The moment a camera is pointed towards us, something happens. A mysterious event is taking place.
This event might meet us as trouble, as something we want to get away from, avoid, or control.
Something has been called into the room.
In that sense, the camera is actually kind of magical.
What if we turned towards the event that is happening to us in front of the camera?
When
Saturday & Sunday – date t.b.d.
8 hours total – in Midtown NYC
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop might be for you, if you…
* are engaged in self-taping and met by weird experiences that interfere with your best work
* feel depressed at the prospect of self-taping and are struggling to “get with the program”
* are actively resisting self-taping and harbor resentment or other secret oppositional forces
* have resigned yourself to self-taping but feel your heart is not in it and your work suffers
* are not particularly interested in the theme of this workshop, but like to work with Ragnar
What do I need to bring or know?
This workshop is for actors in any medium.
Your experience with self-taping so far will be useful – as will be any genuine lack thereof.
Will I learn “techniques”?
For the purpose of this workshop, we will be using the “correct” way to technically self-tape only as a way to encounter inner experiences, provoked by this delivery format.
In this workshop we will focus on acting as our creative response:
* following our actual experiences, unfolding them in the process
* paying attention to the world of sensations, qualities and gesture
* including any dreamlike happenings, wishes and unvoiced expectations
Where is the workshop?
@ART NY in Midtown
#520 8th Ave (@ 36th St)
3rd floor, Studio A
New York City
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How much does it cost?
The tuition for the 8-hour workshop is t.b.d.
Upon acceptance, a deposit is required to hold your space. The remaining amount is due on the day of the workshop (check / cash). Space is limited.
How do I apply?
To apply, please send a short message and Ragnar will contact you.
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From a conversation between Joanna Merlin & Ragnar Freidank
Joanna Merlin (1931-2023) was a direct student of Michael Chekhov’s. Joanna was an actress, a casting director, an acting teacher, the president of MICHA (the Michael Chekhov Association) and the author of Auditioning, An Actor-Friendly Guide.
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’)
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 Michal 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.
From a conversation with Martin D. Anderson & Ragnar Freidank
On ghosts, impulse & the conversational nature of filmmaking [excerpt]
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michaelchekhovschool 