We have participants coming from far and wide and a fantastic venue, so it is a great opportunity to train with like-minded artists and walk the boards of a 475-seat theatre.

SITI core members Ellen Lauren and J. Ed Araiza will teach classes in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training and the Viewpoints. The classes are from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Read more information on this event here.

While there are spots available you might want to REGISTER!

The project was conceived, scripted and rehearsed through the collaborative efforts of nineteen performers, two music composers and three choreographers. Based on Atkins’ adaptation, the performers created scenarios and vignettes illustrating the strata of the Inferno. Dante pulled no punches in the original 13th century poem, writing it entirely in the vernacular Italian language (instead of Latin) and populating hell with the corrupt popes, politicians and merchants of his own time; subjecting them to ironic and satirical punishments. It was meant to be a poem for the people, not the learned few; a dark comedy with a poignant message.

In this adaptation, the audience is lead through hell by two entrepreneurial tour guides who offer a “walking tour of the underworld” while up-selling the audience on merchandise. As the evening progresses, the tables turn and the audience must fend for itself, guided by a heavenly angel through the City of Dis. In the end, evil is contemplated through the lens of the modern, contemporary world, bringing hell closer to home. Dante’s Inferno: Living Hell played for two weeks in Brisbane’s historic Old Museum.

Browse the photo gallery below.

Production Credits:

Creative/Technical:
Stephen Atkins – Director
AlanJohn Jones – Designer
Ben Hughes – Lighting Designer
Dale Hubbard – Composer
Dale Thorburn – Choreographer
Hannah Myers – Producer, Performer
Anthony Wade-Cooper – Stage Manager
Allie Colclough – Technical Manager
Louise Hales – Front-Of-House Manager
Tamara Poole – Education Liaison Officer

August 9-13, 2010. SITI, the company that pioneered Viewpoints/Suzuki Actor Training will offer a 5-day intensive workshop in the Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre. Ellen Lauren and J. Ed Araiza, two core members of the internationally acclaimed performance ensemble will teach classes intended for performers of all skill levels.

The Viewpoints and the Suzuki Method of Actor Training are two distinct methods of actor training used in building and staging SITI productions. SITI Company members have been trained by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki and are uniquely qualified to introduce and train other theater artist in these challenging and innovative methods. Read below for more about these methods.

It is through the dialogue between Suzuki and Viewpoints, these two, very distinct, yet complimentary approaches to the art of acting that the philosophy and technique of SITI Company is continually explored, revitalized, and articulated.

---

THE TRAINING SPACE
The workshop will take place in a full-size performance venue, giving participants the opportunity to train in a large-scale space. See a 360 degree virtual tour.

The Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre, a 372-seat venue.

One of the most important aspects of SITI’s work is the teaching of our training techniques, to actors and theater artists throughout the United States and the world.

Each year we find ourselves in studios, working with old friends as well as a constantly growing number of new faces.

In addition to the workshops, SITI members are on the faculties of such institutions as The Juilliard School, New York University, and Columbia University.

SUZUKI METHOD

Suzuki Training. Photo: Megan W. Szalla

Developed by internationally acclaimed director, Tadashi Suzuki and the Suzuki Company of Toga, the Suzuki Actor Training Method’s principal concern is with restoring the wholeness of the human body to the theatrical context and uncovering the actor’s innate expressive abilities. A rigorous physical discipline drawn from such diverse influences as ballet, traditional Japanese and Greek theater and martial arts, the training seeks to heighten the actor’s emotional and physical power and commitment to each moment on the stage. Attention is on the lower body and a vocabulary of footwork, sharpening the actor’s breath control and concentration.

VIEWPOINTS

Viewpoints Training Photo: Michael Brosilow

The Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that grew out of the post-modern dance world. It was first articulated by choreographer Mary Overlie who broke down the two dominant issues performers deal with – time and space – into six categories. She called her approach the Six Viewpoints. Since that time, Artistic Director Anne Bogart and SITI Company have expanded her notions and adapted them for actors. The 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.

BLUE EGG is proud to host a weekend summer intensive in 2 styles of Physical Training for Actors.

The 2-day Physical Theatre workshop will be lead by working actor and Blue Egg member Tora Hylands and will focus on 2 styles of Physical Actor training.

The Suzuki Method of Actor Training is a rigorous physical discipline drawn from diverse influences such as traditional Japanese and Greek theatre as well as Martial Arts. The training seeks to heighten the actor’s emotional and physical power and commitment to each and every moment on the stage. This training method sharpens your breath control, concentration and stage presence.

The Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that was developed by SITI Company Artistic Director Anne Bogart from the modern dance world using choreographer Mary Overlie’s “Six Viewpoints”. The Viewpoints allows a group of actors to function together spontaneously and intuitively and to generate bold, theatrical work quickly.

WHAT: 2-week scene study short course
WHEN: Saturday Aug 28 & Sunday Aug 29, 2-8pm
WHERE: Blue Egg Studios, 207 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC
COST: $170

Call 604-569-0326 to book your place!
OR…

If you’ve been to the theatre this season and taken in a United Players, Metro Arts or Presentation House production, you might have noticed Anthony Wade-Cooper’s picture hanging in the lobby. He’s stage managed eight shows since completing his training in the Capilano University Technical Theatre Program. The most recent one was Dante’s Inferno, the 2010 “In the Raw” production by Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre in Brisbane Australia.

Anthony decided to take up theatre after retirement from a 35 year career as a flight attendant. He had performed in his college days, in his home town of Brighton, England, but wanted to see what it would be like to work on the technical side of production. His professional people-management skills and health/safety training made the learning curve a little less steep and before he knew it, he was doing semi-professional gigs with directors like Jay Brazeau and Bernard Cuffling.

When I meet my flight crew friends they say it looks like I found my true calling. Then they ask me what a Stage Manager does! ‘Everything’ I say, but this time I stay behind the curtain for the entire show.

Aside from being a Director of Human Theatre and our resident stage manager, Anthony’s next projects include Cinderella, the opera, with DragonDiva an apprenticeship with Vancouver Opera in 2011.