Dancing Not Dead -- on its way to rehearsal!

Tomorrow starts the beginning of a very exciting process for the Internationalists, and I (Jake, in Berlin) am incredibly happy with the work that is coming together here. It has been a bit of a challenge, as summer in Berlin turns out to be a time when absolutely no one is truly around. Therefore, finding spaces to rehearse, people to come to the shows, even actors to show up for auditions -- all of it together has been a challenge to say the least. But now, we are less than a week away from the production, and all systems are go!

The cast has come together nicely. They are a talented group whom I got to audition about two weeks ago, and who have been living with the script ever since. They are:

Eva-Maria Kurz: Mother

Paula Koch: Ellen

Wil Röttgen: Victor/Alexanders/Georges

The cast has a great deal of experience both in Germany and abroad,

with directors I deeply admire. Their skill and intellect should offer a very unique look into this play. I am particularly interested in exploring what table work will be like with a German contingent of actors -- things are so literal and exact here, I wonder how they will approach a play that has some big questions attached to it, such as "Dancing, Not Dead". Tomorrow we will begin to see.

For casting, we had a very nice set of conversations and I listened to each of them read through a selected monologue several times. Because I was also looking for performers for the "Around the World" programming, I was more interested in personalities than anything else. This particular cast, however, I feel fits these roles absolutely perfectly.

Eva-Maria and I spoke via phone from Italy, but her energy and excitement for the role is really wonderful. And her stark German accent should lend a certain power to the role. Wil is a powerhouse actor, also with a German accent, but will be able to fit between the three roles well, and I think he has a certain sensitivity that should play nicely into these men. Finally, Paula is a classically trained actor, with nary an accent to be heard, and I think her take as a quiet and subtle daughter will be interesting to see develop. Her audition was understated, and I hope that during our rehearsals we'll be able to keep the intention she feels for this character underneath her words, but find more active ways for her to be present in the scenes.

I will be rehearsing for a bit longer than I would normally rehearse a reading, if only because I want to make sure the language is clear and concise for the audience, and especially the Internet audience, whom I think there will be a lot.

Tomorrow the rehearsals start at 15.00 Berlin time, and we'll see where things take us!

NILS' FUCKED UP DAY @ FringeNYC'11 - TRAILER 3

Nils's Fucked Up Day

The Internationalists partner Romanian playwright Peca Stefan - is back in NYC with a show!

Described by some critics as the "most obscene play in the Romanian theatre", Nils' Fucked Up Day by Peca Ştefan is a sarcastic, trashy, punk existentialist take on the fucked up choices we have in this fucked up world. It is outrageously performed in English & Ro-English by some of the best young actors in Bucharest. Ro-English is a form of slang which mixes Romanian words with English… cursing. However, the show is a guilty fun plea for happiness.

Introduced, in U.S. premiere, by FringeNYC ’11 – at Dixon Place. (161A Chrystie Street (Rivington Delancey) F,V to 2nd Avenue; B,D to Grand; J,M,Z to Bowery)

There are ONLY 5 performances in NYC this August!!! Don’t miss them!

SUNDAY AUGUST 14 @ 4.15 PM

MONDAY AUGUST 15 @ 7 PM

THURSDAY AUGUST 18 @ 7.45 PM

SATURDAY AUGUST 20 @ 4.15 PM

MONDAY AUGUST 22 @ 3.45

To see info on the play and buy tickets visit the official website: www.nilsfuckedup.com

And check out the play’s trailer here!

Ziua futută a lui Nils, a play written by Peca Ştefan in 2002, has quite a reputation in the Romanian theatre. It was labeled, by elder critics, as being „outrageous”, „obscene”, „vulgar”. At the same time the play has been widely acknowledged by theatre professionals, who saw it as a rebirth of new Romanian playwriting. The text deals with language, Romanian (and global) hypocrisy, and a form of updated, post-modern existentialism in a hyper ironic way, that’s both challenging and guilty pleasure fun. Nevertheless, the play is an unconventional plea for happiness. For six years it was a taboo to stage this play in Romania, although it won one of the most important new playwriting awards (dramAcum, 2002) and was presented in highly acknowledged festivals such as The New Writing Bienalle in Wiesbaden, Germany (2006). In 2008 the MONDAY Theatre @ Green Hours (Bucharest) dared to produce it, under the stage direction of the author himself. Ever since, the show has been a sold out hit, in its’ Romanian version. In 2011 Peca, an internationally acclaimed playwright (Juilliard Finalist 2010, one of the 5 Authors in the Berliner Stuckemarkt 2010 (Germany), Winner of Heidelberg’s Stuckemarkt Innovation Award 20007 (Germany)), has rewritten the play so we can share the performance with international audiences (both in Bucharest and abroad). Nils’ Fucked Up Day (the new English title) is now a mix of Romanian and English, powered by one of the best VJ’s in Romania (Cinty) combining multimedia, interactivity and a very inciting way to look at the world and its stereotypes.

Teatrul LUNI de la Green Hours (MONDAY Theatre @ Green Hours) is probably THE PLACE to go if you want to see the most exciting indie/off theatre productions in Romania. With a non-stop season since 1997 – the MONDAY Theatre debuted some of the best young actors, directors, stage designers and playwrights in the new wave of Romanian theatre. After presenting two very successful plays by Peca Ştefan in FringeNYC’ 07 (The Sunshine Play and Bucharest Calling), the company returns for the 2011 edition of the International New York Fringe Festival with “Nils’ Fucked Up Day”.

Dancing Not Dead -- Auditions in Berlin

Casting has begun for the Internationalists "Dancing, Not Dead" in Berlin. It has been a fascinating new experience to create work in a new culture (coming from New York, things definitely work a bit differently here). Trying to make a piece in the summer turns out to be a bit more challenging than originally expected -- the whole town, it seems, has gone on vacation. But overall, things are coming together quite nicely.

Initially, I was worried by the lack of responses one receives immediately. In New York, seconds after posting something in Backstage, Playbill etc., your inbox is generally flooded with emails of headshots, resumes, introduction letters, and sometimes promises of a first born baby, should you choose them to cast. Here in Berlin, it's a bit more laid-back, and after that initial worry, I was pleasantly surprised by the applicants. People approached the auditions in a professional and interested matter, and it gives me great hope for what is to come with this project.

The auditions went very well, and I'm pleased to say that the cast is formulating now (a few more meetings and introductions to come) and all should be set!

Please check back in regularly for updates about our Playwright competition, as well as director blogs about the process!

John Freedman Wins Internationalists' First Annual Playwriting Contest

Dancing, Not Dead is a play about the price of truth and the cost to those who seek to own it. Ellen and her mother return from Alexander’s funeral. Ellen is broken, wondering why her father has killed himself. In contrast, her mother is buoyant, recollecting memories of her favorite ballerina. Petty banter reveals a deep conflict between the two, as well as with the world they inhabit. In this family, no one backs down - they consider this "being strong." But when does strength cross the line from constructive to destructive?

Writer John Freedman is a theatrical pioneer who has always sought to further the understanding of people of different cultures, and to explore those territories where understanding is virtually impossible. His particular interest lies in the gray areas where consensus does not happen, and how, as human beings, we respond to that. As a boy who grew up during the Cold War, and an American who has resided in Russia since before the collapse of the Soviet Union, John’s unique experiences have shaped his appreciation for the difficulties that nations and individuals have in overcoming habit, instinct, prejudice and tradition.

His play, Dancing, Not Dead is a direct response to what he’s seen occur in the world political arena in the last decade – the use of lies to further one’s agenda; the refusal of people and nations to pause and reflect; the belief that shouting louder and hitting harder is enough to make a wrong right; the conviction that appearances of youth and beauty are substantive; the danger that fascism will arise almost out of nothing.

Dancing, Not Dead is also a response to what he sees happening to individuals whose fate it is to live in such times – we have become self-defensive, abusive and manipulative; we worship before the god of youth; we are slaves to our dreams, rather than masters of them; we are lacking in trust and bereft of the talent to love or be loved. Might this be another explanation for fascism? Is fascism only a political phenomenon, or is it possible that it grows out of our most intimate, personal relationships?

Whether the answer to these questions is yes, no or maybe, the one constant that affects us all at every moment is the impulse and the need for love. What role do the human emotions of forgiveness, generosity of spirit and love play in the contemporary world we inhabit? Dancing, Not Dead does not answer the questions raised here, but poses them in a series of ways. No doubt, every question raised by this play, as well as every response it might prompt, will be seen in a different light, depending upon the culture in which it is approached, and that is why, whether through the genre of essay, criticism, translation or play script, John Freedman’s work truly exemplifies The Internationalists’ spirit.

Biography

“Theatre should encourage us to make discoveries. It should disturb us. Rouse us. Irritate us. Make us realize what sort of world we live in.”

- John Freedman in ‘Russia Now’; 3 June 2009

John Freedman is an American writer who has lived in Moscow for over 20 years. He was born and raised in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. In 1980, just after graduating with a B.A. degree in Russian language and literature at U.C. Irvine, John attended a production of Nikolai Erdman’s The Suicide at Trinity Rep, which sowed the seed for his future. He completed a master’s degree in 1983 at George Washington University, and in 1988, while conducting research for his doctorate, he travelled to Moscow. What unfolded was a love story to rival all the classics he was studying: the following year he married the Russian actress, Oksana Mysina.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, John moved to Russia where he has been the chief theatre critic at The Moscow Times since 1992, a monthly columnist for Plays International since 1994, and has written or edited and translated nine books about Russian drama. He has translated over three dozen Russian plays that have been performed in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and England, as well as published in numerous anthologies and journals. In 2006 under the general title of “Provoking Theater” he made two documentaries for Russia Today, an English-language, international Russian television company. He has been a partner of Philip Arnoult’s Center for International Theatre Development since 2000. Since 2001, John has also unofficially served as a Jack-of-All-Trades in the founding and running of his wife’s theater, the Oksana Mysina Theatrical Brotherhood. In 2010, Double Edge Theater in Ashfield, MA., produced a play, The Firebird, that John co-wrote with Jennifer Johnson and the theatre’s cast.

Playwriting Contest Finalists

The Internationalists are thrilled to announce the 7 finalists in our first annual playwriting contest, selected from over 125 plays from 18 countries.

2023 by Lisa Parry (Cambridge, UK)

Dancing, Not Dead by John Freedman (Moscow, Russia)

The Owl Girl by Monica Raymond (Cambridge, MA, USA)

Into the Water by Ella Greenhill (Liverpool, UK)

Shibboleth by Stacey Gregg (Belfast, Ireland)

Spake by David L. Williams (New York, NY, USA)

Termitary by Diane Lefer (Los Angeles, CA, USA)

Join the World Theatre Day Coalition!

The Internationalists invite you to join the 2011 NYC World Theatre Day Coalition! The mission of the New York City World Theatre Day Coalition is to create a widespread awareness of World Theatre Day by connecting the NYC theatre community to other theatre communities around the world, and encouraging audiences in NYC and beyond to celebrate with us by attending the theatre. The Coalition is comprised of representatives of theatre companies and advocacy groups whose common goal is to promote World Theatre Day through coordinating events and distributing the WTD message.

World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), and is celebrated annually on March 27 by over 90 ITI Centers and the international theatre community. National and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion, which center around the World Theatre Day International Message. At the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. In past years the message has been given by visionaries, such as Vaclav Havel, Ellen Stewart, Augusto Boal, Jean Cocteau and Peter Brook.

To become a member of the NYC World Theatre Day Coalition we request that you:

1. Read and/or distribute the International Theatre Institute’s World Theatre Day Message during your performances March 21st – 27th in a curtain speech or in the program. Or, if you do not have a show you can share the message via e-blast and social networking. (I will send you a one-sheet with both this year’s U.S. and International World Theatre Day messages.)

2. Post a link to our World Theatre Day website (www.nycwtd.com) on your website so your audience can find out about other ways to celebrate.

3. If you are in a producing during the week of March 21^st, give a ticket discount in honor of WTD to be posted on our website. The discount can be anything from $1 off to half price tickets; it’s up to you! Please use the code NYCWTD if you can.

In exchange for joining the Coalition, we will list and promote your organization on our website, in our tweets, and in all other promotional materials. At last year’s inaugural event, we had thousands of hits on our website and we distributed hundreds of flyers. We performed various flash mobs all over NYC and we celebrated with theatre artists from all over the globe.

Now, all you need to do is sign up:

If you’re a company CLICK HERE

If you’re an individual CLICK HERE

In addition to distributing the message, this year the NYC World Theatre Day will…

- Curate a blog with a new guest blogger every day starting on March 1

- Sponsor two to three Spontaneous Live Action Theatrical Performances (aka SPLAT Performances) in the week leading up to March 27^th

- Coordinate Making the Political Personal a brunch panel on March 27^th, to take place during the hotINK Festival of new international plays, moderated by Kevin Bitterman (

- Throw a party to celebrate and read the message aloud at Dixon Place 4pm – 7pm on March 27^th

Created by UNESCO in 1949, ITI is an NGO that seeks to create peace and solidarity across borders and between people through the exchange and co-operation of artists. www.iti-worldwide.org. Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is home to the US-Center of ITI. TCG, the national organization for the American theatre, exists to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. www.tcg.org

For additional information about us, visit our website www.nycwtd.com. If you have any questions or if you are interested joining our Planning Committee, please email us at nycwtd@gmail.com.

Dispatches from Mexico

From Internationalists Co-Founding Members Tamilla Woodard and Ana Margineanu,

For the last 10 days we have been investigating the theatrical climate of 2 major cities in Mexico: Mexico City and Querétaro. Although the scene in Mexico is obviously vibrant we found ourselves not able to see as much as we desired because the theatre season doesn't restart until late January. In spite of that, we have managed to meet amazing artists, see incredible performance on stage and in rehearsals and to conduct a series of interviews with performing artists of many genres that explore the perspective of the local artists in the international scene. This is a sneak preview of an initiative we will launch in March highlighting the most interesting artists we've meet with clips of performance and interviews. Special thanks to Dann Cazes our new friend who acted as both guide and translator for most of our visit.

AND NOW...We are proud to present Circo Teatro, a social circus in Querétaro, Mexico.

"It is our first day in Querétaro. We are having our first walk through one of many beautiful plazas filled with people enjoying the warm winter evening. We can not help but to notice two individuals towering over the others in the plaza by more than 6 feet. They are on stilts and between spectacular moves, approach us and invite us to follow them to a performance just down the street, around the corner and in the forth house on the right. We decide to ignore our instincts telling us to not follow tall dark strangers into unknown houses at night. However, we were...intrigued and since they were performing just for tips we thought this might be a great chance to get the nights entertainment for cheap (fully recognizing, of course that we might be taking a chance at being the nights entertainment, ourselves). When we arrive we find a circus tent in the middle of a house already filled with audience. Despite the hour, there are young children, grown women, old men all tightly packed onto raisers, cheerfully chatting, eating and drinking. I must say, we fully expected an amature performance. However, we were in for 2 glorious hours of daring, funny, stupid and virtuosic performance from company performers as young as 15 years old. We LAUGHED. We WOWED. We CHEERED and we felt transported into a beautiful past time when theatre was meant for everybody. "- tamilla and Ana.

Here is a short clip of one of CIRCO TEATRO'S acts followed by an excerpt from the interview we did with the company the next day. Stay tuned for a posting of the entire interview and more performance clips in March.

Circo Teatro Lyra and Stilts from Tamilla Woodard on Vimeo.

Circo Teatro, January '11 interview excerpt-Collaboration from Tamilla Woodard on Vimeo.

Playwriting Contest FAQs

Is my play eligible if it has been produced before?

The short answer is ‘no.’ We are looking for new plays that are in earlier stages of development, that have not had design elements or a paying audience. It should be at a point where the writer is done writing and wants to 'hear' it. The long answer is 'there is some flexibility’. We are not excluding things that have been previously developed in a reading or workshop or university, but are primarily looking for something that The Internationalists and the winning writer can develop further together.

Why was my submission returned?

In addition to the script, we ask that you respond to the specified guidelines and questions listed on the contest form. You can find all this information on our website, on facebook and on our blog. We have a lot of submissions, so please read the information carefully. It only helps us distribute plays faster.

What do you mean by 'presentation'?

The Internationalists are committed to producing public staged readings of the winning play. As the term 'reading' has different connotations in different cultures, we decided to use the term presentation. Depending on specific circumstances in select locations, there may be a higher level of production value, but this is not a condition of the award.

If I win, will I receive compensation?

There is no monetary prize for this contest. The award includes a minimum of five public presentations of your play, and in specific circumstances, may also result in the translation of your play into another language.

If I win, will I be invited to the readings?

You will be more than welcome at any and all of the public presentations, and The Internationalists will do everything in our power to assist in securing travel funds and housing accommodations for you. Additionally, we have retained flexibility in the locations of the readings so that if feasible, we can present one in or near your home.

What is the time frame of the readings?

It is the goal of The Internationalists to produce 5 public presentations within 2011. If we have more than five presentations, they may continue into the beginning of 2012.

What about copyright?

‪The text of the play will remain at all times the property/copyright of the playwright. The Internationalists will require 1) listing in future publications and programs, 2) that no other productions take place between our first and last reading, and 3) right of first refusal for a full production within a reasonable amount of time following the final reading. ‪Details to be negotiated in good faith upon winning.

What will be expected of the winning playwright?

Though we are happy to receive all eligible scripts, we are looking for someone who is also interested in accompanying The Internationalists on this journey. We look forward to developing a relationship with both the play and the playwright. We are eager to share a fantastic new play to as broad a global audience as possible.

Stand in Solidarity with Belarus

PEACEFUL PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION

In Support of Belarus Free Theatre

Wednesday, January 19 from 12 PM to 1 PM

The Mission of Belarus to the UN

136 East 67th Street, NYC, NY

The Internationalists Playwriting Contest

The Internationalists is excited to announce a new global playwriting contest. The winner’s play will receive public presentations in at least five locations around the world including New York, Berlin, Buchrest and Sydney.

Contest Mission

This contest is for a groundbreaking play that explores the theme of Boundaries. Though the characters can be few and the location specific, we are looking for big ideas and challenging questions. The Boundaries we wish to explore can be physical, emotional, psychological, cultural, political, spiritual or all of the above, as long as it is expressing an individual perspective on something humankind can intimately connect to. This is not only an opportunity to have a text exposed to different audiences, but a chance to engage in a cross-cultural exchange that fosters a collaboration with multiple directors around the world who will each have a personal vision of the play. It should offer each director and cast in the various locations a unique opportunity to work on the development of a provocative and engaging text through the lenses of audiences around the world. This play should speak both on a personal and universal level. It should be ambitious and stretch the boundaries of what is theatrical.

Submission Guidelines

1. Playwright may only submit one full-length script.

2. The play submission must be in English (either original or translation)

3. The play must not have had a fully mounted production

4. The playwright must include in his/her submission:

a. Name, address, phone number, email address and how you heard about the contest

b. Cover letter introducing yourself and explaining how your play addresses the mission of the contest. (500 word limit)

c. Bio (300 word limit)

d. Synopsis and Character Breakdown (300 word limit)

e. Electronic form (Word or PDF) copy of full script

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is Midnight EST on Friday, February 11^th.

Finalists will be notified by March 27^th.

The final round of selection will include a telephone, video, or in-person interview.

Contact

Submissions should be sent to: submissions@theinternationalists.org

You will receive a confirmation of receipt.

For more information visit our website at www.theinternationalists.org

Polish Playwriting Finally Being Recognized?

Check out this great article by playwright Sarah Grochala about how Polish playwriting is finally getting its due.

WHICH DIRECTION HOME?

WHICH DIRECTION HOME? is a festival of new work inspired by The Odyssey. 8 Directors from 6 countries have used Homer’s epic poem as a base to create wholly original theatrical material that encompasses a myriad of themes including home, mystery, choice, identity and myth.

PROGRAM A

7PM Wed 7/21, Fri 7/23, Tues 7/27

Das Fremde Essen, Directed by Dina Keller (Germany)

OD@C, Directed by Jake Witlen (USA)

Lucky, Directed by Karina Bes (The Netherlands)

To The Oars!, Directed by Jeremy Lydic (USA)

PROGRAM B

7PM Thurs 7/22, Mon 7/26, Wed 7/28

Das Fremde Essen, Directed by Dina Keller (Germany)

Longing, Lingering, Lost, Directed by Doug Howe (USA/France)

Fragments of a Father, Directed by Sama Ky Balson (Australia/France)

Oh De Sea!, Directed by Tamilla Woodard (USA)

SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday, July 24 - MARATHON PERFORMANCE

(Programs A & B back-to-back)

Thursday, July 29

The Blind Trip, Directed by Ana Margineanu (Romania)

& Mash-Up Performance of 'Best of Fest' Highlights

Full Show Descriptions, Ticket info and Much Much More at

http://www.theinternationalists.org/odyssey.html

'Which Direction Home?' Press

Check out these two articles about The Internationalists' upcoming 'Which Direction Home?' festival.

The Brooklyn Rail

The Q Note

Find more information about the productions and how to buy tickets at our website.

La Journée Mondiale du Théâtre

Journée Mondiale du Théâtre

Samedi 27 Mars 2010 - 17h-19h

Le Cavern Club - 21 Rue Dauphine, 75006 Paris

The Internationalists Directors Collective vous invite à vous joindre à nous pour les boissons et la conversation à célébrer 'La Journée Mondiale du Théâtre'. Dame Judi Dench "Message International de La Journée Mondiale du Théâtre" sera lu en plusieurs langues à 18h.

La Journée Mondiale du Théâtre a été créée en 1961 par l’Institut International du Théâtre. Chaque année, elle est célébrée par la communauté théâtrale dans le monde entier le 27 mars. De nombreuses manifestations nationales et internationales marquent cette Journée. Mais l’événement le plus important de la Journée Mondiale du Théâtre est certainement la diffusion du « Message international de la Journée Mondiale du Théâtre » à travers lequel une éminente personnalité des arts vivants est invitée à partager ses réflexions sur le thème du théâtre et de la paix entre les peuples. Jean Cocteau (France) était l’auteur du premier Message international en 1962.

What is Mystery?

Our core collective is currently hard at work developing a festival to be presented in New York this July inspired by Homer’s Odusseia, and we humbly ask for your inspiration and input.

Over the coming weeks, we will be posing a series of questions that we encourage you to help us answer. We have generated these questions to further our dramaturgical research in relation to the text, our collective, contemporary theatre and our current generation. Our intention is to use these questions as ‘connectors’ between our current project, our mission as a collective, and international theatre as a whole.

We would like to solicit your contributions to facilitate a larger understanding and appreciation of what these propositions mean for theatre today. In addition to the productions our directors are creating for the festival, we will be creating a collection of short works entitled ‘Instant Theatre’ that will be created the day of performance and premiered that evening based on your offerings and assistance.

In an attempt to answer these questions, we request that you submit the source material for these ‘instant’ projects. They can be in the form of a photograph, a poem, a short dialogue, a list of props, a brief prose paragraph, a piece of music etc. Each participating director will use the offered source material as the basis for their original piece, so that anything you supply will likely be utilized in the generation of the performance.

We want to make sure that, in addition to the rehearsed productions, we include the insights and musings of our fellow international theatre artists around the world. Any and all submissions are graciously accepted, and we look forward to including your contributions in our upcoming festival.

The first question we ask you to play a part in answering is: What is mystery?

Hey brain - what's my motivation?

Fiona Shaw recently dedicated her brain to science. Ah, the actor's sacrifice. All in the name of a good performance. But seriously, she committed to lying flat on her back, as still as possible, and reciting T.S. Eliot's 'Wasteland', so that scientists could scan her brain and research what really goes on in an actor's head when they become 'another person'. Read the full article here.

Confidence au Proche-Orient

Doug Howe and Ozen Yula

Maison des Metallos

Paris, France

21 November 2009

"Confidence au Proche-Orient"

Around the World in 24 Hours

Click image to enlarge.

Modern Commedia Workshop & Performance

The Internationalists is proud to welcome Teatro Punto (Carlos Garcia Estevez and Katrien van Beurden) to New York to host a Modern Commedia dell’ Arte workshop and performance on August 5^th and 6^th, 2009.

Contemporary Commedia Workshop

Dates: August 5^th, 2009 from 3:30-9:30pm; August 6^th, 2009 from 3:30-6:30pm

Fee: $150 (includes the ‘Solo dell’Arte’ performance on August 6^th at 8pm)

Experience Level: Appropriate for all levels

Location: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, 31-10 Thompson Ave, LIC (7,E,V,R,G trains nearby)

Tickets for the workshop may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/71880 or 1-800-838-3006.

Teatro Punto makes theater where the actor is the author of the story. As the actor on stage is stripped of supports such as extended settings and a fixed script, he can become the author of a tragicomic show. He does this through movement, text, techniques and imagination. Carlos and Katrien’s main source of inspiration is Commedia dell'Arte. Employing their training, imagination, intellect and a great deal of hard work and experimentation they have taken Commedia to new heights. Their storytelling takes the masks into new territory. They have discovered ways to make the life within each mask not only amuse and engage the audience, but take them to the dark side. A theater form full of acting possibilities; it is precise and vulnerable, yet above all else it is alive. Previous U.S. workshops have been given at: Brown University, NYU, Wagner College, Sarah Lawrence, UMass, Trinity College, Tufts, and Williams & Mary.

The Workshop consists of:

• Movement analysis
• Physical transformation/metamorphoses
• From Tragedy to Comedy
• Musicality and timing
• Mask and archetypical characters
• Improvisation and scene composition - Canovaccio
• Study of interaction between actor and audience

‘Solo dell’Arte’ Performance

Date: August 6^th, 2009 at 8:00pm

Admission: $15

‘Solo dell’Arte’ is an introduction to the audience of one of the most ancient types of theatre, Commedia dell’Arte, and the presence of this Art into our days. In this show/conference there is only an empty space, masks, an actor without costumes and the audience. Carlos Garcia Estevez will perform a collection of stories under the theme of love (tragic love, infidel love, casual love). He will be aided by his own techniques, movements, gestures, texts, imagination and the spirit of performing for and with an audience. During the performance, the actor will present the historical and contemporary context of this type of theatre and he will explain to the audience some of the mechanisms of how this theatre is made (the metamorphosis of the actor, the use of the mask and the grommellot).

For more information, visit www.theinternationalists.org/commedia or email info@theinternationalists.org