The Class
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With your commitment and Aelita's guidance you will learn to let go and allow the character - rather than the actor - drive the body. Through physical theatre exercises, you will train your body to respond to your character’s inner monologue. This will allow you to react spontaneously to the unexpected. Aelita will help you discover your own uniqueness - what you can bring to your performances that nobody else can - and to harness it and use it to set you apart from the crowd.
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Through clown exercises and scene work, we will focus to have direct access to your character and to deliver spontaneous and authentic performances. Aelita will support you through your unique process of unlocking the barriers between self and character; between mind and body; and between artifice and authenticity.
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We work in a group of no more than 12 people. We start with warm up, physical exercises. We then proceed with improvisations on a stage (alone or with others). Each improvisation is discussed to identify and bring out the positive and important aspects of our clown (and how it lives in us). This is done with care and respect for each individual and within a framework of rules that ensures a secure and protective environment.
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This is aimed at theatre professionals and not the general public.
About
Aelita West
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Aelita West is an actress born in Russia, based in New York City for over twenty years, and touring internationally year-round. With more than forty years of experience in film and theatre, her work spans drama, physical theatre, and clowning, as well as directing and teaching. For decades, she has been a leading clown in the world-renowned “Slava’s SnowShow" By Slava Polunin. It is a rare opportunity to experience her teaching in New York this spring.
THE PRINCIPLES
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INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH
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WELL STRUCTURED CURRICULUM
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A COMMITMENT TO GUIDE AND SUPPORT YOU IN THE WORK
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ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENT
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EMPOWERING YOU TO BECOME YOUR OWN TEACHER
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COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND LEARNING
The Philosophy - Physical Theater
An actor is a magician who can open a new world to his audience. To do this, an actor must master his craft. He must find the mechanism that allows him to travel between worlds. Words alone cannot achieve this. An actor's soul and body must work together to create this transition. So how do you do this? What is it you need to discover about yourself? That is the focus of this masterclass, where I offer you a meeting with yourself, with your imagination and with your body. With this training, we give ourselves the key to a limitless world of creativity - not along the beaten path, but along our own individual path.