Physical Theatre and Polyphonic Singing in Guangzhou
Friends Playback Theater
We were invited to Guangzhou by Friends Playback Theater to give a three day intensive course focusing on physical theatre, incorporating voice, breath and polyphonic singing. We had a very interesting mix of participants, with people flying in from Fujian and North East China. This is our first time teaching in Mainland China, and we hope to do a lot more.
We worked in a mix of English, Cantonese and Mandarin, and used some text in translation in all three languages. Not to mention the Georgian and Serbian in the polyphonic songs.
We worked towards some short presentations at the end of the three workshops days, based on the Greek myth of Philomela, Procne and Tereus. These incorporated text with physical theatre and techniques we had been working with in the workshops, and even a little bit of song.
We're extremely grateful to Friends Playback Theater for inviting us and bringing us together with great people, and for looking after us so well. Watch this space for news of our next collaboration.
Creative and Production Team
Main Teachers |
About the Artists
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Ivor Houlker
Ivor Houlker is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, who works internationally as a director, actor, musician, and programmer. He specialises in hybrid forms involving technology, as well as physical theatre and site-specific performances. His work often involves live music, chorus, multimedia projection, sound installation, and audience interaction. Since 2014 his work has incorporated programming and developing original apps to support interactive work. Recent works also include original real-time online platforms and to enable new forms of live interaction. Ivor is a founder and artistic director of Rooftop Productions in Hong Kong.
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Michelle Li
Michelle Li Yuen Jing is the founder and co-artistic director of Rooftop Productions, and the recipient of the Award for Young Artist (Drama) at the 16th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Performance Creation from Goldsmiths, University of London, and holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in English Studies from the University of Hong Kong.
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