Yesterday, my MA program was invited to tend a workshop for the BA Acting students taught by the Trestle Theatre Company. Trestle has been a company for over 30 years, originally focused on physical story telling, creating "a distinctive style of theatre using masks, puppets and music."
We learned how, over time, Trestle developed into an arts facility funded by the Arts Council, and how they eventually chose to stop receiving funding in order to continue creating the work they originally set out to do in the 80s. They have a very intriguing history for any young artistic entrepreneur to know, and it was wonderful to learn about their company before setting off into the workshop.
We were led by Emma Rose Payne, participation and company coodinator of Trestle and the founder of Anthos Arts. Through this workshop, Emma helped us focus on activities we could facilitate when working with varying groups of people, specifically those in need of team building support and that come from oppressed situations. We discussed how theatre can help bring people together to communicate and cooperate, and appropriate activities to use in sensitive situations. She was very helpful in expressing how some acting activities can bring about uncomfortable feelings or memories, and emphasized encouraging participants to utilize their muscle memory instead of actual memories in practice. It was really interesting material to wrap my mind around, and very helpful for when I consider creating future classes for the different schools I work in back home.
Perhaps the main identifying component of Trestle Theatre is their work with masks. I personally have done very little work with masks, but after the different activities we did in this workshop, I recognized just how much of a tool they are; especially for students who are not confident in acting or speaking on stage. With the use of a mask, they can become a character using their bodies and muscle memory to express the character's wants and desires instead of their voice and face.
In order to do this in such a short amount of time, we played with the seven stages of tension and combined them with the different emotions that are portrayed on the mask. We also were taught to pay attention to the audience response to our movement with the mask on, recognizing which actions enhanced the emotion of the character and made it more believable, more relatable for the audience.
I think the most eye-opening activity was when we deliberately fought the emotion of the mask through our questions. For example, asking a sad character to express something they really loved to do such as their favorite hobby or past time. It was incredible to witness that transition, but still see the same expression on the mask and how they still worked for the character.
Some of the activities were variations of some games and activities I use in my own classes and Broadway Bootcamps. I think it is good to have different ways of playing games because of the different ages I teach. Of course, I learned plenty of new acting games and activities that I plan to incorporate in my classes when I am home in March and over the summer. I am definitely going to be saving up to get my hands on a set of Trestle masks (baby wipes to clean them) and other props that we used throughout the afternoon... I know all of my students would LOVE working with them.
It would be amazing to attend another workshop with Trestle Theatre while I am here. They're based north of London, so perhaps when I am there over the holiday break I can take a trip to their facility. I really thought Emma was a fantastic facilitator. I picked up on her energy and passion for theatre and thought we had very similar teaching styles, so when I do workshop what I learned yesterday in the future, I will be very happy to be able to refer back to her teaching example. Every day is a school day!
We learned how, over time, Trestle developed into an arts facility funded by the Arts Council, and how they eventually chose to stop receiving funding in order to continue creating the work they originally set out to do in the 80s. They have a very intriguing history for any young artistic entrepreneur to know, and it was wonderful to learn about their company before setting off into the workshop.
We were led by Emma Rose Payne, participation and company coodinator of Trestle and the founder of Anthos Arts. Through this workshop, Emma helped us focus on activities we could facilitate when working with varying groups of people, specifically those in need of team building support and that come from oppressed situations. We discussed how theatre can help bring people together to communicate and cooperate, and appropriate activities to use in sensitive situations. She was very helpful in expressing how some acting activities can bring about uncomfortable feelings or memories, and emphasized encouraging participants to utilize their muscle memory instead of actual memories in practice. It was really interesting material to wrap my mind around, and very helpful for when I consider creating future classes for the different schools I work in back home.
Perhaps the main identifying component of Trestle Theatre is their work with masks. I personally have done very little work with masks, but after the different activities we did in this workshop, I recognized just how much of a tool they are; especially for students who are not confident in acting or speaking on stage. With the use of a mask, they can become a character using their bodies and muscle memory to express the character's wants and desires instead of their voice and face.
In order to do this in such a short amount of time, we played with the seven stages of tension and combined them with the different emotions that are portrayed on the mask. We also were taught to pay attention to the audience response to our movement with the mask on, recognizing which actions enhanced the emotion of the character and made it more believable, more relatable for the audience.
I think the most eye-opening activity was when we deliberately fought the emotion of the mask through our questions. For example, asking a sad character to express something they really loved to do such as their favorite hobby or past time. It was incredible to witness that transition, but still see the same expression on the mask and how they still worked for the character.
Some of the activities were variations of some games and activities I use in my own classes and Broadway Bootcamps. I think it is good to have different ways of playing games because of the different ages I teach. Of course, I learned plenty of new acting games and activities that I plan to incorporate in my classes when I am home in March and over the summer. I am definitely going to be saving up to get my hands on a set of Trestle masks (baby wipes to clean them) and other props that we used throughout the afternoon... I know all of my students would LOVE working with them.
It would be amazing to attend another workshop with Trestle Theatre while I am here. They're based north of London, so perhaps when I am there over the holiday break I can take a trip to their facility. I really thought Emma was a fantastic facilitator. I picked up on her energy and passion for theatre and thought we had very similar teaching styles, so when I do workshop what I learned yesterday in the future, I will be very happy to be able to refer back to her teaching example. Every day is a school day!