|
"Frankie Armstrong is able to unlock the most extraordinary and thrilling sounds from people's voices." Nigel Jamieson, International Workshop Festivals Volcano Theatre Company and DACE have invited the extraordinary and inspiring teacher, Frankie Armstrong, to lead workshops in a beautiful and historic setting in Wales. The Schedule Frankie will lead a day-long introductory workshop, suitable for all levels of experience, on Saturday 25 January. For those who would like to explore their voices in more depth, Frankie will continue with a four-day intensive voice course, The Voices of the Archetype of Myth, from Sunday 26 to Wednesday 29 January. Introductory Workshop: If you can talk you can sing! Frankie believes passionately that singing is our birthright. For thousands of years our ancestors sang to accompany work, devotion, seasonal rituals and social gatherings; to express joy, grief, rage, tenderness, hope and fear. All these emotions can be given full range through the power and beauty of the voice. To help us unlock this, Frankie uses a range of gentle movements and exercises to relax and free the body and the voice. She will use songs and chants from around the world, along with simple structures to create our own improvisations and compositions. Intensive Voice Course: The Voices of the Archetypes of Myth This intensive course will use Archetypes as a tool for each person to discover/uncover and experiment with whatever they find of value. As with the introductory workshop, the course will start with relaxation and body and voice warming up. Participants will then be guided through images and stories, and given tasks to explore as the mythic figure, allowing each person to find for him/herself the vocal qualities, and to improvise with these. Some examples of the figures from myth that may be explored are the Mother, the Trickster, the Huntress, the Devil, the Child, the Crone and the Initiator. Each figure needs specific preparation to help participants to feel their way into the physical and vocal qualities. Background The Archetype workshops developed initially from Frankie’s work with theatre director John Wright. His work with the Archetypes used Mask and Movement to encourage students to access the "essence" – the qualities of figures that inhabit myth, folk tale and ballad. In 1987 John and Frankie began collaborating to incorporate the voice and song into this approach. Nigel Jamiesion, also a theatre director and founder/director of the International Workshop Festivals, studied the Archetype work and he and Frankie also created a teaching partnership. From these collaborations, Frankie developed her own form of the work emphasising movement, imagination and story to release a wide range of vocal qualities and expression. Who are the Workshops For? These workshops can be for anyone (aged 18 or over) willing to open himself or herself whole-heartedly to such exploration. Participants do not need to be able to sing in the orthodox sense, but do need to have the confidence to let their voices out freely, and follow where their bodies and imaginations take them. For singers and actors it can enrich their repertoire and help them access a wider expressive and vocal range of possibilities for characterisation and interpretation. Even for participants without this professional interest, it may open them up to new and intriguing facets of themselves. The introductory workshop is very accessible, and is suitable for people who have never done anything similar before. About Frankie Armstrong Since 1975, Frankie has been running voice workshops in Britain, Europe, North America and Australia. She pioneered Voice Work based on traditional styles of singing, initially influenced by the North American singer and folk song collector Ethel Raim. The workshops are for singers and non-singers alike - in fact, the aim is to do away with this distinction - and are inspired by cultures where everyone sings as naturally as they talk. The workshops offer the opportunity for people to explore and enjoy using their voices in an easygoing, supportive atmosphere. The Location Craig Y Nos Castle is an early Victorian country house, set in parkland along the river Tawe in the upper Swansea Valley. It was bought in 1878 by world famous opera singer Adelina Patti, who developed it into her own private estate, adding north and south wings, a clock tower, conservatory and theatre. The theatre was modelled on the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and is today a Grade One listed building that hosts a range of events. Reasonably priced accommodation is available in the Castle if required. The Cost Introductory Workshop: £10 (discounts £5) 4-day Intensive Voice Course: £120 (discounts £100) Discounts apply to students, unwaged, registered disabled and senior citizens. How to book Please call Volcano Theatre Company on 01792 472772 or email volcano.tc@virgin.net |
| Volcano Theatre Company web site: |
| e-mail: volcano.tc@virgin.net |
Wednesday, December 11, 2002 |
Older news
stories have been carefully archived.
2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999