9-D: the nine dimensions of devising original theater

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This workshop will immerse participants in a generative creative process in which they will learn to interweave the 9-Dimensions of Devising into compelling performance material. Each module is designed to build upon the previous, such that material generated on Day 1 may inform material generated on Day 3. The first three days will provide participants with a solid foundation in each of the 9-Dimensions. The fourth day will be dedicated to synthesizing the various techniques covered and harvesting the raw material into original vignettes, allowing participants to customize and personalize these tools in service of their artistic visions. Participants will have the opportunity to work individually and collectively.

The exact structure and curriculum will be tailored to the unique skills and interests of the participants to ensure that each artist gets the most out of the experience.

Drawing from a range of modalities inspired by renowned theater companies such as Knee High, SITI, Frantic Assembly, Punchdrunk, Teatro San Martin, the TEAM, Bad Unkl Sista, SACRA Theater, and others, this workshop will provide artists with a comprehensive toolbox of devising techniques that will greatly enhance their creative processes, regardless of their chosen discipline. Not only theater artists but also designers, writers, choreographers, painters, architects, and event producers will all benefit greatly from this powerful workshop. The curriculum will include excerpts from writers and philosophers working in non-theatrical disciplines.

Workshop Outline (subject to change):

Day 1: Physical Theater, Tableaux, Maskwork, Ensemble Work

Day 2: Writing, Improvisation, Sound

Day 3: Site-Specific Performance, Experience Design

Day 4: Synthesis & Development of Original Work

Additional topics to be covered:

- A synaesthetic approach to creation: how to apply cadence and rhythm to imagery, composition and color to sound, language and pitch to movement, etc.

- The psychology and ontology of the creative process

- The poetics of space

- Biomimicry - drawing inspiration from nature and the environment

- Movement as architecture

- Archetype in performance

- Ritual theater

- Masks as portals: psychospiritual transformation

- The erotic basis of creativity

About the facilitator: Lian Walden is an immersive theater director and experience designer from New York. Lian ran a theater company in Argentina for several years, where she also trained with renowned maskmaker and puppeteer Katy Raggi of Teatro San Martin. She was later a Drama League Directing Fellow and a creative consultant for the producers of Sleep No More. Drawing from a range of artistic modalities, Lian was the project coordinator at the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Ghana, and a gallery guide at the Yale University Art Gallery, where she specialized in West African Masks. Lian has worked at Berkeley Rep, A.C.T., Yale Repertory, Z Space, the Hangar Theater and Rutgers University. She studied Directing at Yale University and immersive design at CalArts.

* Financial aid available to those in need!*