Olga Lapina

Director is improvising: case study

Masterclass for directors
on methods and strategies for the performance-making

The work of director unites great number of tasks on the wide spectrum from methodological analysis and solid performance vision to flexibility and plasticity of hands-on work with actor in ever-changing rehearsal process. The necessity to combine frames of the clear strategy with artistic freedom and improvisatory nature of creation is a challenge for any director, despite of the school, background and experience. But exactly in this union between strategy and improvisation lays a huge potential for enriching our personal directing vocabulary and arsenal. Lets second-guess our knowledge of improvisation as merely acting tool and harvest the best fruits of its philosophical, cognitive and artistic possibilities to enrich the feast of directing visions, techniques and methods.

This masterclass is based on detailed study of three cases of my personal directing practice in three different directing strategies. Each of this strategies involves improvisation in different, well-pronounced and artistically justified way. Performance “Words factory” explores traditional rehearsing process involving etude method and applied improvisation in the process of research. Performance “About fears” uses methodological improvisation in the range of verbatim techniques, devised-theatre methods and visual art principles. And performance “Code: HAMLET” explores pure improvisation as a mode of performance combined with immersive theatre principles and play theory. All these performances are not only a solid examples of contemporary theatre practice, but also a part my artistic doctorate research, so they will provide you both with academic back-up and practical knowledge, letting you adapt and use these methods in your own directing practice.

Teacher

Dr Olga Lapina

Number of participants

Maximum number of participants  10

Teaching Language

The course  is held in English and in Russian (see Russian Department)

Format

Online masterclass

Mode of operation

3 days, 3 academic hours each, 9 academic hours in total

Course fee

65 €

Course dates and registration

This course will be offered again soon, you can express your wish to be informed about future dates by filling out the contact form.

Your expression of interest helps us greatly in planning future courses.