Jan Fabre Teaching Group
GUIDELINES FOR THE PERFORMER IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Just like figures such as Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and Grotowski, throughout his career, Jan Fabre has put together a set of ‘exercises’ which he uses to prepare his performers (his actors and dancers) to work on stage. These ‘Guidelines for a performer in the 21st century’ have developed into the basis of his teaching and find specific expression in his work.
The series of exercises focuses on systematically refining and optimising the quest for the potential of the physical acting (also known as ‘physiological’ acting). The exploration of the evocative imagination of the ‘body as a whole’ is a leitmotif here. In exercises with titles such as ‘the old man’, ‘the tiger’, ‘the insect’, or ‘rice paper/fire’, it’s neither the imitation nor the psychological aspect which takes center stage, but the exploration of the physical potential of the transforming body. Here, Fabre attaches great importance to breathing, the use of explosive energy, and the articulations of the head, torso, and limbs. Input is drawn from the kinetics of cold and warm-blooded animals.
FROM ACT TO ACTING
“The contemporary performer that Fabre wants to give shape to, situates himself on the intersection of performance, theatre and dance. Jan Fabre has developed his own version of these in an acting form that could be called physiological. He’s ever in search of physical impulses in and on the body of his performers and stimulates them to act from that ‘real’ physical awareness on stage. Fabre himself calls this process ‘from act to acting’: the real physical impact (excitement, stimulus, exhaustion, etc…) is used as an imprint in the performer’s memory which he can call into being instinctively at any given moment in order to perform a certain scene”. – Prof Luk Van den Dries (From act to acting. Fabre’s guidelines for the performer of the 21st century)
About the publication:
FROM ACT TO ACTING. FABRE’S GUIDELINES FOR THE PERFORMER OF THE 21ST CENTURY
From act to acting. Fabre’s guidelines for the performer of the 21st century is a book that wants to prepare the performer for a new age. The book is written by Luk Van den Dries, dramaturg and theatre researcher of the University of Antwerp, in tight collaboration with Jan Fabre and the three most important performers/teachers of Troubleyn (Annabelle Chambon, Cédric Charron and Ivana Jozič). For ten years they worked together on this new manual for performers, based on Fabre’s extensive experience as a theatre artist and choreographer. This book sheds new light on the physical, mental and vocal training of the performer and furthermore gives insight in Fabre’s revolutionary thoughts on contemporary theatre.
FIND OUT MORE VIA OUR LITERATURE PAGE
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Previously Jan Fabre and his company have committed themselves to basic comprehensive scholarly research into Jan Fabre’s theatre language and the guidelines which Fabre uses in training to develop the expressive powers of his performers.
TEACHING GROUP
For several years now, Jan Fabre has been training some of his most experienced performers to teach. The Jan Fabre Teaching Group passes on ‘the physiological acting’ as an instrument to new generations of artists all over the world.
In workshops and master classes lasting several days, organised both in-house and in international theatre contexts (such as schools, universities, institutes, research centers, festivals) performers are introduced to the basic principles of Fabre’s acting approach. The performer’s body becomes an instrument that examines and embodies the transition from act to acting. The imagination and physical awareness are gradually sharpened and the performer is challenged to build a bridge towards a state of physical transformation.
TEACHERS
SEE TEACHERS BIOS HERE
Ivana Jozic
Annabelle Chambon
Cédric Charron
Conor Doherty
Stella Höttler
Gustav Koenigs
Irene Urciuoli
Pietro Quadrino
MORE INFO
More info can found HERE.
STAY IN TOUCH
Subscribe to our newsletter!
CONTACT
These workshops are aimed at professional and semi-professional dancers, actors and performers and last between 4 and 10 days.
For more information about these workshops, contact
masterclass@troubleyn.be
Images
