Research into performer training has reached a peak of activity in the last decade, due partly to the resurgence of interest in established figures from the Twentieth Century (such as Michael Chekhov and Jacques Lecoq); partly to the challenge postmodernism raises for those involved in training performers; and partly to the shifting ground of performance within Higher Education, specifically the development of research agendas in what used to be called the conservatoire sector and the thorny question of what ‘training’ might mean in a conventional degree programme. 

The working group offers a national forum for active researchers and practitioners working within and around the territory to debate these issues, with a view to establishing a number of collaborative projects. It does not confine itself to actor training per se but encourages interdisciplinary dialogues with, for example, dancers, musicians, live artists, new technologists and/or circus performers. Its focus remains, however, on the training methodologies underlying these disciplines and, for clarity’s sake, on regimes and practices from this century and the last.

The group’s work entails a range of presentational formats including short practical demonstrations and performative papers. The group is consciously outcome- and project-oriented and seeks to establish clear goals for research work in the periods between TaPRA conferences.

Call for Papers 2008 

Now in its third year, the C20th and C21st Performer Training Working Group is delighted to issue a call for papers for this conference, picking up on the threads of our discussions last year and intersecting with the first UK visit of the internationally renowned Ukrainian theatre director, Andriy Zholdak, who trained with Anatoly Vasiliev. Zholdak will be running a masterclass for a week alongside the TaPRA  working group and will be presenting a public lecture on his work as part of the conference.  It is hoped that ONE of our conference working group sessions will be devoted to an engagement with Zholdak's master class,  followed by a reflection on the experience. More details of this to follow nearer the time.
 
Papers, provocations, position statements and instances of practice (of varying lengths) are invited to cover any area of current research into performer training, but colleagues might like to pick up on one or more of the following themes emerging from the vibrant discussions we had last year.  250 word (max) proposals with brief biography and resource needs are requested by 5th May 2008 to all three convenors.
 
1. The intuitive performer. (What does this imply and at what level does it involve 'training' in the way we normally understand it? What is the nature of the relationship between intuition and expertise? How do we document and speak of such intuitive processes?)
 
2 The ways and means of embodying knowledge in workshop/theatre making environments. (What models of training are involved here and how can we test their efficacy?)
 
3. Contemporary political economies and their impact on C21st performer training  (Is 'deep' training possible at all in the HE sector today?)
 
4. Reflections/papers/thoughts on the 'disembodied' spoken voice in performance; recorded, mechanised, amplified, politicised etc.
 
Please feel free to have a conversation with any or all of the three convenors as you consider what you might offer for the working group sessions. Our group also welcomes participants who do not wish to present a paper or provocation.
 

 Co-convenors

 

Dr. Simon Murray	Prof. Jonathan Pitches	David Shirley
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