LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES
ABOUT TAPS PERSPECTIVES TaPS Perspectives gives IB DP Theatre students the unique opportunity to work intensively with a series of theatre professionals, specialising in: Collaboratively creating original theatre Staging play texts Exploring world theatre traditions Performing theatre theory IB DP Theatre ISTA TaPS Perspectives provides students with an understanding of how the IB DP Theatre course syllabus is applied to current theatre practice. It's a launchpad for students’ explorations of theatre. Working with DP Theatre students from different schools broadens perspectives, forges friendships and enhances all learning.
ISTA specialises in global learning through theatre. We are a UK based charity, founded in 1978 providing transformative learning experiences for educators and young people worldwide. We create communities of learning, working closely with over 240 member schools around the world and we are the International Bacclaureate’s exclusive global provider of teacher training for Diploma Theatre. We believe in the unique power of theatre and the arts to connect, develop, transform and empower people to become active members and changemakers in their own communities and the world. We use the ISTA Ensemble method, a collaborative approach to learning and community building and story based inquiry, using story as a way to understand the world and as a tool for change.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES Vicki Close - ISTA Rep Vicki is an Ontario certified teacher with a specialism in Intermediate and Secondary Drama Studies and a Masters in International Education. She is also an experienced DP Theatre teacher and senior examiner. Vicki has taught in Bahrain, Norway, Thailand, Philippines and the Czech Republic. She worked with ISTA as a Rep for a number of years before joining the ISTA staff team in 2021. As ISTA's Programming and Engagement Manager Vicki works closely with members. She also supports the Executive Director and Director of Operations in programming experiences, offers and workshops. Vicki considers repping to be one of the highlights of her role as she loves meeting artists, member educators and learners in person.
MEANING FROM MOVEMENT Collaboratively creating original theatre Workshop leader: Valentina Cesci
About the company Dancing Brick is the collaboration between Valentina Ceschi and Thomas Eccleshare. After meeting at Lecoq, Thomas and Valentina have been making bold, poetic, visual performances since 2008. The company is based in the south east of England and is an associate company at Farnham Maltings and Resident Ensemble Company with Royal & Derngate. They have collaborated with companies such as Spymonkey in the United Kingdom and La Piccionaia I Carrara in Italy. Dancing Brick have worked with many theatres in the United Kingdom, including Tobacco Factory Theatres, Cambridge Junction, The Unicorn, Soho Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and toured internationally to festivals including Naples, Bilbao and Shanghai as part of the British Council Showcase.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES Biography Valentina Ceschi studied at École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and L.E.M. Paris 2006 2008 training with founding members of Complicité and leading European practitioners. She is a performance maker and theatre practitioner and co-artistic director of the award winning theatre company Dancing Brick, a resident Ensemble Company at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton. She is associate artist at Farnham Maltings and co-founder of experimental costume led performance collective Ceschi + Lane. Her work showcased at Prague Quadrennial, Ravenna Festival and Napoli Teatro Festival and other national/ international festivals. Actor credits include: New International Encounter, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Sheffield Theatres, Talawa, Paines Plough and the Unicorn. She is a director, movement director and dramaturg and associate lecturer at the University of the Arts London. Valentina recently directed a production of Il Viaggio a Reims by Gioachino Rossini, for English Touring Opera, touring the United Kingdom.
Workshop overview This workshop, which starts with a warm-up, takes the participant through the ‘partitions’ of the body to see how they work in relation to each other and how they can be used as the starting point to build characters and story. Introducing the basic movement principles of ‘pushing and pulling’ within the space, we begin to understand how the body communicates and occupies space in performance. This workshop gears the performer to be physically versatile and gives them an understanding of theatrical or dramatic change. It is also the beginning of training for mask work, such as those in Commedia dell’Arte. The workshop is not only a great training for actors but storytellers, directors, makers, designers etc. Participants will then use these principles to devise a piece of dramatic performance in small groups and join in on group improvisations where they are invited to play with materials.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES IB DIPLOMA PERSPECTIVES Workshop leader: Moira Arthurs
Biography Moira's early career was in Britain, as a director at the Oxford School of Drama, directing Peter Moffat’s Katherine and Youth Theatre Director for the Royal Court, London. Moira continued her career in Hong Kong teaching at Sha Tin College and then at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Moira's passion is directing and she loves working with constraints – whatever the space, budget, size of cast Moira will make something happen!
Workshop overview This session will assist participants in framing their TaPS Perspectives experience so it relates to their DP Theatre course, their development as artists and as learners. Participants will Reflect on their workshop experiences in relation to the IB DP theatre course Make connections between workshops and the IB DP theatre course Contextualise their workshop experiences in relation to the IB DP theatre course Consider their development as artists and learners to inform their learning in the IB DP theatre course
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES EYES FULL OF FUN: THE WORK AND GAMES OF PHILIPPE GAULIER Performing Theatre Theory Workshop leader: Amy Gwilliam
Biography Amy is a theatre maker and facilitator based in London. Passionate about what it means to be a creative and ludicrous human, she trained in Theatre at Ecole Philippe Gaulier from 2008-2010 where she began many international collaborations and her first theatre company, Teatro Entre Escombros. With her natural attraction towards clown, satire and projects which seek to disrupt the status quo, her shows include Frankie Foxstone a.k.a. The Profit, MUMMY and the upcoming Prego (You’re Welcome). As dramaturg she has recently worked with Britt Plummer, Lena Natus and Myra Eetergenik, Eloina Haines and Steve Wilson. She is a member of Clowns Without Borders. Amy teaches improvisation, devising, clown, comedy and interactive and site specific theatre. She has worked extensively with theatre training organisations and schools in London and in 2019, founded The School of Dramatic Unlearning. TSODU is an alternative training space for creative audacity, joyous disruption and wonder.
Workshop overview In this workshop we will be exploring the work and play of the notorious Philippe Gaulier, one of the world’s most famous Theatre teachers alive today. The session will be rooted in a practical exploration of Philippe’s most enduring lesson, Le Jeu (or ‘The Game’), which he believes is at ‘the source of everything’. Participants will be encouraged to revel in play, in fun and in complicity with fellow performers. They will be introduced to exercises and play games which excavate and illuminate their inimitable beauty and pleasure and how to give something very special of themselves to the stage and their audiences (with ‘eyes full of fun’).
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES WHAT IS IS AA CLASSIC? CLASSIC? WHAT Staging Staging play Playtexts Texts Workshop leader: Atri Banerjee Photo: Marc Brenner
Biography Atri is a theatre director and translator based in London. He recently directed Julius Caesar for the RSC. Other recent credits include The Glass Menagerie for the Royal Exchange Theatre; Britannicus for the Lyric Hammersmith; Kes for the Bolton Octagon and Theatre by the Lake; and Harm for the Bush Theatre, which he also directed as a film for BBC Four. Atri was the winner of the 2019 The Stage Debut Award for his production of Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Exchange, and in 2022 was named as one of The Stage 25 ‘theatre-makers to watch out for over the next quarter-century’. He is one of two recipients of the 2022-24 Peter Hall Bursary at the National Theatre. He has also worked extensively as a drama facilitator and teacher, having led courses across acting, directing and design at schools including LAMDA, Guildhall, Central, BOVTS and Birkbeck.
Workshop overview In this workshop, we will explore what makes a ‘classic’ play and why we still put on productions of old plays today. Atri will draw on personal experience to explain ways in which classic plays are still relevant and how staging them can help us explore both the world and ourselves. This will be a practical session as well as a discursive one: Participants will be introduced to the idea of a ‘classic’ play. Atri will talk through examples from his own work. There will be an emphasis on encouraging participants to find resonances in their own life/ experience/ social and cultural contexts when considering these old plays today. This will offer springboards and provocations towards eventually imagining their own productions and communicating their interpretations to an audience.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES KYŌGEN 'THE CRAZY SPEECH' Exploring world theatre traditions Workshop leader: Hiroaki Ogasawara
About the company AtelierOGA is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of Japanese traditional performing arts and culture, with a particular focus on the renowned traditional art form of Kyogen. Through activities aimed at disseminating Japan's traditional performing arts and culture, AtelierOGA seeks to foster cultural exchange with the world and explore new possibilities in the realm of art. The group is composed of prominent figures, including Kyogen performers who are designated as holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties.
Biography Hiroaki Ogasawara (b. 2001) has been practising the Kyōgen Theatre of the Izumi school since age three under guidance of Man Nomura I, a ’Living National Treasure’, Manzo Nomura XIX and his father Tadashi Ogasawara, also an actor of Kyōgen Theatre from the Izumi school. He has played various major roles in Kyōgen theatre performances in Japan but also France, Italy, Hungary, Algeria, Brazil and Vietnam. A member of the Nohgaku Kyōkai (Kyoto section) association, he periodically teaches Kyōgen Theatre at Chiba National University and Momoyama Gakuin University. Hiroaki moved to France in 2014 and has since continued to work on Kyōgen theatre under the guidance of his master, as part of a family project aimed at introducing this form of comic/musical theatre to the non-Japanese audience and sharing it with other theatrical cultures. In 2022, he received the Grand Prize at the National Arts Festival as a member of YorozuKyogen. He regularly performs alongside his master in Kyōgen theatre shows and in French plays and assists his father in training activities at Théâtre du Soleil and Gabriel Fauré Conservatory in Paris.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES Workshop overview Practising Kyogen Basic Stance 'Kamae' and 'Suriashi' - A posture with a straight back, extended elbows and slightly lowered hips is referred to as 'Kamae'. You will experience basic movements such as standing, sitting, moving forward and retreating, all while maintaining this posture. Despite seeming simple, Kamae is deeply profound. Through this practice you will naturally acquire a beautiful posture and graceful demeanour. 'Utai' - Once you have corrected your posture, let's try producing sound. We will practise 'Kyogen Kouta,' the J-pop of the Muromachi era from 700 years ago. By taking a deep breath and projecting your voice widely, slowly and distantly, you can release a powerful, energetic voice from the pit of your stomach. Emitting a loud voice is a great stress reliever and it might even be the secret to a longer life. The oldest active Kyogen performer is currently 93 years old. 'Mai' - Now, while maintaining the Kamae posture and chanting Utai, let's practise the 'Mai' dance. If social media existed in the 14th century, everyone would undoubtedly have been dancing this 'Mai'. By mimicking various tools and landscapes with a fan and practising the elegant dance filled with variations both extravagantly and quickly, you will master the basics of Kyogen: standing, voicing and moving. 'Kyogen Performance (Hon-kyogen)' - Once you have mastered the basics, it's time to challenge yourself to Kyogen practice. You will initially practise expressing the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure in Kyogen. Kyogen, which has its roots in outdoor performances in the 14th century, has many unique features and ingenious techniques compared to modern drama. Exaggerated actions are often employed to entertain the distant audience. Just by practising Kyogen's humour you are bound to feel joy. Let's also try practising a simple scene from Kyogen. You might pretend to be a mountain priest stealing persimmons from someone's garden because of thirst or a thief breaking into another's house, or mimic the cries of animals, use a fan as a saw, a bow, chopsticks, or a cup... On the simple and minimal stage by becoming various characters and crafting the stage through your performance and imagination, you can enjoy the fun of Kyogen.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES STAGING GLOBAL MAJORITY LED WORKS Teacher/chaperone specialist workshop Workshop leader: Harris Albar
About the company Tamasha is a dedicated home for both emerging and established Global Majority artists. A powerhouse of new writing, talent development and digital innovation, we platform and invest in stories that celebrate our rich shared histories and cultures. Proudly both artist and audience driven, we’re disrupting, dismantling, and inspiring through bold and imaginative storytelling, providing a place to explore our lived experiences and unique perspectives.
Biography Harris is a Queer Producer and Theatremaker from Singapore. He came to London in 2019 to complete his undergrad at RCSSD and has since been based in London working both within organizations and as a freelancer. His practice is community-centered and he creates work with the intention of making hopeful and joyful spaces. He has just come off working with the Gate Theatre as their assistant producer and is currently assistant producer at Tamasha.
Workshop Information In this workshop, we will be using Tamasha productions as a base of understanding how to stage play texts. We will look at two texts, ‘Great Expectations’ by Tanika Gupta and ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ by Zia Ahmed, exploring how staging approaches differ / overlap in classical and contemporary texts. In looking at staging we will go through: 1. Understanding context 2. Script analysis 3. Staging action This is a practical workshop with participants being invited to be the makers themselves.
LONDON 2 TAPS PERSPECTIVES
THEATRE PYGMALION THE OLD VIC
‘I’ve a right to be here if I like. Same as you’ Eliza Doolittle aspires to more than selling flowers on the streets of Covent Garden. After a chance meeting with Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering, she finds herself the subject of a rash bet to pass her off as a lady amongst the great and the good of London society. Olivier Award-winner Richard Jones (Endgame, The Hairy Ape) directs the Olivier Award-winning duo of Bertie Carvel (The 47th, The Crown) and Patsy Ferran (Camp Siegfried, A Streetcar Named Desire) in George Bernard Shaw’s explosively funny, biting and subversive satire on class, as the ruthless linguist Higgins attempts to transform the brilliantly irrepressible Eliza – who breaks the mould he creates for her.
THE EMPRESS ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY It is 1887, the year Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee. Sixteen year old Rani Das, ayah (nursemaid) to an English family arrives at Tilbury docks after a long voyage from India, to start a new life in Britain. On the boat, Rani befriends a lascar (sailor), an Indian politician and a royal servant destined to serve the Queen. Full of hopes and dreams of what lies ahead, they each embark on an extraordinary journey. Will their expectations come true or will they have to forge a different path in their new country? Spanning 13 years over the ‘Golden Era’ of Empire, this story blends the experiences of Indian ayahs and lascars who worked on the ships carrying trade goods, alongside the first Indian politician to be elected as a Member of Parliament. This epic story reveals how socially diverse the Asian presence was in nineteenth century Britain. Transferring directly from the Swan Theatre in Stratfordupon-Avon and directed by Pooja Ghai, Artistic Director of Tamasha, this new production of The Empress will take you from the rugged gangways of Tilbury docks to the grandeur of Queen Victoria’s Palace, whilst unveiling the long and embedded culture of British Asian history.