What's new?
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!
Meyerhold's Biomechanics Workshop Part I & new Part II
As Opera & Musical Theatre Training
by Dr. Ralf Rauker
@ Goodman Arts Centre
Part I Sat November 10th (11:00-5:00)
Part II Sun November 11th (11:00-5:00)
Meyerhold's Biomechanics Workshop Part I & new Part II
As Opera & Musical Theatre Training
by Dr. Ralf Rauker
@ Goodman Arts Centre
Part I Sat November 10th (11:00-5:00)
Part II Sun November 11th (11:00-5:00)
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Back by popular demand from last year!
Both Days $240 $200
Individual Day $120 $100
Last year's participants will be able skip Part I and join Dr. Rauker on Sunday for Part II.
- Part I on Saturday will be cover basic foundation of biomechanics.
- Part II on Sunday will be a new adventure into application of biomechanics; physicalizing intentions, scene work and more.
Both Days $240 $200
Individual Day $120 $100
Last year's participants will be able skip Part I and join Dr. Rauker on Sunday for Part II.
About the workshop:
No Singer-Performer will ever enter a stage without her/his physical body!
Of course nobody can deny this statement. So why mention it? Simply because the musical theatre and opera world has not fully incorporated this important fact of theatre physics! There are indeed two different standards ruling the training for singers. Following the demands of some outstanding contemporary directors and composers, the integral connection of voice and body/movement has entered the curriculum of opera and musical theatre studies around the world. But there is still that huge gap between the realization of what would be necessary to revolutionize the art form and the actual practical changes in the arts education. The more conservative music world wants to keep things the way they have been for a long time. Which means: Singing always comes
first!
“What a great voice!” They might say after a performance, when they praise their favourite performer of the evening. But how would that voice come to their attention, if there hadn’t been a trained Voice-Body on stage. If one accepts the unity of the Voice-Body, there is only a little step to realise that singers need to be trained how to sing and move on stage, and sometimes this two
things might happen at the same time! So this means that the Moving-Voice-Body is that new found unity and it needs to be trained in order to develop the full potential of a singer.
Finally it becomes clear that the Singer as the Moving-Voice-Body unity, is a kind of singing-super-actor, who brings together all elements of the Performing Arts: A complex human character driven by musical impulses (that the audience can hear and feel) takes action in space and connects with other complex human characters driven by musical impulses. They interact physically & musically in space and create a Gesamtkunstwerk.
Now, who would think that this rich complexity could be reached with singing lessons only? So the training that is needed will be complex and therefore it deserves a solid foundation. The Workshop: Meyerhold’s Biomechanics as Music Theatre Training will help
you to build this solid foundation.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for all those who want to know more about Biomechanics and how to apply this psycho-physical actors training to their own work on stage.
What is this workshop about?
Meyerhold’s Biomechanics – a psycho-physical actors training: This workshop initially clarifies the particular background and the specific terminology of Meyerhold’s psycho-physical actors training and gives a practical as well as a theoretical understanding of how he communicated with his actors on stage. This workshop will also introduce to the basic principles of Meyerhold’s Biomechanics: For example the principle of totality: If you move the tip of your nose, the whole body will move. Moving the most insignificant part of your body involves the movement of the whole body.
Terminology in Biomechanics
To understand the complexity of our body movements, we have to analyse them and
look at every segment: E.G. Preparation – Execution – Fixation.
Otkas = preparation (also rejection)
Posyl = execution
Stoika = fixation
Two more specific terms in Biomechanics will be introduced:
Tormos = break – the ability to control your movements during the
Posyl/execution in order to achieve a precise Stoika/fixation
Rakurs = an expression borrowed from film language will be explained during
the workshop.
The specific aim of the workshop is to make Biomechanics available for singers so that they develop a conscious way of moving on stage.
About Dr. Ralf Rauker
Dr. Ralf Rauker is an internationally renowned specialist on “Meyerhold’s Biomechanics”, with 30 years of research & teaching experience in this field. He studied acting in Berlin (1981-’85), worked with Jerzy Grotowski in Italy 1985 and in France 1987, took part in the „International School of Theatre Anthropology“ (ISTA 86, 95, 96) and the „Actors Laboratory“ 1988 at the Odin
Teatret, directed by Eugenio Barba. Ralf received a two years postgraduate scholarship to research Meyerhold's Biomechanics (1988 – ’90) at the University of Arts Berlin.
He worked from 1991-96 in close collaboration with Gennadi Bogdanov from Moscow on a long-term research project, teaching and documenting Biomechanics at the Mime Centre Berlin. In the nineteen seventies Bogdanov was trained by Nikolai Kustov, who was an actor and instructor for Biomechanics at the Meyerhold Theatre in Moscow, from 1928 until the theatre was closed in 1938. 1995 Ralf started his career as a theatre maker/director and has directed/devised more than 20 theatre/performance projects since then.
2003 - moved to Perth in Western Australia to work as a full time lecturer
(later also course-coordinator), first in “Theatre Arts” at WAAPA and later in “Contemporary Performance” at the School of Communications and Art, Edith Cowan University.
2005 - enrolled in a PhD in Performing Arts at WAAPA and successfully graduated in 2011.
2013 - started his international teaching program Workshops on the Move.
2015 - 2016 - Senior Guest Lecturer in Drama at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.
He is currently working as a freelance coach/writer in theatre/performance
and film in Australia, Singapore, India and Germany/Europe.
No Singer-Performer will ever enter a stage without her/his physical body!
Of course nobody can deny this statement. So why mention it? Simply because the musical theatre and opera world has not fully incorporated this important fact of theatre physics! There are indeed two different standards ruling the training for singers. Following the demands of some outstanding contemporary directors and composers, the integral connection of voice and body/movement has entered the curriculum of opera and musical theatre studies around the world. But there is still that huge gap between the realization of what would be necessary to revolutionize the art form and the actual practical changes in the arts education. The more conservative music world wants to keep things the way they have been for a long time. Which means: Singing always comes
first!
“What a great voice!” They might say after a performance, when they praise their favourite performer of the evening. But how would that voice come to their attention, if there hadn’t been a trained Voice-Body on stage. If one accepts the unity of the Voice-Body, there is only a little step to realise that singers need to be trained how to sing and move on stage, and sometimes this two
things might happen at the same time! So this means that the Moving-Voice-Body is that new found unity and it needs to be trained in order to develop the full potential of a singer.
Finally it becomes clear that the Singer as the Moving-Voice-Body unity, is a kind of singing-super-actor, who brings together all elements of the Performing Arts: A complex human character driven by musical impulses (that the audience can hear and feel) takes action in space and connects with other complex human characters driven by musical impulses. They interact physically & musically in space and create a Gesamtkunstwerk.
Now, who would think that this rich complexity could be reached with singing lessons only? So the training that is needed will be complex and therefore it deserves a solid foundation. The Workshop: Meyerhold’s Biomechanics as Music Theatre Training will help
you to build this solid foundation.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for all those who want to know more about Biomechanics and how to apply this psycho-physical actors training to their own work on stage.
What is this workshop about?
Meyerhold’s Biomechanics – a psycho-physical actors training: This workshop initially clarifies the particular background and the specific terminology of Meyerhold’s psycho-physical actors training and gives a practical as well as a theoretical understanding of how he communicated with his actors on stage. This workshop will also introduce to the basic principles of Meyerhold’s Biomechanics: For example the principle of totality: If you move the tip of your nose, the whole body will move. Moving the most insignificant part of your body involves the movement of the whole body.
Terminology in Biomechanics
To understand the complexity of our body movements, we have to analyse them and
look at every segment: E.G. Preparation – Execution – Fixation.
Otkas = preparation (also rejection)
Posyl = execution
Stoika = fixation
Two more specific terms in Biomechanics will be introduced:
Tormos = break – the ability to control your movements during the
Posyl/execution in order to achieve a precise Stoika/fixation
Rakurs = an expression borrowed from film language will be explained during
the workshop.
The specific aim of the workshop is to make Biomechanics available for singers so that they develop a conscious way of moving on stage.
About Dr. Ralf Rauker
Dr. Ralf Rauker is an internationally renowned specialist on “Meyerhold’s Biomechanics”, with 30 years of research & teaching experience in this field. He studied acting in Berlin (1981-’85), worked with Jerzy Grotowski in Italy 1985 and in France 1987, took part in the „International School of Theatre Anthropology“ (ISTA 86, 95, 96) and the „Actors Laboratory“ 1988 at the Odin
Teatret, directed by Eugenio Barba. Ralf received a two years postgraduate scholarship to research Meyerhold's Biomechanics (1988 – ’90) at the University of Arts Berlin.
He worked from 1991-96 in close collaboration with Gennadi Bogdanov from Moscow on a long-term research project, teaching and documenting Biomechanics at the Mime Centre Berlin. In the nineteen seventies Bogdanov was trained by Nikolai Kustov, who was an actor and instructor for Biomechanics at the Meyerhold Theatre in Moscow, from 1928 until the theatre was closed in 1938. 1995 Ralf started his career as a theatre maker/director and has directed/devised more than 20 theatre/performance projects since then.
2003 - moved to Perth in Western Australia to work as a full time lecturer
(later also course-coordinator), first in “Theatre Arts” at WAAPA and later in “Contemporary Performance” at the School of Communications and Art, Edith Cowan University.
2005 - enrolled in a PhD in Performing Arts at WAAPA and successfully graduated in 2011.
2013 - started his international teaching program Workshops on the Move.
2015 - 2016 - Senior Guest Lecturer in Drama at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.
He is currently working as a freelance coach/writer in theatre/performance
and film in Australia, Singapore, India and Germany/Europe.
Thank you for Supporting A Singapore Trilogy!
Thank you for witnessing A Singapore Trilogy!
Here is what you said about the show:
"Two decades ago, Singaporean opera seemed a distant dream. Today, it has become par for the course. With this excellent trilogy, Chen should no longer be referred to as a composer of promise, but one of stature." -Straits Times
Realising the dream of Singaporean opera (Published Oct 15, 2018)
"Thank you L'arietta for an exhilarating emotional ride on the opening night of Singapore Trilogy. Stellar performance by a stellar cast - electrifying vocal display combined with deeply moving acting, gorgeous sets and effective lighting transported us through time while exploring the various stages of life. This production showcased local talents and makes us proud to be Singaporean! Bravo!"
-Benedict Goh
"L'arietta Productions' A Singapore Trilogy is an amazing production, and I am very excited to see local operas being commissioned. Singaporean composer Dr Chen Zhangyi has developed a unique musical language quite unlike anything else, one that simply draws you into another realm, letting you look at these seemingly "everyday slices of life" with a new pair of eyes...The future of opera in Singapore, as well as Singapore opera, is bright with L'arietta Productions, and I look forward to even more productions that touch us."
-Sulwyn Lok
Here is what you said about the show:
"Two decades ago, Singaporean opera seemed a distant dream. Today, it has become par for the course. With this excellent trilogy, Chen should no longer be referred to as a composer of promise, but one of stature." -Straits Times
Realising the dream of Singaporean opera (Published Oct 15, 2018)
"Thank you L'arietta for an exhilarating emotional ride on the opening night of Singapore Trilogy. Stellar performance by a stellar cast - electrifying vocal display combined with deeply moving acting, gorgeous sets and effective lighting transported us through time while exploring the various stages of life. This production showcased local talents and makes us proud to be Singaporean! Bravo!"
-Benedict Goh
"L'arietta Productions' A Singapore Trilogy is an amazing production, and I am very excited to see local operas being commissioned. Singaporean composer Dr Chen Zhangyi has developed a unique musical language quite unlike anything else, one that simply draws you into another realm, letting you look at these seemingly "everyday slices of life" with a new pair of eyes...The future of opera in Singapore, as well as Singapore opera, is bright with L'arietta Productions, and I look forward to even more productions that touch us."
-Sulwyn Lok