WORKSHOPS

Online workshop "Zooming into Theatre" (31st January 2021, 11:00 - 13:00)

During this two-hour session, Sarah Blake will guide you through the perks and pitfalls of virtual rehearsals and online acting and directing, as well as sharing tips for both actors and directors on how to get the best out of the video chat format, and answering any questions you have about creating your own online show. A great way to have fun, feel creative and stay connected!

Improv (April 13th 2019, 10:00 - 17:00)

Improvisation is a key tool in the rehearsal room – it helps an actor to imagine and build the world of the character with great vividness and truth. It’s also a fun way to develop confidence and connect with the rest of your ensemble!

In this workshop, you’ll learn to:

– Master the basics of improvisation: why actors do it and how it helps with performance

– Improvise successfully, in every different kind of scenario

– Free yourself and gain more confidence, so you can ‘go with it’ in the rehearsal room

Stage Combat (8th and 9th September 2018, 9:00 - 17:00)

We are very excited to announce that fight director, Philip d'Orleans, will be coming to Darmstadt in September to run a workshop on stage combat for ETG members! Philip is a Master Teacher with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat, has taught at more than 30 international workshops, and is a fight examiner with the BASSC, the Irish Dramatic Combat Academy, and Stage Combat Deutschland. His credits include Fight Director for the RSC production of Titus Andronicus (read his interview here), and he was recently involved in the Hollywood hit 'Pan' starring Hugh Jackman.

Introduction to Physical Theatre (11th March 2018, 10am - 4pm)

This one-day workshop takes you into the realm of physical theatre – the ability to suggest a character purely through your body, without the need for speech. During this session, you’ll learn how to:

– Become more aware of the messages and signals your body sends out

– Adapt your posture and movement to portray a particular character

– Explore techniques for expanding your physicality to create a greater stage presence

– Connect your ideas about a role directly to your physicality, so your body language compliments your characterization in a truthful way

Sarah Blake is a professional actor, writer, and theatre director who has been successfully training business people, professional actors, and enthusiastic creatives for over eight years.

To find out more about Sarah's workshops, please go to www.sarahblakeworkshops.com

Directing, starting 14th February 2018 for 12 weeks

Taught by Sarah Blake

An ongoing workshop that will explore the fascinating and highly creative world of the director. Over the course of 12 weeks (every Wednesday evening from 14th February), you’ll learn professional directing techniques and gain insights that will help to build your directing confidence and find your creative groove.The course will be a mixture of theory and practical, with participants having the opportunity to put the theory into practise, through some fun practical exercises and the chance to direct some ‘mini play’ extracts, within the safe, low-pressure environment of the workshop studio.

Actors who are interested in developing their performance skills may also be interested in joining the workshop - because often, good directors make good actors! Many of the creative skills and insights that will be taught in the workshop are completely transferable from directing to acting… and in addition, actors will have the opportunity to do ‘drop-in’ work, rehearsing and performing over a short periods with the potential directors, while they work on their mini scripts. To register interest, email us at committee@escotheatre.org

Timeline:

Wednesdays - 14th, 21st, 28th Feb, 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th March, 11th, 18th, 25th April, 2nd, 9th, 13th, 16th May.

The cost of this workshop is 25€, only slightly more than 2€ a day!

An Improvisation & Devising Workshop for Actors and Directors (8 October 2017)

Improvisation is a fun and incredibly freeing way to approach performance – but it’s also a key tool used by top actors to prepare themselves for a role and explore characterisation. In this one-day workshop, you’ll be learning directly from a professional, Sarah Blake, who will take you through the basics of improvisation and teach you some of the secrets that professional actors use to build:

Confidence – in your own performance and abilities

Chemistry – with your fellow actors on-stage

Charisma – in an electrifying stage presence

Clarity – so the audience fully believes in your performance.

In addition, we’ll look at taking improvisation to the next level – and explore how this free- flowing creative process can be used to successfully devise your own scenes, stories and sketches. All you need is your own imagination!

The workshop is led by Sarah Blake at The Curious Room.

Introduction to Physical Theatre (3 October 2015)

This workshop encourages actors to think about the physical aspects of their performance, helping with characterisation and increasing stage presence. The workshop is led by Cabinets of Curiosity, a Professional Theatre Company by Sarah Blake.

Workshop for new Lighting Software (13 and 20 August 2015)

Mark Grundy will be running two sessions to introduce the Group members to our new Lighting Laptop Software. The workshop will take place in our the new member room in the ESOC S building, S017.

Audio Theatre Workshop (June-August 2015 - Recording 1 and 2 August 2015)

Professional Actor Sarah Blake has offered running an Audio Theatre Workshop for the ESOC Theatre Group members. The team will be will be working on 'An Ideal Husband' by Oscar Wilde – creating an audio version that will be recorded in a professional sound studio, and will then be made available on CD and online.

Light & Sound Workshop (14 September 2014 - 10:00 am)

Mark Grundy will explain technical and artistic aspects to consider when planning the light and sound effects of a play. At the end of the workshop, the participants will have the opportunity to create an actual plan for a small sketch and practice what they will learn during the workshop.

Improvisation Workshop (12 July 2014 - 9:00 am)

Abigail Paul from the Theatre Language Studio Frankfurt has kindly offered to lead an improvisation workshop for our members in order to keep us practicing while we prepare for our November production and of course to all those who are still experimenting with their acting skills.

Make-Up Workshop (29 June 2014 - 10:00 am)

Regular Voice Classes (May 2014 - Tuesdays 18:00 hrs)

Sarah Blake has kindly offered our members a regular voice training session, held on Tuesdays at ESOC. All members are welcome to join.

Summer and Autumn break: August - October 2014

Directing Workshop (April 27th, 2014 - 10:30-16:30 hrs)

We are pleased to welcome Sarah Blake to introduce our theatre members to the secrets of directing. This workshop is aimed primarily at new directors, who want to develop their confidence and proficiency in directing, and learn some essential ‘tricks of the trade’. However, more experienced directors who are interested in exploring different approaches are also very welcome.

Storytelling & Stagecraft Workshop (March 5th, 2011)

Thank you to Lars Heine from FEST who has offered to lead a Make-Up workshop on 29 June 2014 for our members. The registrations for this workshop are higher than expected and we are looking forward to an exciting day with him!

In March 2011, we were pleased to have Nigel Harvey from Sweden coming to Darmstadt to run a workshop for us. The themes of the workshop were group dynamics, storytelling & stagecraft. The workshop was just awesome. Thanks Nigel!

Workshop with children (January 30th, 2011)

In January 2011, Ruth Armstrong took for the second time the leadership of a group of around 12 of our children to invest in our future famous actors! Thanks Ruth!

Writing for Theatre (October 2010)

Workshop on Theatre writing for thespians, directed by Susan Merson. Thank you for this incredible workshop Susan!

Workshop with children (October 2010)

In October 2011, Ruth Armstrong, Mark Grundy, Emma Wright, and Moira Grundy took the leadership of a group of around 12 of our children to invest in our future famous actors! Thanks Ruth! Thanks Moira! Thanks Emma! Thanks Mark!

Voice Aspects Workshop (June 11th, 2010)

At the beginning of June, 2010, Sarah Blake brought the successful performance "Five Clever Courtesans" to our beloved Darmstadt city, and presented us a marvelous workshop on Voice techniques, which was visited by 12 participants.

In this workshop, we learned to focus our voices for a better projection in theatrical rooms, practicing from breathing until role personification. Singing, laying, doing funny noises, we learned how to project our voices even when whispering!

Acting and Improvisation Workshop (April - July, 2010)

During the first semester of 2010, Ivan Aksenov strongly motivated and educated our actors, to be more aware of the preparations and state of mind needed to perform roles in theatre.

As result of this workshop, which was held twice per week during several months, various new members joined our theatre group and old and new members got to know each other in a really fun and fast way. We even learned to juggle! Thanks Ivan for the effort invested on our members and newcomers!