout (Company Pictures for Channel 4); Krapp's Last Tape (BBC4).