Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Neutral Mask starting October 30th


We are happy to announce that Company of Rogues will be offering Neutral Mask starting October 30th, taught by Aaron Coates. For more information or to register, please call 403.228.5526 or email info@corogues.com.


Neutral Mask
October 30th - November 10th, 2013
Wednesdays (6:00pm - 8:00pm) & Sundays (1:00pm - 2:00pm)
Cost: $200 +GST
Instructor: Aaron Coates

Description: Would you like to make your performances more physically dynamic? Are you interested in playing characters far from your own type? In this workshop, students will use the Neutral Mask to discover greater freedom in performance, to learn what real presence is all about, and to use your body to its full potential as a storytelling tool. The work will begin with a discovery of the habits, unconscious mannerisms, and accidental movements that we often don’t recognize as we perform.  After discovering a “neutral state”, we will then examine how you create characters with clear and specific qualities. We will examine extreme movement and minute movement, making this class suitable for performance on stage or screen.

Aaron Coates is an actor, director, playwright, teacher, and the co-artistic director of Trepan Theatre.  He studied acting at Mount Royal College in Calgary and at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris. With Trepan, a company known for outrageous physical comedy, he has created and performed in SHE, Matadora, The Cat Lady Show, and La Mexicaine de Perforation.  Aaron has worked for many theatre companies in Calgary including Cowtown Opera Company, Lunchbox Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Ghost River Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, Calgary Opera, Quest Theatre, and Downstage.   His plays include: The End of the Rope, which has toured throughout Alberta and was shortlisted for the Writers Guild of Alberta Award for Drama; Tin Soldier, an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story, created in collaboration with UK-based Aitherios Theatre and performed in an Off-West End Theatre in London; and numerous short plays and monologues which have been performed in Canada, Australia, and England.  He is also a faculty member of Company of Rogues Actors’ Studio and co-artistic director of Calgary’s long-running “improvised soap opera” Dirty Laundry.