DIY: 2011 – Pete Edwards The lnvisible Obstacle Course

Professional development projects BY artists FOR artists across the UK

Please note that this DIY workshop will now take place in London on the revised dates of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October 2011. Application deadline 23 September

DIY 8: 2011 – Call for Participants
A game of strategy and unfamiliar territory.

Project Summary:
This project is aimed at Live and performance artists whose own voice and/or body are central to their work. This project is for you if you are experiencing a creative block, have reached a plateau in your artistic practice, or are feeling too defined by a signature performance style or approach, which presenters, commissioners, audiences or you yourself have come to expect. Through a series of ‘Obstructions’ specially devised for you, you will be taken outside of your performative comfort zone and expand your toolkit of strategies and techniques. You will be made to think about and use your body or voice in new and unfamiliar ways within structured activities, look at your work from a fresh perspective and hopefully come out the other end feeling challenged but inspired.

The session focusing on voice and aural communication on Saturday 22 is for artists who feel that this is their primary or most consistent communication tool in presenting their work. The Obstructions and exercises will focus on using the voice differently (for example, an operatic performer being restricted to a whisper). The session focusing on the body and movement on Sunday 23 is for artists who see bodily expression, movement and gesture as their primary communication tool in presenting their work. The Obstructions and exercises will focus on using the body differently (e.g. restricting movement to one key position).

As an artist with cerebral palsy and a different speech pattern, I have had to look at different ways of using the body and voice in my own work. My body is integral to my work and so movement and communication have to be constantly negotiated. This is something that is always at the forefront of my practice, and I feel that experience could be of benefit in helping other artists to continue the ongoing process of developing their own approaches to devising and performing.

Dates, times and location(s):

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October

1.30-5.30pm

The People Show, Pollard Row, London, E2 6NB

The project is supported by Live at LICA/Nuffield Theatre and LANWest.

Application procedure:
This project is aimed at artists who have been working in Live Art for long enough to feel established in their practice. Please send the following (by e–mail or post) to Pete Edwards, filmpro, Studio 8.1, 1–15 Cremer Street, London, E2 8HD / [email protected] to arrive by 23 September 2011:
• Your name, contact details and access requirements.
• Between 3 and 5 video clips of your recent work, each no longer than 5 minutes. These can be supplied on DVD or as links to view online.
• A brief description or statement about your artistic practice and why you would like a place on The Invisible Obstacle Course (no more than 300 words).
• Whether you would like to take part in a session that focuses on VOICE or on BODY.
Applications sent in hard copy should be printed in point size 22.

About the artist:
I am an actor, writer and performance artist. I have Cerebral Palsy, which includes a differing speech pattern. I don’t wish to be defined by my disability, but rather from my abilities that have arisen from my situation. My acting credits include Moliere’s George Dandin and independent short film Welcome Stop by Michael Achtman. Fat, my recent one-man show, toured in 2010, during which I was awarded DaDaFest Best Emerging Artist.

Contact information: c/o filmpro limited, Studio 8.1, 1-15 Cremer Street, London E2 [email protected] 020 7613 5856

Please note that this DIY workshop will now take place in London on the revised dates of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October 2011. Application deadline 23 September

DIY 8: 2011 – Call for Participants
A game of strategy and unfamiliar territory.

Project Summary:
This project is aimed at Live and performance artists whose own voice and/or body are central to their work. This project is for you if you are experiencing a creative block, have reached a plateau in your artistic practice, or are feeling too defined by a signature performance style or approach, which presenters, commissioners, audiences or you yourself have come to expect. Through a series of ‘Obstructions’ specially devised for you, you will be taken outside of your performative comfort zone and expand your toolkit of strategies and techniques. You will be made to think about and use your body or voice in new and unfamiliar ways within structured activities, look at your work from a fresh perspective and hopefully come out the other end feeling challenged but inspired.

The session focusing on voice and aural communication on Saturday 22 is for artists who feel that this is their primary or most consistent communication tool in presenting their work. The Obstructions and exercises will focus on using the voice differently (for example, an operatic performer being restricted to a whisper). The session focusing on the body and movement on Sunday 23 is for artists who see bodily expression, movement and gesture as their primary communication tool in presenting their work. The Obstructions and exercises will focus on using the body differently (e.g. restricting movement to one key position).

As an artist with cerebral palsy and a different speech pattern, I have had to look at different ways of using the body and voice in my own work. My body is integral to my work and so movement and communication have to be constantly negotiated. This is something that is always at the forefront of my practice, and I feel that experience could be of benefit in helping other artists to continue the ongoing process of developing their own approaches to devising and performing.

Dates, times and location(s):

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October

1.30-5.30pm

The People Show, Pollard Row, London, E2 6NB

The project is supported by Live at LICA/Nuffield Theatre and LANWest.

Application procedure:
This project is aimed at artists who have been working in Live Art for long enough to feel established in their practice. Please send the following (by e–mail or post) to Pete Edwards, filmpro, Studio 8.1, 1–15 Cremer Street, London, E2 8HD / [email protected] to arrive by 23 September 2011:
• Your name, contact details and access requirements.
• Between 3 and 5 video clips of your recent work, each no longer than 5 minutes. These can be supplied on DVD or as links to view online.
• A brief description or statement about your artistic practice and why you would like a place on The Invisible Obstacle Course (no more than 300 words).
• Whether you would like to take part in a session that focuses on VOICE or on BODY.
Applications sent in hard copy should be printed in point size 22.

About the artist:
I am an actor, writer and performance artist. I have Cerebral Palsy, which includes a differing speech pattern. I don’t wish to be defined by my disability, but rather from my abilities that have arisen from my situation. My acting credits include Moliere’s George Dandin and independent short film Welcome Stop by Michael Achtman. Fat, my recent one-man show, toured in 2010, during which I was awarded DaDaFest Best Emerging Artist.

Contact information: c/o filmpro limited, Studio 8.1, 1-15 Cremer Street, London E2 [email protected] 020 7613 5856