ACT (Actor Chorus Text) : International Workshop Residency led by Anna- Helena McLean

Actor – Chorus – Text (ACT) led by Anna – Helena McLean

Immerse yourself in a transformational physical theatre and music workshop, in residence with an international company at the serenely wooded sanctuary near Bangalore, India. A once in a lifetime opportunity for your mind, body & soul to gain new experiences and deepen personal practice led by a master teacher and practitioner.

Here are some memories from the residency in 2016

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Pre Residency blurb

Welcome to this unique physical theatre workshop residency open to international and national applicants alike, and taking place at the rurally set location of Infinite Souls Artistic Retreat. The 7 days intensive workshop will be led by international physical theatre, voice and community practitioner Anna-Helena McLean, formerly lead actress at Poland’s Gardzienice Centre for Theatre Practice and now the Artistic Director and Creative Founder of Moon Fool LTD, a host organisation for international theatre and music exchange.

This week-long residency at Infinite Souls Artistic Retreat involves core Actor – Chorus – Text training as well as application to performance based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, drawing on the company’s latest work toward their next production STORM. Applicants will be cast with texts and the week will engage in devising and mounting scenes toward a sharing to close the exchange.

The sprawling landscape of Infinite Souls lends itself to an intense and immersive total experience, being an organic farm in the cradle of a forest village, surrounded by hills and blessed with pleasant weather (temp: 20°C – 25°C), while also equipped with all the modern amenities for a comfortable stay.

Watch the Moon Fool’s ACT Ensemble Practice and Workshops video.

Basic Details

Dates

Arrive : 19th November (by evening)
Depart : 27th November (by morning)

Venue

Nearest Airport : Bangalore, India
Nearest Railway Station : Bangalore, India
Distance from Bangalore to Residency : 40 kms ( 30 -45 mins)

Application

For more information :

Email : admin@moonfool.com or sudiptadawn@hotmail.com
Phone : +91 8697919308 | +91 8336939308 | +44 828752946

Final Deadline : All applications by 25th October for casting

Facilities

The residency offers fully modern amenities, including hot shower, Indian and European cuisine made from fresh farm picked produce.

About ACT (Actor Chorus Text ) 2016

Participants will live together as a community at the charming and blissful Infinite Souls Artists Retreat, amidst the hills and forests some hour outside Bangalore, while learning new techniques for self expression and drawing on original repertoire sourced through extensive practical research on Classical Plays and Devising. The rhythm of the work will celebrate the rural surroundings and allow time for walking, talking, relaxation, dreaming as well as physical and musical exploration of cast scenes.

About Infinite Souls

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Infinite Souls is a place of repose. The shared dream of Konarak Reddy, Kirtana Kumar and Kaeya Zui. Nestled in the shadow of the beautiful monolith Savandurga, it is 40km from the centre of Bangalore, in Vardenahalli village. The cottages, rehearsal spaces, outdoor kitchen, woodfire oven and dining area were built by young masons from a labour collective using stabilized mud block, local granite and recycled wood. It was inaugurated in 2007 with an International Theatre Residency by Ay Ombe Theatre, New York.

About Anna Helena McLean:

On graduating in Music & Drama from Royal Holloway,Anna-Helena became a principal member of leading experimental physical theatre company Gardzienice in Poland for 7 years. She is the Creative Founder and Artistic Director of Moon Fool, Actor – Chorus – Text (ACT) and ACTYouth she leads international music and theatre exchange work worldwide. She has been a guest director and trainer for BA and MA actors at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland annually since 2004, as well as working in association with the NSD in Delhi, and drama schools and universities throughout the UK, Europe and beyond. Her next major work will be STORM, seen to date as work in progress in Chicago 2015 supported by The MacArthur Foundation and due to premiere at London’s The Vaults in June 2017.

For more visit www.moonfool.com

Feedback from ACT International Workshop Residency 2015

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“The site specific alongside the singing and choreographed movements made Shakespeare very digestible”.

“ACT truly aims for living up to the expectations of creating a heightened reality on stage. No drama or production or a story telling medium should overlook such a process even if it is filtered or edited in later stages of productions to nuanced levels. I would suggest every actor to experience this training, especially in India”

“… it has had a profound affect on me both EMOTIONALLY and PHYSICALLY like never before. A life changing experience… The atmosphere never ever put me in a vulnerable position so it felt like I had been doing this for a long time”.

“This workshop has changed the way I look at things. It has taught me to be more open, more expressive and always be full of energy. I came out a completely different person than the one who initially walked-in”.

“There were some very special moments when everything fell into place. I experienced a kind of fullness whilst acting, using my body, using the space, saying my lines and meaning them, listening to my fellow actor, and listening to the music at the same time. It’s given me an insight into composition and arrangement that I’d been seeking for a long time, but never quite managed to find. ACT seamlessly connects the training, text and performance without being abstract. Everything about the workshop was practical, although in hindsight one can be certain of the theoretical backing”.

“The workshop helped me be more in sync with my instincts and just trust it no matter what. The workshop helped me push my limits. The workshop exceeded my expectations. It actually gave me more than what I was looking for”.

Other Resources

Interview with Anna by Theatre Mix