The primary intention of the workshops is for participants to develop or acquire personal resources to extend their confidence in public performance, reflect upon their underpinning values , and expand the parameters of performance art.

The workshops will draw extensively upon the elements of Action Theater which have a bearing upon performance art ( cf. Action Theater , The Improvisation of Presence. 1985; and www.actiontheater.com) . The workshops will also include vocal word play and experimentation.

We will connect with each other as a group with as much sensitivity , awareness and understanding as the Zoom process permits. Use will be made of break out rooms for paired and small group interactions, and there will be regular individual performance opportunities.

In the practice of Action Theater, performance scores provide clarity of form within which the artist can be totally spontaneous and also unconcerned about content.

In Action Theater exercises a participant may elicit embodied awareness , responsiveness to collaborators , personal intuitions, memories and feelings; (and in public performance, responsiveness to the audience, location and objects within it.)

In addition to engaging in exercises and scores entailing speech , vocal sounds and, essentially - movement , principles and concepts underpinning Action Theater will be introduced which are relevant to the practice of Performance Art in other contexts.

Vocalisation will be another significant element of the workshop. Another arrow in the quiver of the performance artist. “We whistle while we work”, sang the seven dwarfs to Snow White. I tend to accompany my performative actions with voice. Not coming from a visual art background I often don’t have confidence in the effectiveness of a sustained visual image on its own. With vocalisation I have that confidence. In my practice the image is a vehicle for the vocal.

On the other hand some artists don’t feel that confidence. This workshop will give opportunities to experiment; including , for example, with gibberish: an uninhibited flow of verbal sounds - with or without meaning; either devoid of feeling , or a distinct expression of it ; a form of communication and a form of reflection.

The voice work also relates to broader issues of performance which we may discuss ; such as relationship with the spectator and the artist’s need for authentic experiencing.

Participants will be asked to bring a notebook, drawing pad and drawing materials.