In February tutor Ian White is present with Jimmy Robert and Tanja Baudoin.

The day will start with a general discussion to get some feedback from the students about the Matt Mullican Class of Masters they attended in Amsterdam. In addition, Vanja suggested a recent article by Claire Bishop that raises some interesting questions about the work we’re doing and how we might position it and ourselves.

For the workshop, the group will be divided into 3 smaller groups. Each of the students are asked to think about deriving a performance work from the ‘doing-observing-writing…’ text they compiled on the blog since last time, and that they can develop within these groups. Everyone will be working from the same text this time, but otherwise, everyone can work in a similar way as last month with the Yvonne Rainer poems – so that one might incorporate an object, movement, speech, etc, and consider how this could function as a group work.

When we come to show each other our ideas each group will occupy a specific role in relation to the others as follows:
Group performing
Group directing
Group observing

It’s intended that the group directing manipulates/intervenes/makes suggestions to the work of the group that is performing and that this process is observed by the third group. We’ll take it in turns to occupy these roles. The interventions into the group performing’s work can take any form. As a means to provoke some ideas around how/what/why students will have a look at pp. 108-35 in Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed.

On Wednesday evening, students and tutors attend a musical performance in the City Theatre/Stadsschouwburg in Arnhem.

In addition, on 26 February, the DAI students in practice-theatre attend If I Can’t Dance and Bulegoa z/b’s presentation of 18 pictures and 18 stories. This is an afternoon of storytelling at Het Veem Theater in Amsterdam, with speakers Moosje Goosen, Esteban Pujals Gesalí, and Emilio Moreno; and a new work by the Spanish artist Isidoro Valcárcel Medina. 18 pictures and 18 stories is the first outcome of a yearlong research by Spanish artist Isidoro Valcárcel Medina and Bulegoa z/b. DAI students who were part of previous’ year’s project Affect/Production, are already acquainted with Bulegoa z/b and Isidoro Valcárcel Medina through workshops and meetings in Amsterdam and a trip to Bilbao.

Read more about practice-theatre here