Theatre BC presents
"BACKSTAGE AT MAINSTAGE"
SPECIAL COURSE WORKSHOPS
Nanaimo, BC
July 5- 12, 2008

Club Card members $25.00/2 hour session, $35.00/3 hour session or $60.00 for double-block courses

Non-members $40.00/2 hour session, $50.00/3 hour session or $90.00/double
After June 22nd, add $10/ to all prices

NISA

Province of British Columbia

Nanaimo Port Authority

BC Ferries

Tom Harris Group

A-Channel

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries

Scotiabank

Discovery Computers

City of Kamloops

Acting Shakespeare / Character Development / Costume Transformations / Directing / Directors' Labs / Lighting Design / Massage & Movement Techniques  /
Monologue & Auditioning Skills for Theatre /
Preparation for the Festival Process / Props Creation & Collection /
Scenic Breakdown / Scenic Painting / Scene Study Pt.1  / Scene Study Pt.2 /
 Set Design / Solo Show Intensive Workshop / Sound Design / Stage Combat /
Stage Management  / Stage Status / Technical / The Tech Process

Simple Massage and Movement Techniques - Gayle Heinrich
2 HOUR course- 3:00- 5:00 pm, Harmac Room  
Repeated Fri. 11th, 9:00-11:00am

Gayle K. Heinrich, BSc(Kin), MSc(Kin), RMT, is a BC Registered Massage Therapist with Bachelor's (Dalhousie) and Master's (SFU) degrees in Kinesiology.   A firm believer in the body's capacity to heal, her work focuses on alignment, reducing movement restrictions and encouraging the body to find balance.  Gayle has also appeared on stages throughout the Okanagan Valley including Kamloops (The Island of Bliss, WCTC; Adult Entertainment, ProjectX), Vernon (Trying), Armstrong (Risk Everything) and Salmon Arm (The Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine Girls, Proof) and earned Best Actress Awards at OZONE and Mainstage 2005 for her role in Proof.

Technical Workshop - Instructor TBA
2 HOUR course- 3:00- 5:00 pm  
Repeated Fri. 11th, 9:00-11:00am

Shot In The Dark: Sound for Theatre - Paul Tedeschini
9:00 am - 12:00 noon, Port Theatre  

A practical introduction to the key aspects of sound for theatre. This workshop will cover the creative and practical aspects of sound for theatre, from designing the sounds, to working with the sound in the performance space, including what the script sounds like, building sfx and the equipment/programs to do it, mixing, EQ, setting levels and playback, as well as working with the director and stage manager. (Maximum 15) 

Paul Tedeschini is an actor (ACTRA), musician (SOCAN), composer and engineer. Paul has been creating and mixing music for film, tv, theatre and dance since 1988. Having spent the last 16 years in Toronto, he now divides his time between here on Vancouver Island and Toronto. His theatre credits include projects for The National Arts Centre, Randolph Academy For The Performing Arts, Theatre Passe Muraille, Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, The Theatre Centre and Summerworks Theatre Festival. TV and Film credits include projects for CBC TV and Radio, Discovery Channel, TVO, GreenPeace, Oxfam and IBM Canada. He is presently busy mixing his new solo CD, Cardboard Star, as well as producing and mixing a new CD for the Toronto band, The Belle Jars.

Solo Show Intensive Workshop - Nicolle Nattrass
9:00 am - 12:00 noon, Harmac Room

This workshop is for actors/creators/writers who have always wanted to write and perform their own solo show. 

This intensive workshop will provide the essentials of what it takes to create, perform and produce a one-person show.  The workshop will explore the fundamental elements of a solo show, structure and theory as well as providing practical writing exercises to generate material, to build stakes in your writing and create dynamic characters.  We will explore writing exercises, improvisation, the business of solo shows and tips for marketing and production. 

Wear comfortable clothes, and bring blank paper and pens.  If you have something that you have been working on, bring it with you, however it is not necessary.  This workshop will provide a working space to discover and generate material.

Nicolle Nattrass is a professional actor (CAEA/ACTRA) and playwright, member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. She has performed in radio, film/tv, theatre across Canada. Her plays include: The Drama Queens (a one act comedy) Good House-keeping (a full length play which received a professional workshop reading at the Vancouver Playwrights Theatre Centre in 2000), The Kindness of Kevin Barteski (a one act drama), Dot in the City and Brownie Points. (Brownie Points,a one woman play that received 2 nominations at the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards in 1998, as well as being made into a short film which won Best Short Comedy at the 2003 Magnolia Independent Film Festival in Mississippi USA.) Some favourite acting roles have included: Carol in Oleanna, Constanze in Amadeus, Isabelle in The Orphan Muses, Maggie in Lend Me A Tenor and Patsy in Perfect Pie.

Scenic Breakdown - Leon Potter
1:30- 4:30 pm

Very often one of the most difficult things to accomplish in any script is finding a way to bring a grain to truth to a moment onstage.  This workshop is designed to show you ways to breakdown a scene into workable pieces, then analyze them individually to find the truth from moment to moment and finally piece it all back together so that in the end you can bring an honesty to every moment onstage.

Leon Potter has a Masters in directing from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and is the Artistic Director of Blue Peanut Productions (host of Nanaimo's 24-hr playwriting competition “Theatre in a Nutshell”). Currently he is an instructor and Technical Director at Malaspina University-College. He has been directing and instructing for the past 12 years in Vancouver, London and toured shows to Edinborough and New York. His directing and acting experience ranges from Shakespeare through to the modern day. Leon has also worked as a designer and technician for many years. He has facilitated several workshops for Theatre BC, both at Mainstage and at the zone level.

Character Development through Labanotation and Other Physical Approaches - Kathryn Shaw
1:30- 4:30 pm, Harmac Room

This is a short workshop in using the 8 working actions of Labanotation (such as pushing, flicking,etc) as a means of physical exploration of character. It is experiental and all participants need to be willing to get up and move. Each person's own movement laban will also be identified. Participants should bring a short monologue to work on.

Kathryn Shaw began teaching at Studio 58, the Professional Theatre Training Program at Langara College, in 1974, and has been the Artistic Director since 1985. She received her B.A. in Dramatic Art from Whitman College and an M.F.A in acting from Columbia University's School of Arts. For the past 30 years, Kathryn has directed for theatres across Canada and has taught acting for professional and community groups in British Columbia, Winnipeg and Halifax and has been a guest instructor at the National Theatre School in Montreal.
Some of her directing work includes Trelawny of the Wells for Studio 58, The Great Depression by Joan MacLeod, which was part of Obsession, a co-prooduction with Studio 58 and Green Thumb Theatre and The Weir for Western Canada Theatre and the Belfry Theatre.Other credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream for Studio 58, The Bachelor Brothers On Tour for the Vancouver Playhouse , Skylight for the Belfry Theatre and The Glass Menagerie, Death Of A Salesman, The Front Page and Cyrano de Bergerac for the Gateway Theatre. Kathryn also co-wrote and performed in the Angry Actors' 1997 Vancouver Fringe Festival hit, Famous Dead Stories We Just Made Up.
Kathryn was the adjudicator for Mainstage '90 in Chilliwack and Mainstage 2004 in Kamloops, and has also participated as a Scene Development Director.  

Scene Study - Pt.1 - Michael Armstrong
9:00 am- 12:00 noon

The two sessions (see also 1:30- 5:00) will be independent from one another. Participants do NOT have to take both.
Each session will deal with a single contemporary Canadian script. The morning session will be a more traditional style of script, a light comedy perhaps, that could be part of any community theatre season. The afternoon session will be a more challenging play, what we used to call a "festival" show.

Scene Studies- Making Discoveries: examines the process of discovery in two scene studies. Working from contemporary Canadian scripts, the participants will tag team in and out of the scenes working hard on discovering opportunities in the text and in the rehearsal process. The director works not only with the text but with the opportunities and ideas that her actors bring to the floor. Issues examined will be clues to character work, blocking structures and opportunities, maximizing dramatic or comedic impact, identifying and making transitions, and many other topics. The lessons will come in context with the work we are undertaking which will be both intense and spontaneous. This workshop is for both directors and actors and participants should be prepared to get involved.

Michael Armstrong has been acting, directing and writing for the theatre in British Columbia for 35 years. He has taught acting for teens and adults privately and in the school system for the past ten years. He is a published poet and playwright, alumnus of the Banff playRites Colony, and past president of the Federation of BC Writers. He has a BA in English Literature and BC Teaching Certificate. His play, In Their Nightgowns, Dancing, was published in 2005 by UNBC Press.Michael has been a popular zone tour instructor and regional workshop leader, and has led many Backstage courses at previous TBC festivals.

Stage Status -Leon Potter
9:00 am- 12:00 noon Learn one of the simplest tools for character development which will enhance the strength of your performance 100%. By working with an analysis of status onstage I will show you a fast way to develop character, relationship, and a through-line from the beginning of the script to the end. This workshop appeals to both actors and directors alike.

(Bio: see above)

Master of the House; First to Arrive, Last to Leave, & Everything in Between: Successful Stage Management 

Have you ever wondered who keeps a show in check or translates the artistic vision to nuts and bolts issues? A true artist, through communication, negotiation, and inspiration, the stage manager sets the tone of a rehearsal and helps the actor, director, and designer realize the best possible performance. Participants will discover the scope of the stage manager's duties and learn some effective tools to make their job easier. 

Sandy Halliday has been a professional stage manager for over 25 years, working in theatre, dance and opera across the country and in Asia. Most recently, she was the SM for Theatre One's "Ivanka Chews the Fat" and Intrepid Theatre's "Romp" Dance Festival in Victoria. After all these years, she still thinks stage managing is the most fun job in the theatre and looks forward to sharing that with you. 

The two sessions (see also 9:00- 12:00) will be independent from one another. Participants do NOT have to take both.
Each session will deal with a single contemporary Canadian script. The morning session will be a more traditional style of script, a light comedy perhaps, that could be part of any community theatre season. The afternoon session will be a more challenging play, what we used to call a "festival" show.

Scene Studies- Making Discoveries: examines the process of discovery in two scene studies. Working from contemporary Canadian scripts, the participants will tag team in and out of the scenes working hard on discovering opportunities in the text and in the rehearsal process. The director works not only with the text but with the opportunities and ideas that her actors bring to the floor. Issues examined will be clues to character work, blocking structures and opportunities, maximizing dramatic or comedic impact, identifying and making transitions, and many other topics. The lessons will come in context with the work we are undertaking which will be both intense and spontaneous. This workshop is for both directors and actors and participants should be prepared to get involved.Making Discoveries: Michael examines the process of discovery in two scene studies. Working from contrasting contemporary Canadian scripts, the participants will tag team in and out of the scenes working hard on discovering opportunities in the text and in the rehearsal process. The director works not only with the text but with the opportunities and ideas that her actors bring to the floor. Issues examined will be clues to character work, blocking structures and opportunities, maximizing dramatic or comedic impact, identifying and making transitions, and many other topics. The lessons will come in context with the work we are undertaking which will be both intense and spontaneous. This workshop is for both directors and actors and participants should be prepared to get involved.

(Bio see above)

Whether you’re King Lear about to cut up your kingdom, or Robin Goodfellow looking for any opportunity to cut up in general, there’s nothing to do but jump in and play!  If you are daunted by Shakespeare’s language, or simply want to Brush up your Shakespeare, this is the workshop for you.  We will play with Shakespeare’s poetry and his prose.  We’ll get to know some of his great characters and some of the lesser.  We will also see how Playing with Shakespeare can help bring more to your contemporary work and how to use your contemporary sensibilities in approaches to the bard.  This is a full day workshop; in the morning we’ll work in ensemble on basic principles using a variety of speeches; in the afternoon we’ll pair up in some short scenes. Feel free to bring your special requests.

Let's jump in and work thru the process from pre-production, rehearsals and the ever important tech week. We'll go over scheduling and hands-on approaches to what should be done at what point and who should be doing it. We will cover multiple scenarios for groups that cover spaces where you rent a road house and have a short load in, or you are working in an alternative space, and also where you own your own space.  

Robin Boxwell works as a freelance Technical Director and Sound Operator for professional theatre, dance & music companies and venues. He is also certified in the use of pyrotechnics & special effects for the stage. Robin has served as Mainstage Technical Director since 2001 and has led many workshops during the festival, in Lighting, Sound and Special Effects.

Nick Harrison is a professional fight choreographer, actor, stuntman and director. He trained and worked as an actor in London, England and has an MFA in Directing. Most notably Nicholas worked as the fight director for the feature film Snow Falling on Cedars by Scott Hicks (Shine) and for Scooby Doo 2. Nick is one of Theatre BC's most popular workshop instructors with his Stage Combat & Directing courses at Backstage and Mainstage Festivals over the past several years.

A DIRECTOR PREPARES - What must a director accomplish before rehearsals begin? Organizing the text into units, communicating with the design team, mining the text, communicating with the actors, the director’s concept, scheduling, tackling the scene changes, utilizing the stage management team….Fran will cover it all. We will work from a script Fran will email to participants.

Fran Gebhard is currently an acting instructor at UVic. She has adjudicated several zone festivals and served as a dramaturge and juror for TBC’s playwriting competition. Fran has been a professional actor for 30 years and has been directing for 10. She has her MFA in directing from UBC. 

A demonstration of re-cutting stock into the weird and wonderful. Converting modern clothes into period. Be inspired to rush back to your theatre group and start creating. (Supplies recommended: Paper and pen or pencil. Vivien also recommends bringing a camera)

Vivien Frow was a costume designer for 40 years, working in theatre, TV, and film in England, Australia, Kenya and Canada. Having retired from 'Divas and Deadlines', she now shares a studio at the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery in Qualicum Beach. Vivien has been a favourite instructor at Mainstage and Backstage.

Every actor should have a resume, head-shot and two monologue pieces that you love and are confident doing, no matter what or when.  This workshop will explore the auditioning process from your resume to skills needed in the audition room and most importantly, to what monologue you choose.  We will discuss your choice, your strength, choose new monologues or improve ones you have already.  We will discuss the nature of ‘contrast’ in order to build auditions that contain complimentary pieces.  This workshop will provide tips to connect with your monologue- finding the physical, emotional, and verbal freedom in the presentation of the monologue; boldness and directness in the audition room and the importance of total preparation.

Wear comfortable clothing.  Please bring your resume and one monologue that you currently use for auditions.

(BIO: see above)

Simple Massage and Movement Techniques - Gayle Heinrich
2 HOUR course- 3:00- 5:00 pm, Harmac Room                Repeat- seeSat. 5th, 3:00-5:00pm

Technical Workshop - Instructor TBA
2 HOUR course- 3:00- 5:00 pm  
Repeat - see Sat. 5th, 3:00-5:00pm

FREE WORKSHOP  Preparation for the Festival Process - Robin Boxwell
8:30 - 11:30 am  NOTE EARLY START

We will cover the Pre planning process right up to opening the show onstage, we'll talk about design techniques, Truck packing, Scheduling, Basic Technology to make your job easier, How to read the tech package and drawings, how to read a lighting plot, Making a plan of attack, how to organize your crew and a few more things. This is a workshop to make your life easier when bringing a show to festival and to Mainstage.

(Bio: see above)

DIRECTORS' LABS

The Directors' Lab, attached to each Workshop Play, provides a mentorship opportunity for directors and potential directors, intended to follow the process with the theatre professional as he/she provides consultation and scene workshopping for the Workshop Play production.
Lab participants will meet with the Workshop Play Instructor before the 1st performance, who will outline the process. Following the first performance the Workshop Play Instructor will meet privately with the Directors' Lab participants to discuss all notes, give his/her perception in terms of directing the piece & what he/she plans to do in terms of the workshopping, as well as discussing how to achieve specific directing goals for the piece.The Workshop Play Instructor will meet briefly a few times to discuss progress during the reworking sessions, to outline what is next and answer any questions the Directors' Lab participants may have. After the second performance the Workshop Play Instructor will meet with the Directors' Lab participants to wrap up the session, discussing observations made during the second performance and answer any final questions.

NOTE: Directors’ Lab participants have no voice during the workshopping sessions and will audit the sessions only. Discussion is reserved for the private meetings with the Workshop Play Instructor.
The show’s original director will not be included in the private
Directors’ Lab discussions with the Workshop Play Instructor and participants.
This is not about questioning the original directorial choices. It is about considering each participant’s perception of the play and the choices he/she might make as a director, with feedback on those choices from the Workshop Play Instructor. The original community director should be respected at all times.

See Mainstage Personnel Page for Workshop Play description.