Workshop With Intent.

On a recent week off from the circus I gave a four day workshop entitled
The Actor, The Clown and The Mask
under the auspices of the California Shakespeare Theatre and my Fox Foundation Fellowship.

As the Giants won the World Series on the other side of the Bay Bridge a group of extraordinary and dedicated actors (and some of my favorite people) subjected themselves to ten hours of my brand of lunacy and theatrical investigation in what is easily one of the most documented workshops in the history of theatre.*

Tools, waiting to be used.

In accordance with the Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement this was to be a sharing of my findings from the various trainings in Mask and physical theatre that I have received over the past two years in Greece, Japan, Scotland, Canada and the United States. It turned out to be so much more. Once again I was reminded that the best way to learn something is to try to teach it.

I like to have a "workshop with intent" so there was a public showing at the end.
(and a considerable amount of drinking at Berkeley's famed Albatross Pub afterwards.)
This allowed the participants to use the tools they had gathered in front of an audience and see how they held up on "The Killing Floor".

There were some spectacular and informative failures, some moments of transcendent beauty and lotsa laughs.

Nancy Gold under the Cycladean

Jeffrey and Jordan on The Killing Floor.



Lol Levy psychically scarring people for life.




Neutral masks now available at your local supermarket.




Putting the Imp in implacable.

Below is a portion of the final presentation utilizing some Shakespeare and entirely improvised by this talented and plucky group of imps.

Here also is a slide show of some of the work in progress:

The legendary and delightful Nancy Carlin, my fellow Associate Artist at Cal Shakes even blogged about it.

Nancy Carlin playing a politician with a bladder problem.

When I wasn't teaching I got the Vallhalla transported from Neptune Marina in Marina Del Rey back up to my old slip in Fortman Marina next to the Alameda Yacht Club.

Not a bad way to spend a week off from the circus.

"I love you guys this much."

*Special thanks to photographer Jay Yamada and to Ayda Meisami for the video.