This workshop teaches students the techniques and skills needed to bring the masks to life on stage. The students learn the valuable lesson of slowing down, executing simple precise movements, and working with limited vision.  Most character masks have narrow tunnel vision at best.  Some have no visual sightlines at all.

The workshop as usual begins with a physical warm up emphasizing stretch and over exaggerated emotions and movements.  We then immediately work with the masks.  The students go up five or so at a time and try on the masks.  They begin to explore how they're mask character moves and holds itself.  In situations where we are working with a single class this remains the focus for the entire class time. 

When we have several classes we then work with emotional states and explore subtler impressions that the masks can evoke.  One exercise is for the student to find a place in the classroom that the mask character considers home.  The observing students discuss what kind of place the character has based on the poses, actions, and location the mask character chooses.  We will even discuss the nature of the character's career, marital status, etc..  The workshops then progress to encounters between two or more characters.  This requires and teaches the students to wait and watch their partners carefully before they respond.

return to teacher's lounge