Outstanding Workshop hosted by Mime Centrum Berlin & Plateforme

This past September I attended a truly fantastic workshop on the topics of pantomime, mime corporel, Marceau-style, and Meyerhold's biomechanics taught by Anke Gerber, Oliver Pollack, Lionel Ménard, and Tony de Maeyer.  This workshop is hosted by the Mime Centrum Berlin and by the Plateforme organization and has been taking place for the past three years.  Not only were the instructors phenomenal, the studio in which we worked was absolutely beautiful: Studio 2 of the Kunsthaus Bethanien is a large, bright room with natural light and high ceilings in a castle-like ex-hospital located in Kreuzberg.  Every morning we looked out from the tall open windows over the lovely courtyard and park below.  The days were full of hard, physical work, inspiring challenges, in-depth exploration of the different styles, and great conversations over shared meals.  Our week together culminated in an hour-long performance open to the public, during which we showcased several pieces we had been developing over the week and our work with ensemble-based, improvised movement.  Aside from our group work, I was involved in a Marceau-styled performance of "Le Manteu" directed by Lionel Ménard and based on the short story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol, and in a piece created with two other colleagues based on "Les Lavandieres," one of Marceau's dream studies.  After such an intense week, it was certainly hard to say goodbye, but the relationships formed will surely lead to future creative collaborations, to which I am already looking forward!  In case you're interested in participating yourself, check back in with the Mime Centrum & Plateforme next year for registration details.  Highly recommended!

Photos: Plateforme