Odyssey Project

Description

The Course

Led by Richard Spaul – actor, director and founder member of Cambridge Experimental Theatre and in situ: – the course will explore texts from different periods of Ibsen’s artistic life, working on many aspects of stagecraft and acting technique.

In Odyssey Project we will be using a wide-range of theatrical techniques to explore this diverse and exciting ancient text. These will include:

• Voice Work
• Choreographic Theatre
• Storytelling Skills
• Improvisation
• Text Work
• Devising
• Writing for Performance

Classes typically begin with games and warm-ups, moving on to focus on a new technique or approach or develop an established one, and culminating in a group-created performance. The atmosphere is inclusive and friendly, the work challenging and stimulating and the teaching skilled and experienced.

Participants sign up for a term at a time, but Odyssey Project is a three-term project
culminating in a series of public performances in summer 2022. Participants can do one
term, two terms or all three terms as they wish.

Classes take place in St. Andrews Hall, a large space which is fully Covid-secure.

The course is open to all and beginners are welcome. The work is ambitious and we will be pushing a few boundaries, so while it’s demanding, it’s also great fun, with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

The course will appeal to actors and artists with an interest in acting technique, how to work with a text, experimental theatre and, particularly, site-specific work and effective techniques for devised theatre.

We hope you can join us for this enjoyable and stimulating course.

Your teacher, Richard Spaul, is a founder member of in situ: and one of the company’s artistic directors. He was also Artistic Director and founder of the pioneering experimental group – Cambridge Experimental Theatre, active in the 80s and 90s. He has trained in vocal technique with Noah Pikes, Enrique Pardo and other members of the Roy Hart Theatre; In addition to teaching Voice, he also teaches Text, Shakespeare, Storytelling and Improvisation. Recent work includes a solo performance of Hamlet and a series of solo performances, including the popular Ghost Stories, focussing on Artists of the Uncanny.