Geroge Mann Training
Workshop
by Theatre Ad Infinitum
Explore a creative environment and explore storytelling through the theatre training style of French physical theatre master Le Coq. Challenging the physical limits of participants. This workshop guides participants through the practice of creating a rich world of characters, settings, colours and emotions in a completely empty environment. Together we explore each participant's unique personal style, body language.
Reviews from audience
@XIAXIA
As soon as the show opened last night, the actors ran and shifted so quickly that the eye was overwhelmed and immediately swept the viewer into a river of intense energy, with some dizziness in the head that has not subsided to this day.
The actors don't speak, they just use their bodies of great tense power to create scenes so that we can see what story is happening.
They use powerful body movements and expressions to convey where they are and what they are doing, marvelling at the power of their bodies as they explode into action, without losing their flexibility. It was a real "listen, see, feel" experience. By the end of the two demonstrations, which lasted a total of 50 minutes, one of the male actors was already crying out for oxygen. I realised that acting is a really physical job and that you have to throw yourself into it completely.
Through the actors' post-performance talks, we learnt that the teacher's way of training was not to give their minds time to think, but to react directly to their bodies at the moment. The director is a pantomime professional and cares about training the body to work well, the body that produces real movement. He was also very professional, picking up on details and allowing one student to really get her head around what she had learned before, which was very rewarding!
@NiJing
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Before I was mentally prepared, the actors acted like a gale, moving quickly and agilely, presenting a real "war" scene in front of my eyes immediately, performing realistic renditions of wind, water, earth and air through their bodies, seven levels of quarrels, waking up after a loud noise and other realistic renditions, conveying the energy of sincerity, faith and concentration of all the actors, filling the whole space with the wonderful blossoming of unity of body and mind, moving me from a soft heart to praise the organization of this The organiser of the event, Vertebrae Theatre
I had a very different theatre experience during the workshop. The experience stayed with me physically and emotionally, and it was especially beautiful in that it ignited my passion and kept me going, even on the way home I was still immersed in the wonderful world of theatre ......
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@Louisa Sun
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It turns out that the way to open up art is to be sincere. These were the words most used by the participants when they shared their feelings about the four classes. Sincerely taught, sincerely listened to, sincerely experienced, sincerely instructed and sincerely presented. Everything starts with sincerity and ends with sincerity.
The power of the body far exceeds the power of words. It is the unity of the heart and mind that brings the distance in space closer. Full imagination plus accurate expression is the creator of the stage.
The 7 energy levels are another new concept. Every time I see a Vertebrae Theatre showcase I learn something different from the masters. It was very beneficial and will help me to improve my own rehearsals in the future. It is so valuable!
George Mann
Director, Playwright and Actor.
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George Mann is the Artistic Director of Theatre Ad Infinitum and Associate Director of Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company. He graduated with first class honours in Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London (2004) and then studied for two years at the International Theatre School in Jacques Lecourt, France (2004-2006).
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He started out as an actor at Compagnie Le Jacquerie and Plateform Théatre before moving to Poland in 2006 to work for the Gardzienice Theatre Company founded by Wlodzimierz Staniewski.
In 2007 George founded the Theatre Ad Infinitum and wrote, directed and performed in their first production Behind the Mirror. The play was performed at the Blue Elephant Theatre in London in 2007 and at the Edinburgh Festival in 2008. He then co-wrote, directed and starred in the company's second production, The Odyssey, with Nir Paldi, which has toured the world to critical acclaim since 2009. In the same year, he won the 'Best Solo Actor on Stage' award for his performance in this one-man show. He also wrote, directed and acted in Theatre Ad Infinitum's fourth production, Lunar Paradise, which played to sold-out audiences at the 2011 and 2012 Edinburgh Festivals, won nine awards to date and has toured the UK and Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Israel and the USA.
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Outside of the theatre, George regularly conducts workshops, lectures and other theatre activities such as coaching for a company at Battersea Arts Centre, visiting lecturer in acting at Rose Bruford College in the UK and a series of masterclasses for theatre lovers from all walks of life at Theatre Ad Infinitum.