A sequence of one-day workshops running from September 2023 –July 2024 with Sarah Kane

The one-day workshops planned in 2023 and 2024 aim to provide an overview over the core elements of Michael Chekhov’s acting technique that he continued to develop throughout his life. They range from the very beginnings of any serious artistic research and exploration to the finer points of developing a stage life and creating character, including the character’s psychological gesture.

Each workshop will be an entirety in itself and can be taken individually; priority will be given to those wishing to enrol in the three groups of workshops (September – December, January – March, April – July) and in the entire series.  

Please bring clothes and shoes suitable for movement as a well as a piece of text such as a monologue or poem known by heart, so that it can be used in the exploration of any aspect of the technique in practice.

Part one: The Imagination
September - December

‘Imagination is the real and eternal world, of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.’ William Blake

As actors and performers how can we engage with our imagination in the process of creating, transforming into character? Imagination is a part of every human being and for many performers an essential element in their creative process: how can the imagination serve and also enhance our individual creative journey? Can we train it?

These questions will be at the heart or core of the first three weekend workshops for professional actors and performers and will explore one of the core elements of Michael Chekhov’s understanding of and approach to the actor’s professional life and work.

Imagination I
Concentration and Observation

Sunday 24 September

10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm

What kind of concentration does a performer need? How can learning to observe and then practising observation help us first to concentrate, then to develop and expand our imagination, being able to become more playful with it? The workshop will investigate these and other questions in playful ways as we search for a clear and reliable creative process that can be called on when the performer’s intuitive creativity is not available.  

Imagination II

The four Elements as Imaginative Tools for transformation Part I

Saturday 30 September 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm

This workshop will explore how with the help of the imagination the actor can access the first two of four main qualities present in the world surrounding us as perceived in Ancient Greek culture. How can they inspire performers to express these qualities as they live in human beings in and through the body, both in sound and movement, and then become an element in the creation of character?    

The four Elements as Imaginative Tools for transformation Part 2

Saturday 16 December 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm

This second workshop will continue to explore how with the help of the imagination the actor can access the third and fourth of the four main qualities present in the world surrounding us as perceived in Ancient Greek culture. How can they inspire performers to embody these qualities, both in sound and movement, and then become an aspect or element in the creation of character?    

Imagination IV

Imagination and the transformation of space

Saturday 23 December 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm

The space where performance happens is not often integrated into performance as a creative tool, but many good writers know how the awareness of space, both the individual and the general, can enliven and enrich ensemble work and create mesmerising individual performances.  Michael Chekhov calls this imaginative exploration of space ‘atmosphere’, both general or objective and individual or subjective: how can this intangible thing enhance our creativity, become a creative tool and a part of any artistic process?  

Coming in 2024:

Part Two: Three Workshop

January – March 2024: From Movement to Gesture

April – July 2024: Creating Character

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Workshop Fee: £55 per individual day; £200.00/£150.00 for four/three workshops; £425.00 for ten workshops

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