Workshops For Adults

Movement Classes

Inside/Out, The Cinematic Performer

Performing for the camera is a different beast than live performance. Intention, expression and movement are all magnified by the lens. While performing in front of the camera, we need to learn how to access and express our emotional world and how to temper our performance for the camera.

Participants will begin the class with a short personal warm-up, followed bybreathe/vocal work and movement exercises to deepen our self-awareness and bring us together as a group. We will then move on to spontaneous writing practices and guided improvisations used by gabrielle lansner & company to create our own emotionally driven movement phrases.

The goal of the workshop is to connect to our inner psychological and emotional worlds and to use this knowledge while performing for the camera.

Open Body

This workshop is for dancers and actors who want to explore and develop their individual kinetic and creative expression. Using a variety of movement and vocal techniques derived from dance, Kundalini yoga, and Linklater voice work, the class will focus on developing a complete physical presence and awareness for the performer. We will work to develop proper alignment, increased flexibility in the muscles and joints, release tension, and develop spatial awareness. The goal is to create an open, breathing body that is ready to explore the connection between the emotional and physical self.

Moving Monologues

In this workshop we will learn how physicality can be used as a tool to explore a character’s emotional journey within the context of a monologue. The class will begin with a group warm-up based on diverse release and movement techniques, yoga, breathe and voice work: the goal to open the body and free the voice for emotional expression. Performers will then be guided through physical improvisation exercises to create movements and gestures that embody a character’s emotional world within the context of the monologue. Working with the integration of text and movement participants will learn to deepen their relationship to their emotions, bodies and voices.

Dance & Text

A workshop for dancers who want to explore the use of text in choreography. To open the body and free the voice for emotional expression, we will begin the class with a warm-up that incorporates elements of release techniques. Dancers will bring spoken material to the workshop and through guided improvisations will create choreographic sequences that integrate movement and text. Using basic acting tools we will then explore how we can be fully grounded in our voice and body to express ourselves emotionally.

Commissioned Work for Theater and Dance Students

Adapting Literary Sources

Working from a literary source such as a novel or play, Ms. Lansner will adapt a text for a group of students. She will then teach and use her collaborative process of developing movement, verbal and non-verbal scenes to create a dance/theater work for performance.

Developing Original Scripts

Original scripts centered around a specific theme, ie: "fathers", "love", "the spirit", "joy", can also be written in the rehearsal process with the students. The material that is generated will then be developed into a dance/theater work through the teaching and use of the collaborative process to create movement, verbal and non-verbal scenes.

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