TRAINING SCHEDULE
Here are the different possibilities to train at the White Church Theatre Project and Theatre de l’Ange Fou Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum
Please see our Online Training page for current online options.
How to enroll:
Please print and fill in the application form for the White Church Theatre Project, and send it to us with your deposit.
ONGOING FULL TIME RESIDENCY TRAINING PROGRAM:
October to December, and end of March to end of September
Schedule: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 2pm, personal practice in The White Church Theatre space: 2pm to 3pm
This Ongoing Full Time residency Training Program is designed for the professional and pre-professional actors, dancers, mimes and performers wishing to give a physical reality to their own ideas. Corporeal Mime, created by Etienne Decroux, is an innovative method and precise technique focussing on the body and physical action in the theatre.
The curriculum includes Technique and Repertoire of Corporeal Mime, Improvisation and Composition, History and Theory of Corporal Mime, Archives viewing. Discussions about the work of Etienne Decroux and the work of Theatre de l’Ange Fou are included in the program. The creative process in Corporeal Mime is called by Etienne Decroux, “La Métaphore à l’envers” (The Reverse Metaphore) and is about trusting the action to progressively devise a play. This process lives space for imagination and intuition. Participants of the residency program will through this process explore the notion of contemporary poetic mime dramaturgy. the work of the participants will be presented in front of an invited audience at The White Church Theatre Project.
You can book a time of your choice for this residency program, and train with us for the length of time you would be available to: from one week to one month to several months, or even longer. We welcome one to one sessions, small groups or larger ones.
For more information on the curriculum, please refer to The Training page.
No audition is required.
The Fees (Ongoing Training):
4 weeks - $700.
1 week - $195.
1 day - $60.
WORKSHOP in EUROPE, SLIGO IRELAND, hosted by The Blue Raincoat Company
January 20 to January 24, 2020.
The Art of Movement Theatre, a Spontaneous language and an elaborate craft.
This study will include gestural grammar, body articulation, counterweights, walks and displacement in space, figures of style, mobile statuary, and musicality of movement. Extracts of the repertoire of Etienne Decroux will be taught during the workshop to fully experience this unique modern mythology of movement theatre. Participants will also explore the infinite possibilities of drawing from this repertoire to create personal work.
For more information about fees and enrolment please contact the Blue Raincoat Company in Sligo Ireland: johngcarty11@gmail.com Principal Actor of The Blue Raincoat Company
niall.henry@me.co Director of The Blue Raincoat Company
The Workshop will be taught by Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum.
ONGOING WEEKEND WORKSHOPS in CHICAGO:
“The Art of Modern Movement Theatre":
A Spontaneous Language, an Elaborate Craft:
The Thinking Body Part 1
For next available dates, please contact:
Scott Merchant at scottraymerchant@gmail.com
This study will include gestural grammar, body articulation, counterweights, walks and displacement in space, figures of style, mobile statuary, and musicality of movement. Extracts of the repertoire of Etienne Decroux will be taught during the workshop to fully experience this unique modern mythology of movement theatre. Participants will also explore the infinite possibilities of drawing from this repertoire to create personal work.
For information about location, fees and enrolment please contact:
Scott Merchant at scottraymerchant@gmail.com
A Spontaneous Language, an Elaborate Craft:
The Thinking Body Part 2
For next available dates, please contact:
Scott Merchant at scottraymerchant@gmail.com
A Foundation Certificate Course.
The Thinking Body part 2 and 3 is designed for participants who have already followed The Thinking Body part 1 or 2, or have previously studied with Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum, and wish continue to improve their knowledge in the technique and repertoire of Corporeal Mime created by the French Theatre Master Etienne Decroux. Professional, Pre-professional actors, dancers, mimes and performers will work towards a foundation certificate course in Corporeal Mime by successfully completing 3 intensive training sessions.
Participants will study pieces such as The Factory, The Touch, The Carpenter, The Washerwoman... The apprenticeship of this repertoire is a challenging and valuable tool for any performer wishing to give a physical reality to their own ideas. Participants of The Thinking Body Part 2 will also work on devising material using the creative process called “The Reverse Metaphor”`: trusting the action to progressively devise a play, a process allowing space for imagination and intuition. Corporeal Mime is a tool that allows the practitioner to portray human behavior from its most practical aspect to its more abstract and spiritual ones.
Theory and History of Corporeal Mime, discussion about Etienne Decroux’s legacy, and the creative process of the Theatre de l’Ange Fou will also be part of this certificate foundation course. Participants of The Thinking Body Part 2 will present their repertoire and devised work in front of an invited audience to finalize their foundation course.
For information about location, fees and enrolment please contact:
Scott Merchant at scottraymerchant@gmail.com
INTENSIVE SUMMER SCHOOL 2019:
Not available at the moment, but please see the Ongoing Full Time Residency Training Program above, for the same curriculum.
Price: $690
The summer school session will focus on the Repertoire of Etienne Decroux: “A Modern Mythology” and the “Poetic Dramaturgy in Corporeal Mime”.
Participants will study pieces chosen from the Repertoire of Etienne Decroux such as The Factory, The Trees, The Touch, The Carpenter, The Washerwoman, The Chair of the Absent One, The Prophet, Love Duet in the Park St. Cloud, A Woman like a Bird, The Meditation, The Combat, The Cunning Spirit, The Morning, The Statue, Love Duet II, The Passage of Man on Earth... and from the post modern repertoire pieces such as The Chair, The Newspaper, As I Remember, The Lost Angel…The apprenticeship of this repertoire is not only a challenging and valuable tool in the mastering of a physical theatre expression, but can become a constant source of inspiration for creation. In the history of mime, the pieces of Etienne Decroux stand unique as a sort of modern mythology of movement theatre from which performers and teachers may draw a theatrical dynamism and method for the creation of personal work.
During the summer session the training will approach the notion of a contemporary mime dramaturgy. The creative process in Corporeal Mime is called by Etienne Decroux, “La Metaphor a l’Envers” (the Reverse Metaphor): trusting the action to progressively devise a play. This process allows space for intuition and imagination. Different poetic texts will be used as the starting point to devise creative material. Technique and repertoire of corporeal mime will be the backbone of this exploration in composition. Participants will learn to establish a dialogue between the re pertoire and their own devised material.
The creative work of the summer session will be presented in front of an invited audience. The performance composition will be devised around different themes or poetic texts. Lectures, archival viewing, discussions on Etienne Decroux and on the world of the Theatre de l'Ange Fou will be part of the summer school intensive.
Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum combine the experience of having been students and assistants of Etienne Decroux and having taught, directed and developed Corporeal Mime for more than 35 years.
A pdf of The White Church THEATRE Project brochure is available here to download.
How to enroll:
Please print and fill in the application form for the White Church THEATRE Project, and send it to us with your deposit. Or you can pay any deposit direct via our PayPal.me account.
PRIVATE CLASSES
Private classes in all subjects related to corporeal mime (technique, improvisation, repertoire, composition…) are available. If you are interested, please contact us.
VISITORS
We welcome members of the public to visit and observe any training sessions.
Commitment
All of our programs are flexible, and we will do our best to consider every individual need.
Where is the White Church THEATRE Project taking place?
Wyoming Valley Church,
6348 State Road 23
Spring Green, Wisconsin
53588 USA
(5 miles south of Spring Green off Highway 23).
Accommodation:
Please contact the Spring Green and Dodgeville Chamber of Commerce for Motel, Bed and Breakfast, and camping facilities:
www.springgreen.com (link opens a new page)
www.dodgeville.com (link opens a new page)
Alternatively we can put you in contact with people wishing to rent rooms during the Summer School period.
Closest Airports:
The closest major airports are in Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago. For further information please refer to the links below:
From Chicago O'Hare Airport, the Van Galder Bus has an hourly service to 800 University Av. Madison, WI: http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder
(Look under Scheduled Services > O'Hare Airport for details, departure times, ticket prices and to buy tickets online.)
From Mitchell Airport, Milwaukee, the Badger Bus runs roughly every two hours or so to; 700 University Av. Madison, WI: www.badgerbus.com/tickets/schedule.aspx
(Select Mitchell Airport as the departure point and Madison Area, UW Madison - Chazen Museum as the arrival point for details.)
if you need transportation from Madison to Spring Green, a car can be arranged to pick you up at the Madison bus stop.