Last night was the second of three fun tasters by The Stage. Tasters are a great opportunity for everyone to try out workshops, and have their opinions matter. They are short, free, one time workshop sessions that give you an idea of what it would be like to take the full 8-week workshop sessions. Plus, which tasters move on to become workshops, and on what days, depends on what the participants say in the surveys given at the end of the evening. An easy and fun way to have your voice heard!
Tuesday night we had the first session, with two tasters. We started out with The Artists Way taught by Udi Razzin. He began by asking us some questions like “My father thinks artists are (fill in the blank)”, “I think real artists are…”, and “Write down five of your dream lives”. After each group of questions we had a chance to share and reflect on the answers. We then got to hear a more in depth description of the workshop. It will follow a book called “The Artists Way”, which in fact describes how to do the workshop. So why do it in a group and not alone with the book? In a group you have the support and encouragement of the other members, plus the experience of someone who’s done it before. You also have it built into your schedule, which makes it easier to commit. This workshop will help you reconnect you with your creativity and find the artist inside you. Potential workshop participants should be aware that work at home is recommended. A weekly walk, daily writing and a weekly date with yourself will help you make the most of The Artists Way.
After a quick break we had Sounds Possible with Briony Howden. Briony is a professional singer, life coach and voice coach. We started the workshop by each saying either the song we are today or our greatest fear. We then continued to a mental and vocal warm-up, before getting down to singing! Briony picked a wonderful song for the taster - Imagine by John Lennon. During this workshop, you will be able not only improve your singing ability, but also overcome your stage fright, and concern over what people think of you. What personally struck me was how positive and encouraging Briony was throughout the session.
Last night there was The Art of Movement with Riella Morhayim and Musical Theater with Dan Schwarzman. We started out with The Art of Movement, with a short introduction by Riella, who certainly has a wealth of experience. The workshop was composed of the participants introducing themselves, which doubled as an exercise, warm-up, group exercise and finally a brief meditation. Personally my favorite part was the meditation. We all closed our eyes, and painted a space around us with our bodies. I found it very freeing and relaxing, and good way to connect with your immediate space. Throughout the session Riella very much emphasized posture and how you present yourself. What might interest potential participants is that Riella says everyone will be different by the end of the workshops, it's about changing yourself into a performing artist.
Musical Theater was a great chance to use those vocal chords! Almost everyone got a chance to sing a solo, and everyone definitely got to sing a lot with the group. I always like it when a workshop really gives you a chance to implement the theory. We had a short vocal warm-up, followed by learning two songs - “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” from Guys & Dolls and “All That Jazz” from Chicago. We learned a song, sang it a few times as a group, and then the participants had the opportunity to volunteer to sing it solo. Dan gave each soloist his comments, during their song, so they had an opportunity to try and improve in the moment. It also allowed the rest of the session’s participants to hear the comments and try and incorporate them into their own singing. This workshop will be focused on American musical theater. So if that’s your passion, this is the workshop for you!
Feel like you missed out? Tomorrow, October 24th, we have our final two tasters! Acting 101 with Tehila Kronfeld and Improv for Advanced Beginners with Uri Lifshitz, who ran a very successful improv workshop during our last run of workshops. It's from 10:00 - 12:30 at Beit Ariella. I am definitely looking forward to it, and hope to see you there!
By Ma'ayan Dekel