BMX - Not a bicycle
Biomechanics to me is about being in tune with your own physicality. It was one of the disciplines I had to learn (and train in) when I was still attached to the KL Ensemble (I left the group early this year because I needed a break). It's a key component of physical theatre ala Meyerhold (a Russian theatre guru), where acting is not just about being someone else from the neck up, but about using your entire being (alone or with the ensemble) as a medium to communicate.
It got physically painful on the occasion, but it was probably some of the best times of my life. Over the 3 months BMX course in 2003 and the 2 years of workshops, rehearsals and stage productions, I discovered many things I didn't know I could do with my body.
More importantly, I learnt alot about myself. About focus. About trusting a group of people unconditionally with your physical and emotional state. About the Grotowski principles which preaches self-discipline and commitment of a stratospheric level (boy, was that a perpetual struggle).
It was much more than an acting class or workshop. We were taught that acting is not just about 'acting', which is what alot of actors do these days. A good actor is one who can hold that suspension of belief and draw you into the story (and not him or herself), as opposed to a self-indulgent actor who's like "Oh! Look at me! Look at ME! I'm acting! I'm an ACTOR! Adore me!"
Nobody in the ensemble currently thinks of him or herself as a good 'actor'. But being one is the ultimate goal. Like the cliche goes, it's the journey, not the destination, I suppose. It's alot of hard work, but the KL Ensemble does hope to be a theatre group to be reckoned with, in the near future.
To do that, the group needs to grow. It needs new blood and new talents. That's why they are now offering yet another Biomechanics course to introduce new members to physical theatre. People in the ensemble need to feed off each other all the time. And yes, it's as mentally challenging as it is physical. But the exhaustion you feel at the end of every session is exhilirating. And at the end of the course, you'll also feel like a better (if not fitter) person. If you do well and find that you've fallen in love with it (like I did), you could be invited to join the KL Ensemble and their future productions. Although productions so far had not been of the 'commercial' variety, they were interesting pieces of work nevertheless. Anyhoo, it's really a great deal of fun, and the people running it are a big part of that.
Curious about the stage?
Need something different to push yourself out of your comfort zone?
Give the Biomechanics Workshop a shot. It could change your life in little ways you'd never guess. It certainly did for many of us. All you need to know as follows:
Biomechanics Workshop with The KL Ensemble
www.klensemble.com
Date: 17 Sept – 19 Nov 2006, every Sunday (Total 10 sessions)
Time: 2.00pm – 6.00 pm
Venue: KL Ensemble Studio, 2-2 (2nd Floor), Jln 4/109E,Taman Desa Business Park, 58100 KL *A map will be emailed to you upon request
Fee:
Regular rate
1. Registration: RM20
2. Workshop: RM750 per person for 10 sessions, equivalent to RM75 per session
Special rate for students (with valid ID)
1. Registration: RM20
2. Workshop: RM500 per person for 10 sessions, equivalent to RM50 per session*Those who make full payment at the beginning of the workshop will enjoy an RM50 off on workshop fee (excluding registration).
No. of participants: Max. 20 (participants are accepted based on a first come first served basis)
Conditions:
1. All participants must be at least 16 years of age.
2. Attendance is imperative for all sessions.
3. Payment can be made either in full or in 2 installments. Alternative payment options can be discussed, but 1st installment fees must be paid at the start of the FIRST session.
4. Please bring along 1 passport photo.
5. Please come in comfortable and stretchable clothing.
The Workshop.
The workshop will be conducted by our Resident Artistic Director, Christopher Jacobs (For a more detailed background on Christopher Jacobs, please visit http://www.klensemble.com/thePeople/chris.html). It is opened to actors who wish to explore Theatrical Biomechanics developed by the great Russian director and actor Vsevolod Meyerhold.
Participants will learn the basic tenets and concepts of Theatrical Biomechanics, physical development, object work, Biomechanical ètudes, and physical composition.
The workshop will involve physical training exercises, which, while developing an actor’s physical potentiality such as strength, agility, co-ordination, balance, flexibility and endurance, are designed to generate a conscious link between the mind and body.
The Meyerhold Approach.
For 37 years, Meyerhold worked tirelessly in the studio experimenting and developing an acting style that would bring together genuine emotion and sharp characterisation while embracing all modes of performance, including farce, pantomime, tragedy, melodrama and naturalism. The ability to perform each of these styles demanded that the actor have complete mastery of his or her body.
Meyerhold emphasised that an actor must formulate a physical relationship with the text the way a musician does with an instrument; one cannot separate the physicality of what one is seeing and what one is hearing. The actor must also acquire an internal mirror in which he or she can simultaneously be the creator of the material and the material itself. Drawing upon his influences--commedia dell'arte, Chinese and Japanese theatre, clowning and circus acrobatics--Meyerhold developed a style of training that exercised both the brain and the body simultaneously.
What is Biomechanics?
Biomechanics is not an all-in-one system of acting, but rather a rigourous training technique.
It is a means of refining the actor's:
1) balance and physical control,
2) rhythmic awareness, both temporal and physical and
3) responsiveness to one's partners, audience and external stimuli.
It is the application of music and rhythm to the text and movement on the stage. The actor must use physicality to fill the rhythms of any given moment. A mastery of Biomechanics will provide the actor with a heightened sense of kinaesthetic response while developing an expressive vocabulary that will better allow him or her to follow the commands of the director.
The Ètudes.
In addition to the Biomechanical exercises, Meyerhold developed 16 études: a limited and precise system that encompasses all the fundamental expressive situations an actor will encounter. The étude tells a simple story of action through a series of prescribed stylised movements in a certain sequence ranging in complexity from simple movements (balancing on one's toes) to more co-ordinated actions for individuals and pairs. Each movement is executed precisely, without any superfluous adjustments.
Training in the études develops a springiness, balance, and an understanding of how the smallest gesture of the hand has an effect of the entire body.
For registration or enquiries, please contact:
Nicole: 012-3211174 - nicole@klensemble.com
Kayli: 012-9763012. - kaylilum@klensemble.com
It got physically painful on the occasion, but it was probably some of the best times of my life. Over the 3 months BMX course in 2003 and the 2 years of workshops, rehearsals and stage productions, I discovered many things I didn't know I could do with my body.
More importantly, I learnt alot about myself. About focus. About trusting a group of people unconditionally with your physical and emotional state. About the Grotowski principles which preaches self-discipline and commitment of a stratospheric level (boy, was that a perpetual struggle).
It was much more than an acting class or workshop. We were taught that acting is not just about 'acting', which is what alot of actors do these days. A good actor is one who can hold that suspension of belief and draw you into the story (and not him or herself), as opposed to a self-indulgent actor who's like "Oh! Look at me! Look at ME! I'm acting! I'm an ACTOR! Adore me!"
Nobody in the ensemble currently thinks of him or herself as a good 'actor'. But being one is the ultimate goal. Like the cliche goes, it's the journey, not the destination, I suppose. It's alot of hard work, but the KL Ensemble does hope to be a theatre group to be reckoned with, in the near future.
To do that, the group needs to grow. It needs new blood and new talents. That's why they are now offering yet another Biomechanics course to introduce new members to physical theatre. People in the ensemble need to feed off each other all the time. And yes, it's as mentally challenging as it is physical. But the exhaustion you feel at the end of every session is exhilirating. And at the end of the course, you'll also feel like a better (if not fitter) person. If you do well and find that you've fallen in love with it (like I did), you could be invited to join the KL Ensemble and their future productions. Although productions so far had not been of the 'commercial' variety, they were interesting pieces of work nevertheless. Anyhoo, it's really a great deal of fun, and the people running it are a big part of that.
Curious about the stage?
Need something different to push yourself out of your comfort zone?
Give the Biomechanics Workshop a shot. It could change your life in little ways you'd never guess. It certainly did for many of us. All you need to know as follows:
Biomechanics Workshop with The KL Ensemble
www.klensemble.com
Date: 17 Sept – 19 Nov 2006, every Sunday (Total 10 sessions)
Time: 2.00pm – 6.00 pm
Venue: KL Ensemble Studio, 2-2 (2nd Floor), Jln 4/109E,Taman Desa Business Park, 58100 KL *A map will be emailed to you upon request
Fee:
Regular rate
1. Registration: RM20
2. Workshop: RM750 per person for 10 sessions, equivalent to RM75 per session
Special rate for students (with valid ID)
1. Registration: RM20
2. Workshop: RM500 per person for 10 sessions, equivalent to RM50 per session*Those who make full payment at the beginning of the workshop will enjoy an RM50 off on workshop fee (excluding registration).
No. of participants: Max. 20 (participants are accepted based on a first come first served basis)
Conditions:
1. All participants must be at least 16 years of age.
2. Attendance is imperative for all sessions.
3. Payment can be made either in full or in 2 installments. Alternative payment options can be discussed, but 1st installment fees must be paid at the start of the FIRST session.
4. Please bring along 1 passport photo.
5. Please come in comfortable and stretchable clothing.
The Workshop.
The workshop will be conducted by our Resident Artistic Director, Christopher Jacobs (For a more detailed background on Christopher Jacobs, please visit http://www.klensemble.com/thePeople/chris.html). It is opened to actors who wish to explore Theatrical Biomechanics developed by the great Russian director and actor Vsevolod Meyerhold.
Participants will learn the basic tenets and concepts of Theatrical Biomechanics, physical development, object work, Biomechanical ètudes, and physical composition.
The workshop will involve physical training exercises, which, while developing an actor’s physical potentiality such as strength, agility, co-ordination, balance, flexibility and endurance, are designed to generate a conscious link between the mind and body.
The Meyerhold Approach.
For 37 years, Meyerhold worked tirelessly in the studio experimenting and developing an acting style that would bring together genuine emotion and sharp characterisation while embracing all modes of performance, including farce, pantomime, tragedy, melodrama and naturalism. The ability to perform each of these styles demanded that the actor have complete mastery of his or her body.
Meyerhold emphasised that an actor must formulate a physical relationship with the text the way a musician does with an instrument; one cannot separate the physicality of what one is seeing and what one is hearing. The actor must also acquire an internal mirror in which he or she can simultaneously be the creator of the material and the material itself. Drawing upon his influences--commedia dell'arte, Chinese and Japanese theatre, clowning and circus acrobatics--Meyerhold developed a style of training that exercised both the brain and the body simultaneously.
What is Biomechanics?
Biomechanics is not an all-in-one system of acting, but rather a rigourous training technique.
It is a means of refining the actor's:
1) balance and physical control,
2) rhythmic awareness, both temporal and physical and
3) responsiveness to one's partners, audience and external stimuli.
It is the application of music and rhythm to the text and movement on the stage. The actor must use physicality to fill the rhythms of any given moment. A mastery of Biomechanics will provide the actor with a heightened sense of kinaesthetic response while developing an expressive vocabulary that will better allow him or her to follow the commands of the director.
The Ètudes.
In addition to the Biomechanical exercises, Meyerhold developed 16 études: a limited and precise system that encompasses all the fundamental expressive situations an actor will encounter. The étude tells a simple story of action through a series of prescribed stylised movements in a certain sequence ranging in complexity from simple movements (balancing on one's toes) to more co-ordinated actions for individuals and pairs. Each movement is executed precisely, without any superfluous adjustments.
Training in the études develops a springiness, balance, and an understanding of how the smallest gesture of the hand has an effect of the entire body.
For registration or enquiries, please contact:
Nicole: 012-3211174 - nicole@klensemble.com
Kayli: 012-9763012. - kaylilum@klensemble.com
Labels: the arts
says Wandernut on Wednesday, September 13, 2006
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