Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe are hosting a VIEWPOINTS workshop for College Students and Adults by Annie Ruth on Saturday July 9th

Muritai School Hall, Muritai Road, Eastbourne.

Morning and afternoon tea and light lunch provided.

$40 for BCTT members and $50 for others. Book your place

We’re fortunate to have this opportunity to learn from such an experienced teacher. Call Florence on 04-562-8116 for more details and to register your interest in attending.

What is the workshop about?

This workshop will focus on our physical life on the stage and will employ an approach called Viewpoints.

So much of our work in theatre is focused on the text and we can forget that we are also bodies in time and space.  The result is ‘televisual acting’ where brain and face are engaged but the body is left behind.  Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints were developed to address that problem.

 Viewpoints are a way of both training performers and creating movement and space on stage.

•  They are points of awareness that a creator has while working.

• They are a practical language for the stage.

• They are a way of paying attention to what happens in the world and using that understanding to bring greater life to performance.

Participants should come in comfortable clothes and be prepared to move.

They should learn 4-6 lines of text (anything spoken continuously by one character).

Don’t worry if this sounds complicated or foreign.  It is actually based on a lot of common sense and will become clear as we work.

Above all, come with an open heart and a willingness to have fun and work together.

All about Annie

Annie Ruth, MNZM, PhD.

Annie is a director, actor, teacher and academic. She was Director of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, 1997-2011. In 2011 she was honoured for her work in drama with Membership of the Order of New Zealand (MNZM). Currently she is Research Mentor for the Arts Department Staff at Whitireia New Zealand.

Annie specialises in Viewpoints actor training and improvisation. Her directorial work explores frameworks developed out of Māori ritual practices together with and the Viewpoints methodology developed by American director, Anne Bogart. This was the subject of her PhD, awarded in 2013.

Recent performance laboratories include London’s International Centre for Voice, the National University for Theatre and Cinematography of Romania, India’s National School of Drama and the Shanghai Theatre Academy, China as part of their Masterclasses in Directing series focusing on Oceania.

Annie is a dancer with Crows Feet Community Dance Company and this year co-directed Hakari:The Dinner Party with the company. Currently she is directing Ophelia Thinks Harder with the Whitireia Performance for Stage and Screen actors.