Posted July 14, 2009

Main Street Stage, in conjunction with Creatively Independent, will be offering two workshops Monday August 3 and Tuesday August 4 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Each workshop is $40.

The first workshop will be Stage Combat, Unarmed Violence for Stage & Screen
Slaps, punches, kicks & more taught with the “safety first” technique used on stage & screen. Get on your feet & learn the illusion of violence & how to stage it in your next show. Participants will learn the primary safety aspects of combat and the core unarmed moves they will most likely come across in their scene work: identifying when combat is needed and how to be smart, safe actors when dealing with violence. Plus, the physical ensemble work will promote team building, listening skills and a heightened awareness of one's surroundings. All skill levels and body types welcome.

The second workshop is Physical Comedy - Extreme Actor/Audience Techniques

Let them laugh at you... It's your JOB! Learn a hybrid of straight comic acting, physical comedy and quick witted improv to engage and mesmerize your audience. Tune up your own comedic timing and inject that into your character work. Find out the magic of repetition, how to make the simple hilariously difficult, and much more. Participants will develop a stronger sense of the clown in their character work and how to incorporate the audience in everything they do. Focus is also put on being vulnerable in front of an audience and reaping the benefits from the honesty in your comic work. All skill levels welcome.

The instructor, Christopher Beaulieu, is an Actor/Director/Fight Choreographer/Teacher with over 15 years experience teaching and directing students in various areas of theater. Co-founder of the physical theatre company, Creatively Independent, LLC, Chris tours 250+ days/year performing and teaching the performing arts. He has taught internationally in Germany and Canada, as well as nationally. Chris has founded theater companies in Massachusetts and Germany. He has trained and taught with the internationally recognized Shakespeare & Co. education program.

Chris is an accredited Advanced Actor/ Combatant in 7 weapons with the Society of American Fight Directors. He recently finished the prestigious Physical Theatre Program at Dell Arte International School of Physical Theatre. This intensive training focuses on the actor-creator and the development of devised work for the theatre including stage movement, mask construction & performance, commedia, melodrama, clown and improv. Beyond the stage, Chris teaches at multiple conferences: Florida State Thespians, North Carolina State Thespians, Florida Assoc. of Theatre Educators and the prestigious Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (SE Region), as well as clown/performance skills under the Big Top for Circus Smirkus, a well established youth based circus school. Recently, Chris was asst. director to Dell'Arte's Artistic Director, Michael Fields on the original production of The Hunting of the Snark.

Chris is happy to announce his recent invitation to join the select list of teaching artists working for ISTA (International Schools Theatre Association). ISTA reaches students across the globe and is responsible for the IB Theatre curriculum. Recently, Chris directed Continental Theatre’s premiere of “The Diminticato Family Circus” at Montreal’s highly acclaimed Segal Centre.

To register for this class please call Main Street Stage at 413-663-3240 or visit their website at mainstreetstage.org and click on reservations. Space is limited.

For more information on Creatively Independent visit: creativelyindependent.net

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