Viewpoints masterclass

Two day Viewpoints Masterclass with Annie Ruth
Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 November 2012, 

London Buddhist Arts Centre, Bethnal Green
This opportunity is open to artists of all cultural backgrounds.
Deadline for applications: Friday 16 November, midday.

Viewpoints is an acting technique with a focus on time and space.  
Viewpoints disrupt vocal and physical habits to bring freshness to engagement with text.
Viewpoints grew out of the post-modern dance world, where it was first articulated by choreographer Mary Overlie.  Since that time, acclaimed theatre director Anne Bogart, Artistic Director of SITI Company, and Playwright Tina Landau have expanded Viewpoints and adapted them for actors. The approach has been compared to the Suzuki Actor Training method. 

Viewpoints allows a group of actors to function together spontaneously and intuitively and to generate bold, theatrical work quickly. It develops flexibility, articulation, and strength in movement and makes ensemble playing really possible. 

Viewpoints are a way of both training performers and creating movement and space on stage. They are points of awareness that a creator has while working. Although widely taught in the USA the Viewpoints method is very rarely taught in the UK. A useful summary of Viewpoints can be found here: http://www.loveacting.com/viewpoints.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viewpoints

The Viewpoints Workshop will be led by Annie Ruth (MNZM), a renowned practitioner of the Viewpoints method, who learned her practice from Anne Bogart and has developed her own approach to this work.

Annie Ruth combines Viewpoints with frameworks based on tikanga Māori, ritual practices from her country of origin, New Zealand. Annie Ruth has led Viewpoints masterclasses extensively throughout the UK and internationally.

Day One will introduce tikanga Māori frameworks and teach the basic physical and vocal Viewpoints.  Day Two will apply the approach to working with text. Participants will gain an understanding of an approach that gives actors greater agency in creating work and an ability to work quickly to achieve dynamic results. They can then apply this to other methodologies.