Last summer Episcopal School brought Creatively Independent in for a Master Class week of Physical Theatre. It turned into a joyous adventure of actor devised work exploring the themes inside childhood games. This Master Class series is open to all Jacksonville students and will occur again June 25-29, 2012. 9-noon. *Open enrollment, limited space, $300/student* [...]
New interdisciplinary arts LAB opening in Jacksonville, FL headed by co-directors, Chris Beaulieu and Jess Pillmore. THE LAB is a month-long training ground in experimental arts using theatre, dance, music and creative writing as tools to explore your unique point of view as an artist. Each month we’ll explore theme-based art creation that promises to be physical, dynamic and challenging with a strong focus on play!
The classroom, rehearsal hall or lab is where one must try anything and everything for the sake of the exercise or tool to be explored not for the sake of an audience. That is another, very important, but additional step in the process; one that is often jumped to for the sake of energy or treat-oriented teaching.
I was in school mode and trying to be childlike and excited about opportunities I might not have let myself take advantage of because of silly “adult” excuses – too busy, too expensive, too tired… But the good little schoolgirl, Jessica, took my hand and we experienced many fun and interesting moments in the performing arts this summer – all with my older, critical eye.
This is just another clear example of how the seemingly individual threads of my life – work, motherhood, marriage, art – are woven into an intricate and ever-changing pattern of me. Which makes me question are any of us truly individuals? Even inside ourselves, there are many selves. Are we all tiny communities built out of tinier communities, all trying to focus on a common goal?
A critical essay on a strong individual’s exploration inside the dance world. When I think of stunning contemporary dancers, or performers in general, a few come to mind quickly: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Martha Graham, Judith Jamison, Savion Glover and Sylvie Guillem. All had the reputation for being both muse and diva; motivating and challenging; loved and gossiped about. All had amazing talent discovered in themselves at an early age, a drive to work that talent into an art and the ambition to show it to the world no matter who said they shouldn’t or couldn’t.
To observe without judgment, to help by not helping at all
Staying, listening, recording
How I have difficulty not assessing
Difficulty waiting without planning
Imagining putting pieces together to form a larger whole
All this stops me from working as a witness
Finding stillness, breath, letting stories of pain, happiness, joy, longing – flowing through me
Hi everyone, This is Jess Pillmore, Co-Artistic Director of CI. I’m currently working on my MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College and would love to share some of my work with you on this blog. My goal for this degree is to explore how to active an individual inside an ensemble and conversely how [...]
C.I. has been slacking a bit with the blog entries (hopefully, this will change… today). Busy bees that we are, we have tons of news: Jess & Chris have conceived and directed a post-modern feminist look at HAMLET, that’s one rollercoaster ride of rock ‘n’ roll and physical theatre! We decided to do gender specific [...]
There are a lot of sayings that pop into my head with this one: “Timing is everything.” “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” All of these tried and true quotes and yet we still downplay the importance of timing. A prime example, in our work, is when companies and schools call [...]
So… I volunteered to partner with a student for his small sword test. And unfortunately, that is where my ownership of the experience started and stopped. I thought I was being helpful “just being his partner”, letting him lead the rehearsal process and giving him whatever he asked for. Because of this, I was holding back many things: a personal interest in my work, major skills I could utilize (teaching and coaching) and a point of view….
Great week in Jacksonville working on physical theatre (contact improv, “As One” collective consciousness, intention and actor/creator skills). We had a blast with a terrific group of risk takers! Watch the video here…
On the blog, we’re starting to spotlight exercises we use in rehearsals and workshops. The key is never the game itself, it’s the use of it. One game can be used in so many different ways, accomplishing many different goals. Keep in mind: What does the group need? Why am I using this exercise now? [...]
Here’s the quandary… how does someone know what someone else NEEDS to learn? They can’t, they can only guess based on statistics and past experience. But we’re not living in the past and education is meant to prepare us for the future. So… what to do? I suggest switching roles. Let the student be the [...]
They say we all have a little bit of stereotyping/prejudice in us and I am no exception. Recently, I was at a conference of multicultural schools in Germany. While there, I worked with teachers and students from many different countries and cultures. As our ensembles formed, I noticed a student who fit the Non-Team player [...]
As I watch a student try an activity, I see how we’ve truly become creatures of multitasking… and I don’t know if that’s good or not. The more you’re doing the better, seems to be the current motto. With that in our blood stream, are we ever doing one thing well? I ask the students [...]
When directing a play or teaching character work, I have many exercises dedicated to giving the actor the opportunity to live inside the world of the play. We start these exercises at the beginning but I’ve noticed it’s difficult for some actors to fully commit early on. They tend to hold back in rehearsal, [...]
Clean slates are important in our work, starting from neutral in order to build a character, a play, a song, etc. Yet most of us tend to cover up our neutral in one of two ways… doing too much or suppressing doing anything… both fight what truly “is”. Sometimes we observe our students doing more [...]
I just spent 4 days playing with an amazing group of middle-schoolers in Germany. Their task was to create theatre based around the theme of “Play”. When preparing for the workshop, I kept hitting a roadblock: “What’s the difference between Play and Art? Aren’t we always playing?”. So, that became the quest as my ensemble [...]
I love it when you find your match. The partner who is in tune with your every move, thought and feeling. It happens when you least expect it, at least it did for me.
Working in the Stage Combat world, as with many other worlds, you are constantly partnered up with people you don’t really want to work with … the issues… safety and talent mainly. It’s great to find that fellow actor that you can succeed and fail with and know they have your back. Recently, I found that partner….
