Impulse Driven
Physical Acting
We train to be holy actors through the lineage of Jerzy Grotowski
Listen to your legs.
Get turned up-side-down (literally).
Gain freedom and independence as a performer.
Connect to truth and impulse, turning both into action.
Grotowski articulated a clear delineation between two types of actors —
The Holy Actor vs. The Courtesan Actor
The Courtesan Actor: A performer who sells their body, charm, and technical tricks for money, fame, and applause. They give the audience nothing but what they expect and rely on external validations.
The Holy Actor: A performer who strips away their ego, personal shame, and daily masks. They offer their most private inner self on the altar of art and to the audience as a vulnerable, unfiltered gift.
If we like, we can use our talent and skill to make money as courtesan actors but it is not what we train.
Course 1
Drawing from Grotowski’s Corporal Exercises (les exercices corporels), we delve into somatic embodiment and emotional truth.
7 class sessions.
This course is highly physical and is taught in a gym space with floor mats.
This course is strongly rooted in the work of master teacher Stephen Wangh (An Acrobat of the Heart).
Course 2
Drawing from Grotowski’s Plastique Exercises (les exercices plastiques), we work with imagery and physical precision to discover truth in the imaginary.
Prerequisite: Course 1
7 Class Sessions.
This course is strongly rooted in the work of master teacher Stephen Wangh (An Acrobat of the Heart).
Course 3
Using a “Grotowskian approach to Linklater vocal training,” we find emotional meaning in vibration, sound and, of course, language.
We take a physical approach to connecting to others and apply Plastiques to naturalism scene study.
Prerequisite: Course 2
8 class sessions and an invited final showing.
This course is strongly rooted in the work of master teacher Stephen Wangh (An Acrobat of the Heart).
Meet Your Instructor
Ara Glenn-Johanson
Ara has been practicing this work for over twenty years and has found it to be nothing short of life-changing. She taught it for eight years as faculty at Centennial College’s Theatre Arts and Performance Program as well as at the University of Toronto and UC Davis.
Her teaching is strongly rooted in the work of master teacher Stephen Wangh (An Acrobat of the Heart). Ara studied with Wangh and Wangh studied with Grotowski.
Informed by this approach, she has performed in theatre, contemporary dance, and on-camera.
“because of the work I did with you, I am stronger as a person and as a performer. Thank you so much. It will stay with me.”
-from an anonymous student evaluation
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