Blanc Space Masterclass Series
Monday, November 9th, 2009
THE BODY AS CONTAINER OF HUMAN IMPULSES
A Chinese Language Theatre Workshop with
Tang Shu-wing, Renowned Hong Kong Director
Date: 20 Dec (Sun) to 23 Dec (Weds) 2009
Time: 1.00pm to 11.00pm daily
Language: Conducted in Mandarin
Through the workshop, participants will learn how to make use of the actors’ body to create performable theatrical language on stage that is immediate, powerful and affective.
The Blanc Space Masterclass Series is a training platform organised by Drama Box to provide Singapore Chinese language theatre practitioners with opportunities to learn and work closely with theatre masters from the region as well as explore the language of contemporary Chinese language theatre.
This coming 20th to 23rd December 2009, we have invited renowned Hong Kong director, Tang Shu-wing to hold a 40-hour workshop, The Body as Container of Human Impulses, in Singapore. Tang’s minimalist and physical approach forms a very distinct style in the Chinese theatre scene and the excellence of his work has been recognised by many international experts, with the Metropop magazine naming him the “Alchemist of Minimalist Theatre”.
The Body as Container of Human Impulses is an intensive workshop and every day, the workshop will start with intensive physical training followed by these areas of work:
- Exploration with different elements of human expression: Voice, Respiration, Facial Expression, Gesture and Displacement;
- Improvisation with these elements;
- Imagination and Impulse through a physical task;
- Formation of movement choreography; and
- Improvisation with a text: Antigone by Sophocles
Fees
S$300 per person
Enjoy an early bird discount of S$250 if you register by 30 Nov 2009!
Registration
The workshop is targeted at theatre actors and/or directors who have some stage experience. Participants should be conversant in the Chinese language.
E-mail your name, CV and contact to blancspace@dramabox.org or call: 6324 5434. Registration closes 10 Dec 2009.
Venue
Apsara Asia Studio A @ 2 Kampong Kapor Road, S(208674).
About Tang Shu-wing
Described by Parole Magazine of l’Alliance Francaise as “one of the most talented theatre directors of Hong Kong”, Tang Shu-wing is the Dean of Drama at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). Trained as a lawyer, Tang had turned to the theatre arts and had studied acting in l’Ecole de la Belle de Mai and theatre studies in the Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, where he obtained a Maitrise Certificat in 1990.
Tang worked as an assistant director and actor in Theatre de la Main d’Or and other theatre, film and television production companies in France before returning to Hong Kong in 1992. He has been very active in directing, acting, writing and education ever since. He was Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Resolu from 1993 to 1996 and has been the Artistic Director of No Man’s Land since 1997. In 2004, he joined the School of Drama of HKAPA was the Head of Directing & Playwriting before his appointment as the Dean of Drama in August 2009.
During his stay in France, he was greatly attracted to the ideas of “theatre of the convention” of Meyerhold and “poor theatre” of Grotowski. For him, theatre is a way to experience life through self-discovery. He has been constantly pursuing a theatre which can trigger the maximum imagination through minimalist aesthetics. His works, ranging from solo to large scale classics and from multi-media productions to cross-cultural collaborations, have been presented in many different cities, including Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Macau, Tashkent, New York, San Francisco and Sydney.
As a director, Tang has directed over 35 productions of drama and dance. His representative directing works include Life and Death Trilogy (1997 to 2000), Between Life and Death (2002, 2003 & 2004), Deathwatch (2002), Phaedra (2005 & 2007), Kiss of the Spider Woman (2005), Hamlet (2006), Princess Chang Ping (2007), The Absolute Turkey (2008), Titus Andronicus (2008 Hong Kong Arts Festival), and dance production Princess Chang Ping (2009). He was invited by the School of Drama of Carnegie Mellon University to direct The Other Shore by Gao Xingjian in September 2008. His stage acting credits include: Two Men on a No Man’s Land (1996 & 1997), Dream City (1998), Millennium Autopsy (1999 & 2000), Deathwatch (2002) and Sunshine Station (2002).
His major awards include consecutive wins as The Best Director at the Hong Kong Drama Awards (2006 & 2007); the l’Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres bestowed by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication (2007); and the Award for Arts Achievement (Drama) granted by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for his achievement and contribution in dramatic arts in 2008.
The Blanc Space Masterclass Series is organised by Drama Box, in partnership with the National Arts Council (Singapore).
