School of Performance and Cultural Industries

Alec Clegg Studio

University of Leeds

Monday February 11th, 5-7pm

Organised by the Performance Training, Preparation and Pedagogy Research Group

Join us for an exciting evening dedicated to Directing including:

a talk by Professor Simon Shepherd (Central School of Speech and Drama) and sharing of work in progress of Phaedra I — by Persona Theatre Company and directed by Dr Avra Sidiropoulou, Open University of Cyprus, followed by a roundtable discussion with the creative team.

The event will conclude with a wine reception and the launch of the series The Great European Stage Directors edited by Simon Shepherd and Directions for Directing by Avra Sidiropoulou (2018). 

Phaedra I — ­is a solo multimedia portrayal of a modern-day Phaedra, bearing all the ambiguities of a restless, contemporary woman who oscillates between the desires of the body and the attraction to the void, suffocating in her socially imposed roles within the ruins of a decaying metropolis. The production’s use of 3-D mapping, video projections and minimalist aesthetics yields a highly poetic visual journey through Phaedra’s stations of personal and public history. Phaedra I—is being realized with the kind support of the J.F.Costopoulos Foundation.

Simon Shepherd will ask ‘What do directors direct?’, building on his previous reflections on the specific role of the director. This, will be argued, is as distinct from the activity of directing.  In answering this question, the talk shall suggest the key things directors need to be able to do, and consequently what they have to learn.

Please RSVP to Linda Watson, Linda Watson, [email protected], by Thursday the 7^th of February. 

An international symposium presented by DAMU and The S Word 

Legacy and the live tradition: acting, directing, thinking…

8^th to 10^th November 2019, @ Theatre Faculty, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU), Prague, Czech Republic.

DAMU and The S Word present a symposium on the theatrical legacy of one of the most influential personalities of 20th century theatre and his relationship to Konstantin Stanislavsky.

Under the auspices of Jan Hančil, rector of AMU and the minister of  Education  of The Czech Republic, the symposium will bring together scholars and theatre practitioners; explore Brecht‘s influence on the work of directors and acting teachers, and the relationship between Brecht and Stanislavsky;  trace the influences  on  the approach  to directing  theatre in various  countries, to playwriting  and consider Brecht‘s  politics and  theatre  as highly social  art. A Comparison with Stanislavsky‘s approach to theatre training, the  development  of modern  theatre  directing, and dramatic, alternative and authorial theatre will also be explored.

Guest speakers, paper presentations, workshops  and panel  debates  will take  place  in three focus areas:

Brecht,  his  legacy and  modern  theatre practice  will  examine Bertolt  Brecht’s  influence in the fields of theatre directing, modern stagecraft, scenography and playwriting and his continuing impact on the modern  theatre.

Brecht, Stanislavski and the actor focusing on comparison and aspects of actor training and the actor’s work as reflected in the brechtian and stanislavskian traditions. We will explore new developments and interpretations in each of these and their influence and impact on contemporary state of the art psychology, neuroscience and theatre studies.

Brecht’s Theatre practice and criticism (historical and theoretical background and new research achievements)

Guest speakers, paper presentations, workshops  and  panel  debates  will  take  place  in  three focus areas:

Brecht,  his  legacy and  modern  theatre practice  will  examine Bertolt  Brecht’s  influence in the fields of theatre directing, modern stagecraft, scenography and playwriting and his continuing impact on the modern  theatre.

Brecht, Stanislavski and the actor focusing on comparison and aspects of actor training and the actor’s work as reflected in the brechtian andstanislavskian traditions. We will explore new developments and interpretations in each of these and their influence and impact on contemporarystate of the art psychology, neuroscience and theatre studies.

Brecht’s Theatre practice and criticism (historical and theoretical background and new research achievements)

Keynote speakers:

Professor Stephen Parker (Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, UK.), author of Bertolt Brecht: A Literary Life(Bloomsbury) described by The London Review of Books as a “superb biography of a great iconoclastic writer”.

Professor Jean-Louis Besson (Professor Emeritus, University of Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-La Defense), author of over 100 publications,translations, articles and papers, including “Brecht and the centaurs” and “Brecht in Hollywood”.

Special Guest speaker:

Thomas Ostermeier the distinguished multi-award-winning international theatre director, whose work is often seen at the Schaubühne, Berlin.

Guest speakers/workshop leaders include:

Professor David Barnett (University of York), author of A History of the Berliner Ensemble (Cambridge University Press), and Brecht in Practice(Bloomsbury).

Stephen Unwin, theatre director and author of The Complete Brecht Toolkit (Nick Hern Books), and A Guide to the Plays of Bertolt Brecht(Methuen).

David Zoob (Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, UK.), author of Brecht: A Practical Handbook (Nick Hern Books)

NB. speakers are subject to final confirmation.

We now invite proposals for the following:

paper presentations (20 minutes), workshops (40 minutes) and panel presentations of a minimum of 3 speakers (60 minutes).

Submissions (not more than 300 words) should be accompanied by a short biographical note, and must be received by 14^th June 2019

Please send by email to Prof. Paul Fryer ([email protected]).

Selected papers from this event will be published in a special edition of the journal Stanislavski Studies (Taylor & Francis) in Autumn 2020.