Finding Voice, Taking Action:
October 2013 Workshops
Monday Nights — Oct 14 • Oct 21 • Oct 28 — 7-9pm
Tuition is sliding-scale • October 14th is free
Pre-register for one, two or all three workshops via "tophilly@gmail.com" or 215-730-0982
Workshop descriptions and facilitator bios below:
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Uprooting the Roots of Theatre of the Oppressed
A FREE workshop with Morgan Andrews
Monday October 14th • 7-9pm
"We must all do theatre – to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become." —Augusto Boal
Theatre of the Oppressed is a system of drama-based techniques built upon the foundation of images, sounds, and words. In this fundamental workshop, we will play theatrical games and delve into exercises that break apart these building blocks and put them back together in new ways. This session is ideal for anyone new to Theatre of the Oppressed, as well as those who want to deepen their understanding of it. We will also highlight the power of voice and language as an introduction to the work covered in the following weeks' sessions.
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Freedom of Voice: Building Better Speaking Skills
A workshop with Mason Rosenthal
co-facilitated by Morgan Andrews
Monday October 21st • 7-9pm
Suggested tuition: $5–$15
“Using the voice is a physical act, one that first announces the existence of the body of residence and then trumpets its arrival in a public space.” —Elizabeth Alexander
Come create strength, flexibility and greater resonance in your voice. By building up the connection between breath and body, we will tap into our own natural resonators and un-trap our voices to speak with greater timbre and color. We will also embody and vocalize our emotional selves to say things with fuller expression, confidence and authenticity. Whether you want to use these skills for communicating with groups, or as part of your craft, or even in casual conversation, this session will hand you some tools to speak without strain and hone your own innate instrument of voice.
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Making Music Into Tools for Liberation
Facilitated by Julie Lipson
Monday October 28th • 7-9pm
Suggested tuition: $5–$15
"I use music as a medium to talk to people."—Sun Ra
So much of our energy is spent on words. We rely on words to express our needs and to understand ourselves and others. In this workshop, we will leave words behind and focus on the unique soundtrack that consists of our own sounds and rhythms. We will use music as a language to explore our connections with others, and experience a playfulness and authenticity that may be hidden under the small talk of daily life. Whether you're scared of using your voice, or you're an opera singer, this workshop is for you!————————————————————————————
About the Facilitators:
Morgan Andrews has been making art and theatre in Philadelphia since 1998. He helped start Philly's Puppet Uprising in 2000 and organized protests as parades and pageants with an international network of activists around the globe. Morgan discovered and trained in Theatre of the Oppressed in Brazil, New York and India, and then founded T.O. Philly in 2008 as way to make this work accessible and affordable in his home city. He also teaches yoga and theatre around town, and creates plays with the Medium Theatre Company.
Mason Rosenthal is an actor, creator, dancer, director, and teacher from Skokie, Illinois. He holds a BFA in drama from NYU where he studied embodied voice with Katie Bull and community-based performance with Jan Cohen-Cruz. In 2007 Mason joined the faculty at NYU's Atlantic Theater Company Acting School before moving to Philadelphia to work for The Headlong Performance Institute. Mason has since collaborated with many Philly artists—see his websitefor the ever-growing list!
Julie Lipson is a songwriter and music therapist with a flair for orchestrating participatory concerts for musicians and non-musicians alike. In 2009 she co-founded Camp Aranu'tiq, a bi-coastal summer camp for transgender and gender-variant youth. She also organizes call-and-response Jewish chanting events in spaces all over Philadelphia. Julie holds an MA from Drexel University's Creative Arts Therapies Program and began working with T.O. Philly in 2011. Her craft is a vibrant and playful mixture of all of the above.
All workshops are at The Rotunda. Pre-register for any or all of these workshops by emailing "tophilly@gmail.com" or call 215-730-0982. Work-trade is available.