Improvisation: Playing the Edge

with Shawn Kinley
June 25 - 30, 2012

Shed light on your creative boundaries, play on the edge, and move beyond. This 5-day immersion will help you:

Risk - We're looking for the edge where you are learning something new about what you do and who you are. If we are not living near the edge and pushing the boundaries, we become trapped by success or safety. Only when you are willing to fail by risking your safety, you will find inspiration. Failure is more than an option. It is a necessity to growth. We'll look at the great state of failure and how it can actually inspire you to better work. Did you know that microwave ovens, velcro and post it notes were all creations born from initial failures? Imagine what you could do if you accepted mistakes as growth instead of limitations!

Gain Awareness - Imagine saying YES to risk and adventure in work and in life a little more than you normally do. We will look at the tendencies in your work and see if you are getting in your own way. While defensive behaviors evolve to protect us from danger, they can limit our success as well. Fortunately, they are easy to see and CAN BE fun to play with. When you control the defense mechanisms, you are more connected to relationships on stage and to your performance.

Tell Stories - Learn simple tactics to open your stories up. We'll explore new techniques of advancing, directing, setting the story up so that it can tell itself. Unlike the limited idea of televised improvisation or comedy club improv, narrative improvisation based on the work of Keith Johnstone, enables anyone to find the stories in the moment without pressure, without fear, without a safety net.

Move and Be Moved - We will use some skills from contact improvisation to develop the performer's awareness and sensitivity while at the same time creating an experience that can move and alter the audience.

Broaden Your Range - Where most people play with improvisation as a tool for comedy, we'll explore how you can broaden your potential as a performer to include a full range of improvisation.

Play with Spirit - We will divide our focus between Technique and the "Spirit" of the work. A balance of attitude and intellect will push you to an exhilarating edge with the promise of a parachute should you step too far.

This workshop is for performers of all experience levels.

Shawn Kinley has been performing and teaching for more than 30 years on five continents. A member of Loose Moose for over 25 years, Shawn has been leading workshops in improvisation, contact improvisation, mask work, mime, and other forms of theatre. His students have included professional actors, athletes, university students, corporate managers, the military and children. His performances have occurred in opera houses in Helsinki, in Taiwanese chicken markets (where he narrowly averted the biggest typhoon in Taiwan’s history), in coastal festivals of Canada, and in Californian cafes. Outside of the Loose Moose, he has worked in television, film, and circus as well as visual arts and writing. read more Shawn's website: www.shawnkinley.com

TUITION: $475*

* Register by May 1st and receive a $50 discount. A 10% discount is also available to individuals registering for more than one workshop or for group registrations from the same immediate family or performing ensemble. See the registration form for details.

REGISTER!

Arrival: between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Monday
Departure: before 10 a.m. on Sunday

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