2-DAY WORKSHOP
EMBODYING SHAKESPEARE
"A WEEKEND IN BEDLAM"
January 13 & 14
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Saturday and Sunday
MTC STUDIOS
Instructors: Eric Tucker, Susannah Millonzi and Gigi Buffington
Bedlam Theater Company’s commitment to the immediacy of the relationship between the actor and the audience, and the creation of works of theatre that reinvigorate traditional forms, has led to their own unique brand of storytelling. Come join Eric Tucker, the Artistic Director and creative mind behind Bedlam, in a group exploration of various scenes from Shakespeare’s canon. Experience Red Bull and Bedlam’s shared enthusiasm for imaginative performances of the classics in this unique intensive. Whether you are a young professional, an old hat, or simply an enthusiast this is the workshop for you.
Essential Question:
How do actors use a creative approach to the text to create a unique interpretation of a classic play that is actor-oriented, imaginative, and accessible to the audience, while always remaining faithful to the original intent and text of the play?
Course Objectives:
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Increase the flexibility of your physical and vocal instrument
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Explore and expand your imaginative boundaries as a theater artist
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Develop a greater awareness of your body and voice
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Explore exercises for delivering language from Shakespeare’s great plays with imagination and depth
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Explore how an actor utilizes verse, text, and rhetoric to create complex characters
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Learn how to work with and respond honestly to your scene partners in a way that unlocks your own potential as a performer
Enduring Understandings:
Your imagination is a tool to be used. Like any tool, it requires training to hone and use it effectively. Often necessity can indeed be the mother of invention and act as a jumping off point to new, creative ideas. Bedlam is a prime example of this. A deep understanding of Shakespeare’s verse, his use of rhythms and rhetoric is also essential to delving the hidden depths of his works.
INSTRUCTORS
Eric Tucker: Wall Street Journal DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 2014. Off Broadway: Vanity Fair (The Pearl); Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility (Off Broadway Alliance Award, Lortel nom., Best Director, Drama League nom, Best Revival); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Drama League nom. Best Revival, WSJ Best Classical Production 2015; NY Times Critics’ Pick), Bedlam’s Saint Joan (NY Times/Time Magazine Top 10; Off Broadway Alliance Best Revival 2014), Bedlam’s Hamlet (NY Times Top 10; Time Out NY/Backstage Critics’ Pick), Tina Packer‘s Women of Will. For Bedlam: Hamlet/Saint Joan: McCarter Theatre; Central Sq. Theater (Elliott Norton: Outstanding Visiting Production/Outstanding Ensemble, Boston Globe Top Ten); Dead Dog Park, New York Animals (World Premiere by Steven Sater/Burt Bacharach), Twelfth Night and What You Will (NY Times Critics’ Picks), The Seagull (WSJ Best Classical Production 2014), Sense & Sensibility (NY Times Top 10, NY Times/WSJ/Time Out Critics’ Picks). Other: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Two River), Disney’s Beauty & The Beast (OSF); Pericles (APT); Sense & Sensibility (The Folger Theater, 8 Helen Hayes nominations including Best Director and Best Production), Copenhagen (Central Square Theater), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (HVSF), Mate (The Actors’ Gang). Eric received his M.F.A. from the Trinity Rep Conservatory. He resides in New York City where he is Artistic Director of Bedlam.
Ana Cristina (Gigi) Buffington: Steppenwolf Theatre Company Vocal Coach: The Minutes, BLKS, The Rembrandt, Hir, Pass Over, Linda Vista, The Christians, Visiting Edna, Mary Page Marlowe, East of Eden; Coriolanus, Red Bull; King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Workshops), Bedlam; The Tempest, LaMaMa; The Merchant Of Venice (500 year commemoration of the Jewish Ghetto, Venice & Montclaire State); Elizabeth R: texts & beheadings, BAM and The Folger Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet (with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart), Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Royal Shakespeare Company; The Merchant Of Venice, The Taming Of The Shrew, RSC Newcastle tour; The Maids (Director), Pericles (Eric Tucker,
Director) Othello, An Iliad, The Seagull, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Richard III, Antony and Cleopatra and The Merry Wives Of Windsor, American Players Theater. Associate Arts Professor, Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. AEA, SAG/AFTRA, VASTA. www.gigibuffington.com
Susannah Millonzi is a NYC based actor, dancer, choreographer and the Development Director for Bedlam. NEW YORK: Bedlam: New York Animals (WSJ Performance of the Year 2015), Dead Dog Park, Twelfth Night, What You Will; Classic Stage Co.: Prometheus Bound (with David Oyelowo); Clubbed Thumb: Pageant; REGIONAL: Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Arabian Nights, The Winter’s Tale, HVSF Choreographer: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth; Shakespeare & Co.: Romeo and Juliet, King John, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors; Seattle Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, Electra (Footlight Award: Best Actor); Georgia Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, All’s Well That Ends Well(also choreographer); Orlando Shakespeare: As You Like It; Elm Shakespeare: The Three Musketeers; Boston Theatre Works: The Tempest; Milwaukee Repertory Theater: So Thrive My Soul (choreographer); Esperance Theater Co.: Youth and Ambition (choreographer), B.A. Barnard College.
Schedule:
Saturday
12:00 - 1:00: Movement work with Susannah Millonzi
1:00 - 2:00: Voice with Gigi Buffington
2:00 - 3:00: Meal Break
3:00 - 6:00: Bedlam! with Eric Tucker
Sunday
12:00 - 1:00: Movement work with Susannah Millonzi
1:00 - 2:00: Voice with Gigi Buffington
2:00 - 3:00: Meal Break
3:00 - 6:00: Bedlam! with Eric Tucker
Preparation:
The scenes will be assigned a week before the class. Prepare as best you are able. Memorization is encouraged but not required.
Materials:
A hard copy of the Scene packet. A journal is recommended to record notes and observations. Comfortable clothing that you can move and breathe freely in and a water bottle are strongly encouraged.
Contact Nathan Winkelstein with any questions.