Who is this workshop for?
This workshop might be for you, if you…
* encounter strange events in your body in an audition / performance situation
* are faced with lingering obstacles in choosing / preparing your material
* wish for a relationship to your scene-partner that enlivens your own work
What will you do?
* work on material of your own choice over two days
* discover new perspectives & approaches to the script
* develop your scene with the support of the ensemble
Schedule
Saturday, May 18, 1pm – 5pm
Sunday, May 19, 1pm – 4pm
Tuition
The cost is $200
Upon acceptance, a $40 deposit is required to hold your space. The remaining amount is due on the first day of the class (check / cash). Space is limited.’
Where
The Room @ The New Georges
ART/New York’s Spaces at 520
520 Eighth Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018
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How to Apply
To apply, please send a short message and Ragnar will contact you.
Preparation
As preparation for the class, you will be asked to:
* record a brief video introducing yourself to scene-partners prior to the workshop
* choose a partner to work with (you can ask to be assigned a partner, if you prefer)
* be off-book for your part in the scene you & your partner have chosen to work with
About the Work
In this class we work from a performance point of view, from the reality of the room.
We work in a way not representationally, but in a kind of “shape-making” out of real-life occurrences.
What do I mean by “shape-making”?
When you give expression to a personal experience of the moment (for example: “I am filled with dread”), then this is a kind of “shape making”: out of words you shape an expression of your own experience. This experience is as true as you are towards yourself.
In this way, one field we are navigating in class is our own life: “Aargh!” or “Oh, this is kind of nice.”…, whatever you happen to experience in your personal life.
If we then move from the personal life into metaphor, into story, into poetry, into song, into text, then the medium becomes “theater”: theater that is not merely illustration of someone’s writing, but that effectively expresses our true experiences in life.
Such a theater is the creation of actors, since it is the actor’s own inner experience of the moment that connects this ancient art-form to life in the here and now. (more @ Imaginary Classes)
About Ragnar
Ragnar has been creatively working with Michael Chekhov’s Acting Technique for the past 30 years as actor, director and filmmaker. He is one of the featured master-teachers of the acclaimed DVD series Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique, which he co-directed with Joanna Merlin for the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). He has been part of the acting faculty at the Michael Howard Studios, Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, Brooklyn College, Marymount Manhattan and taught for 14 years at The New School in NYC. He co-wrote and directed the award-winning narrative film Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn, starring Michael Chekhov’s direct student Joanna Merlin, executive producer Bob Balaban. He made the D&D Roadshow Movie for Improbable Theatre (UK) and collaborated on Improbable’s Show Tao of Glass, with Phelim McDermott and composer Philip Glass. Most recently, he edited the documentary Something Divine by Thomas Essig, featuring Ray Cappo (Raghunath) of the hardcore punk band Youth of Today.
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Testimonials
Ragnar’s work, based on the brilliant explorations of Michael Chekhov, is very much his own. He is an excellent listener and willing collaborator and I cannot speak too highly of the man and the teacher.
(MICHAEL HOWARD, actor, director, acting teacher, founder of the ‘Michael Howard Studios’, NYC)
Ragnar is an artist, both as a teacher and as a director. He is on an impassioned and relentless search to discover ways of connecting the actor with his own resources.
(JOANNA MERLIN, Broadway, film, TV actress; author of ‘Auditioning, An Actor Friendly Guide’)
Being in a rehearsal hall or studio with Ragnar is a constant source of clarity and inspiration; it is a keenly observed exploration into the heart of the matter, or certainly somewhere in that vicinity.
(BRENT CARVER, actor, Tony Award for ‘Kiss of the Spiderwoman’)
THIS JULY: 18-HOUR WORKSHOP with Ragnar in NYC
Play with powerful scenes & develop your intuition!
This workshop proposes that all your feelings towards the material are important.
Entertaining some of Michael Chekhov’s suggestions, we develop skills to unfold our initial reactions.
Your response to each moment will be the path along which we are sneaking up on Martin McDonagh’s scenes, allowing life & meaning to emerge in the process. [read more…]
michaelchekhovschool 