MetaPLATFORM:
CLOWN (120h)
MetaPLATFORM is an educational concept where the participants have the possibility not only to learn the basics but also to dive deeper into the subject. After the summer intensive start, we will continue to work together in the fall and develop summer’s impro material towards a clown number for our final Clown Matinee.
The director of the workshop and the midwife for the clowns is Soile Mäkelä (MA).
See the FB-photo albums from the previous MetaPLATFORM 2021
Portraits Photos: Soile Mäkelä
Clown Soiree 30.11.2021 at Cirko, Photos: Aleksi Pihkanen
AIMED FOR
MetaPLATFORM is aimed for professionals and students of performing arts who wish to get some boost for their physical expressivity. For some participants the workshop might be the first touch for the theatre clownery, for some it might be refreshment of the skills and awakening the creativity.
DESCRIPTION
MetaPLATFORM 2022 will dive in to the core of theatre clownery, where the clown is born of the personal ridicule of the actor and where the stories are dealing with all the colours of the life, also the dark ones. This long clown project will take the participant to the source of tragicomic humanity, there where all the homo sapiensis, year after year, find themselves stupefied in front of the universal miracles of life.
The process of searching one’s personal clown is not only an individual trip, but always a very intensive group process. The clown does not exist without an audience. In MetaPLATFORM, the group is a test audience and great support for each other during the whole process.
From the point of view of developing as a clown (and human being), it’s interesting how our own idea of what is ridiculous in us is often very different than how the others see us. The clown process is great fun, above all, but it needs also courage! Courage to face your imperfections, accept them, play with them and one day... perhaps love them a bit.
The purpose of the education is not to do therapy sessions with the red nose, but to develop our personal material and transform it to the universal level with acting techniques and meet the audience.
TEACHER
Soile Mäkelä is a theatre teacher, performer and director, who has worked with masks since 1996. She works as a freelancer in various institutes or theatres in Finland, i.e. Teatteri Metamorfoosi, Helsinki Summer University and Turku Arts Academy. In addition she does artistic projects, teaches and leads the education and mask making departments in Teatteri Metamorfoosi which she co-founded in 2005.
Soile graduated from University of the Arts Helsinki, Theatre Academy from department of theatre pedagogy in 2008. She studied physical theatre in France and Italy based on pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq 1999-2002. Before that she graduated from Metropolia, Helsinki University of Applied Sciences/ Performing arts as a drama instructor 1999. In addition she has participated numerous mask and clown workshops around Europe ‘cause she likes to put herself in “trouble” and keep on learning all the time. The most significant teachers and inspirations during her clown trip have been Giovanni Fusetti, Mario Gonzalez and Pierre Byland.
STRUCTURE AND THE TIMETABLES
Please read through the information and timetables well and check out that you can fully commit to the whole education project.
SUMMER (60h)
Week 23: Mon-Fri 6.–10.6. (30h)
Week 24: Mon-Fri 13.–17.6. (30h)
Daily working hours are 10-17:00 (including 1h lunch break)
MetaPLATFORM starts with two weeks intensive investigation of personal ridicule of each participant and introduction to the group of loveable losers and their endless flops.
Before we put on a red nose, we will start with basic physical theatre training methods from Lecoq-pedagogy and from Mario Gonzales. This will help us to create a common working language and present some techniques we can use in the clown improvisations later on.
After the preparation we will witness the miracle of the birth of the clowns and their holistic ludicrous. During the second week we will go deeper to the clown work and you can use all your previous skills (music, dance, acro etc.) in the clown improvisations. If you think you don’t have any skills, don’t worry, your clown will have plenty. We will investigate also how to use our own personal stories as a starting sparkle for your clown impros.
After the summer workshop the group might get some tasks to prepare for the next meeting.
AUTUMN REHEARSALS
AND CLOWN MATINEE (60h)
During the autumn we will deepen the clown work, develop the material of the previous meeting and create numbers for the Clown Matinee. They can be solos, duos or done with small groups, 15-20 min each.
September
Week 37: Sat-Sun 17.–18.9. (12h)
October
Week 39: Sat-Sun 1.–2.10. (12h)
Week 42: Mon-Fri 17.–21.10. (30h)
Sat 22.10. Practice and General rehearsal (6h)
Sun 23.10. Clown Matinee 15:00
Rehearsal times 10-17 (including 1h break each day)
During the 22.10. we will start the rehearsals at 10:00. The General will be at 13:00.
The length of the Clown Matinee can’t be defined at the moment, because we might have some other clown activities of Teatteri Metamorfoosi presented during that night also.
PARTICIPANTS
Min 8
Max 12
LANGUAGE
Teaching will be in Finnish, except if some participants do not speak Finnish, then the teacher speaks either Finglish, English, Italian, French or Onomatopoeia.
You can perform in any language you wish, even in silence.
PRICE
Early Bird 690€ (deadline 1st of May )
Regular price 740€ (deadline 20th of May)
The workshop will be confirmed on 23rd of May.
Conditions of the workshop in case of cancellation:
Please note: Once the the workshop is confirmed, If the participant must cancel his/her participation (regardless of reason, including illness), the reimbursement is given only if there is someone in the waiting list who can take his/her place.
VENUES
WORKSHOPS:
Teatteri Metamorfoosi /Point Fixe
Suvilahdenkatu 10 a 4th floor
00500 Helsinki
Metro: Kalasatama or Sörnäinen
THE LAST WEEK OF REHEARSALS AND THE CLOWN MATINEE:
Nukketeatteritalo (Pakilan Työväentalo)
Lepolantie 19
00630 Helsinki.
Map
CONTACT
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact:
soile(at)metamorfoosi.com
(All rights reserved for changes by Teatteri Metamorfoosi)