Robin Yorke – The Polyphonic theatre approach
The first Exchange workshop was led by Robin Paley York, a visually impaired graduate of Rose Bruford, whose interest lies in how psychoacoustics can use live and recorded sound in creating narrative. He explored this through various exercises including song, ways in which the voice and the body can be integrated, and the role of vibrations as a tool for the performer, both the internal corporeal and external environmental vibrations.
Giles Abbott – Storytelling and voice
The UK’s leading professional blind storyteller Giles Abbott led a workshop on storytelling and vocal development. The session explored what parts of a story stick and how to make the most of them, what language works best in storytelling and techniques to make the story come alive for listeners.
Christopher Hunter – Shakespeare
Visually impaired actor and director Christopher Hunter led a workshop on unlocking classical text, more specifically Shakespeare. The workshop gave a practical introduction to working on a classical text through exploring scenes from Shakespeare’s Julias Caesar and Venus and Adonis.
Maria Oshodi – Gig theatre
Extant’s Artistic Director collaborated with visually impaired DJ Jamie Renton and CEO of Attitude is Everything Suzanne Bull, to lead a workshop to explore disability, popular music and drama
Victoria Hogg – Improvisation
Comedy improvisation coach, Victoria Hogg led a workshop designed to introduce our artists to the key principles of comedy improvisation using short-form games and long-form scenes