Online Workshop Series

We have three brand new exciting workshops - and they're all PAY WHAT YOU CAN!

On Saturday 8th May we are running a series of three online workshops that share a glimpse into our three core strands: Interactive Theatre, Shakespeare, and Devising. We've decided to make all the workshops Pay What You Can. This is a chance for us to meet exciting new people interested in our work, and share a few of the tips and tricks we've learned in nearly ten years of making theatre. Read on for full details on all the workshops.

'A Leap into the Unknown'
​The 6FootStories Approach to... INTERACTIVE THEATRE

TIME: 10am - 12pm, Sat 8th May
LOCATION: Zoom
LINK: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150291567123

This workshop offers an introduction to performing and creating interactive theatre. In the session we will explore:

• some of the key ways in which we begin to create interactive theatre
• the different models for audience interaction, ranging from end-on audience participation shows all the way through to immersive installation pieces and street theatre performance
• the demands of this sort of work on performers (both in terms of creativity and welfare)
• the creation of “alter-ego” characters
• working in urban environments/the public space

​We’ll explore how a performer can prepare themselves for that “leap into the unknown”, but we’ll also paradoxically explore the art of un-preparation.
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Grounded in playfulness, improvisation, solid character work, and experimentation, this is endlessly exciting work for us as a company and we hope the workshop provides an equally exciting insight into this field of work. Suitable for performers, writers, theatre makers or directors looking to explore this work themselves.

'Playing with Text'
The 6FootStories Approach to... SHAKESPEARE

TIME: 1pm - 3pm, Sat 8th May
LOCATION: Zoom
LINK: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150294536003

In this workshop we will explore some of the key aspects of our approach to Shakespeare. After making two extremely well-reviewed productions (Macbeth: A Tale of Sound & Fury, Hamlet: Rotten States), as well as R&D on a third (The Tempest: Ministers of Fate), we feel well-placed to share some of the techniques we use when working with Shakespeare.

Our Shakespeare productions are boldly reworked whilst remaining faithful to the language. We do, however, move scenes about, repurpose dialogue, craft brand new scenes with stolen lines, and we cut. A lot. So it is with this sense of irreverence that we share our process.
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We will look at:

• Using soliloquies as a tool for theatrical invention and ensemble performance
• Finding base characters for the ensemble/finding a frame
• Turning tragedy into comedy
• Reducing complex scenes to moments of montage and physical comedy
• The editorial process - cutting and stitching. And more cutting.
• Sharing roles - in our previous productions, all three actors played Macbeth & Lady Macbeth, all three actors played Hamlet. There is much to be discovered through this device, both theatrically and in terms of the language.

​We will work on selected scenes and speeches from the plays we have worked on in depth; these will be sent out to participants in advance of the workshop in order for you to familiarise yourselves with the material.
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This is suitable for performers usually fearful of or disinterested by Shakespeare. It’s also going to be great if you’re a huge fan of the Bard. If you’re interested in great language, theatrical invention and ensemble-based theatre making then this is the workshop for you.

'Dreams & Autobiography'
​The 6FootStories Approach to... DEVISING

TIME: 4pm - 6pm, Sat 8th May
LOCATION: Zoom
LINK: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150312688297

In this workshop we will be sharing some of our core techniques and the tips and tricks we’ve learned in nearly 10 years of making theatre. We will focus in particular on our use of dreams as a starting point for generating material, as well as how we weave semi-autobiographical content through our work. Reference will be made to our original shows The Number of the Beast, Soften the Grey and The Burgundy Boy, as well as to other artists’ work that is particularly inspiring to us, and ideas we currently have in development.

In the session we will explore:

• Our ‘Dreamweaving’ process, in which dreams are shared and smashed together to create starting points
• Mythmaking and stories within stories
• The rules of the world
• Our editorial process and options for writing collaboratively
• Excavating your own experience - and your subconscious - for endless material

This workshop is perfect for performers thinking of making their own work, students looking to explore new methods, or writers and directors looking to refresh how they begin to generate content.

FULL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE FOR SAT 8TH MAY:

10AM - 12PM - 'A Leap into the Unknown': The 6FootStories Approach to... INTERACTIVE THEATRE

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150291567123​

1PM - 3PM - 'Playing with Text' The 6FootStories Approach to... SHAKESPEARE

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150294536003​

4PM - 6PM - 'Dreams & Autobiography' The 6FootStories Approach to... DEVISING

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/150312688297​