Literature, Theatre and Participation: Don QuixoteCourse description

This course, Literature, Theatre and Participation, will explore “Don Quixote” by Cervantes through a theatrical approach; particularly the devising process.Other objectives:

– improve communication tools– increase creativity– gain confidence– enjoy teamwork– developing vocal skills and body language– improvement of Spanish level– introduction to Cervantes work in a fun and enjoyable way

Each session will be divided in three parts:1. Physical and vocal warm up.2. Technique and skills development.3. Devising “Don Quixote”.

At the end of the course, the devised extracts will be shared in front of an audience at the Instituto Cervantes as part of the E Day celebration.

Number of participants: 12Number of sessions: 5Duration: 3h (15mins break)Age: AdultsFacilitators: Patricia Rodriguez & Merce RibotFees: £125 (£100 students and Instituto Cervantes members)Info and registration: cultlon1@cervantes.es | 0207 235 0352

Session 1: Tuesday, February 24IntroducionBody, movement, space and its role in the devising process

On this session we will introduce the company and course content. We will focus on body awareness and movement in the space, as well as introducing basic tools to carry out during the rest of the program. All exercises and games, both individual and group ones, will contribute to the devising process. Finally, as well as looking at a selection of ‘Don Quixote’s’ episodes, we will provide supporting materials to inspire the creative process to be carried out on the the following months (texts, music, artistic sources, etc).

Session 2: Tuesday March 31Complicity and its role in the devising process

We will introduce one of the most important aspects of our methodology: complicity. We will discover how to listen to the group and work as a unity through exercises and games. On the second part of the workshop, we will go over the materials distributed on the previous session and begin the devising process of some of the episodes in small units. We will focus on making collective decisions and how they affect the scenes we create. We will then share our findings with the rest of the group; this will be a common practice throughout the course.

Session 3: Tuesday April 21The audience and its role in the devising process

An essential aspect of all shows made by Little Soldier, is the relationship between the audience and what happens on stage. Through physical comedy and play, we will discover how to listen to the public and how to react to the information it provides.We will then create more scenes incorporating all the tools used in previous sessions and give a twist to them considering our audience.

Session 4: Tuesday May 26The failure and its rodevising

Understanding and accepting success and failure as a creation engine is a fundamental tool for the actor on the stage. We’ll see how by recognising our successes and errors during games and improvisations we find the resources we need to communicate honestly with our audience.There will be a scene selection process for the final presentation in the second half of this session. We will delve into the various aspects that make up each episode to improveperformance and content. Special attention will be given to text, music and physical routines, among other elements, with a critical and constructive spirit.

Session 5: Tuesday June 16The devising process: discarding, testing and improving

During this session we will focus exclusively on the assembly process of all scenes ahead of the presentation, using all the tools learned during the course. Rehearsal are essential to learn about how to discard material, strengthen and refine scenes through repetition and constructive analysis and therefore improve the final production. Finally, we will do a dress rehearsal in which we will also emphasize the text and language.

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