Apply Now: Writing and Devising For Puppetry With Clea Minaker

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Dates: November 5-8th, 2019 (4-day workshop)
Time: 10 AM – 3 PM Each day
Location: Maison internationale des arts de la marionnette: 30 Avenue Saint-Just, Outremont, QC
Fee: $60 (please contact us if this fee would be an obstacle to your participation)

Writing and Devising Puppetry: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Creation

Presented in collaboration with the Association Québécoise des marionnettistes (AQM)

This  four-day workshop is designed as a laboratory to explore and experiment with puppetry and the interdisciplinary creation methods it employs as unique form of scenic writing.

In puppetry, narratives unfurl as interrelated threads woven from; objects and materials, movement and presence, light, sound and/or text. As performers activate these elements: bringing them into relationship with each other, with time, and with space: a singular poetic language is formed.

This workshop asks the question, what does it mean to create and compose in a language that is both material and time based? What are visual dramaturgies? And, where do we begin when we wish to ‘write’ with images?

Throughout the workshop, participants will be invited to engage in puppetry and performance exercises, as well as to experiment with visual mediums and creative writing techniques, in the construction of performed visual narratives.

This workshop is not designed as an introduction to technical aspects of creating or manipulating puppets, but views the puppetry arts as a large family of theatrical forms wherein material and performer meet. The workshop invites participants of diverse backgrounds (performance, puppetry, design, writing, stage technique, visual arts etc…) to gain greater perspective on the unique storytelling opportunities that puppetry presents.

In addition to structured improvisations, individual and group exercises, participants will be given (some) opportunities to explore projects of personal interest within the context of the workshop.

Note: This workshop will take place primarily in English, but many of the exercises and discussions will be led in English and French in order to best accommodate all participants.

How to Apply:

Please send your CV and/or bio as well as a brief paragraph explaining why you are interested in this workshop, and your experience with puppetry, and/or interdisciplinary approaches to creation to harris@playwrights.ca using the subject line: Exploring Practice with Clea Minaker.  The deadline to apply is Thursday October 3rd, 2019 before 1pm

Biography of Clea Minaker

Clea Minaker is a puppeteer, designer, director, and interdisciplinary creator who graduated from the sixth promotion (2002-2005) at L’École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville‐Mézières, France. Through her personal creations, Clea has explored an interest for shadow, light, live video projections, as well as the poetics of manipulation and corporeal gesture.

She has collaborated across artistic disciplines: in theatre, live music, opera, dance, film, and visual arts, including collaborations with Feist (The Reminder Tour 2007/2008), Atom Egoyan, So-called, Kid Koala. She has created works for: the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Convergence: an International Summit on Art and Technology at the Banff Centre, IF! Istanbul, The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and Festival Casteliers. Clea premiered her first full-length solo performance The Book of Thel, at Théâtre Lachapelle, Scènes Contemporains in 2013.

Clea has taught puppetry, shadow puppetry, and interdisciplinary creation at; U.Q.A.M ‘d.e.s.s marionette contemporain’, Concordia University, National Theatre School of Canada, Playwright’s Workshop Montreal, U.B.C.O, Mcgill University. She is currently co-director of the Banff Centre Puppet Intensive offered by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop.

In 2009 Clea was awarded the Siminovitch Protégé Prize for Theatre Design by prize Laureate and puppeteer Ronnie Burkett.

This workshop is presented in collaboration with:

Association québécoise des marionnettistes

Our exploring practice series is supported by:

Emploi-Québec and Compétence Culture Logos

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