Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mask & Movement Retreat November 5-7


Mask & Movement
North Woods Weekend

Retreat to the North Woods and discover the many characters that reside within yourself! Mime and mask maker David Braddock, and character-storyteller Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux lead you through casting a plaster negative and positive of your face and using modeling clay and papiere mache to craft a unique, dynamic mask with techniques used in the commedia style. In this three day weekend you will also work on filling the form: using movement and story to explore musicality, depth and weight to bring your new character to life. This workshop is highly participatory and collaborative and is fitting for both veterans and novices.


November 5, 6, 7
Wilderness Canoe Base, Grand Marais, MN
$150

Includes six meals, two nights in comfortable group cabins, and all instruction and coaching (materials additional cost)
Please arrive by 5pm November 5th (supper at 6pm).
Retreat ends after 12:30 lunch on November 7th.


About the Teachers
David Braddock is a renaissance man of the theater; he has studied mime and physical theatre styles and techniques with international artists including the likes of Marcel Marceau. He has co-founded Giant Step Theatre for youth, and lent his versatile voice to the radio waves. He has trained in both the Decroix and Lecoq styles of mime and is experienced in Commedia style mask making.



Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux is an international storyteller, character artist and teacher. She has developed characters and story-programs for museums, history centers, festivals and schools since 2001. She lives at the edge of the Boundary Waters and is featured on WTIP’s North Shore Weekend telling the Saturday Morning Story.



About Wilderness Canoe Base
Wilderness Canoe Base (WCB) is located at the end of the Gunflint Trail, on Fish Hook and Dominion Islands in Seagull Lake at the edge of the Boundary Waters. WCB includes hiking trails, newly constructed cabins with homemade quilts (four bunks to a room), wood-fired sauna and plenty of open water for paddling.
Mask making will alternate with movement, with time also allotted for enjoying the remarkable quiet of the wilderness. Leave your cell phones in the car--there’s no reception here!
Located 55 miles from Grand Marais: 12477 Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN, 55604
WCB is a Lutheran site, but there is no religious focus to this retreat.


What to Bring
Bring comfortable clothes for movement and “painting clothes” for casting the mask negative (a somewhat messy process).
November in Northern Minnesota is unpredictable, so remember what your mother told you and bring clothes for fall and wintery weather. Bring a sleeping bag; quilts and pillows are provided but sheets aren’t. And don’t forget your swim suit--Saturday night will include a sauna and polar plunge for those who dare!

How to Register
Email Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux (rose[at]rosearrowsmith[dot]com) with the following information:
Name
Phone Number
Address
Dietary Needs
A Note About Your Interest/Experience with Mask and Movement
Workshop Requests

Make checks payable to “Alchemy Storyworks.” A minimum deposit of $75 and the above information will complete your registration. You will receive a confirmation email from Rose and a paper copy receipt on November 5th. Full balance and materials fee (approximately $15-$30 depending on number of participants) must be paid upon arrival.

Questions
Contact Rose with questions pertaining to Payment and Wilderness Canoe Base.
Contact David with questions pertaining to Mask Making and Movement.

Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux
H (218) 388-0181
rose[at]rosearrowsmith[dot]com

David Braddock
C (612) 644-0522
daveb383[at]gmail[dot]com

Monday, October 11, 2010

On TV: The Tomte & The Troll on KMOT


The Trolleri Players, (David Braddock and I) shared "The Tomte & The Troll" for the third time at the Norsk Hostfest and in North Dakota schools. This was my tenth year and David's seventh at the festival, and though I feel I'm an old hand at it now, this was my first year traveling with a baby. My seven-month-old son, Ennis, was fantastic! (Worthy of his own tv spot, really.) While David and I performed for hundreds of elementary students, my sister, Abbey, entertained the little guy. While I walked the festival on stilts as Alfhilde the Tree Spirit, or as Tomte Kajsa the Good Elf, Abbey and Ennis looked at the booths and listened to traditional Scandinavian music (and not-so-traditional country music, which the festival is also known for--this year included Alan Jackson and Vince Gill as big ticket entertainers, as well as the Temptations).

KMOT, the North Dakota NBC affiliate station filmed our program at Longfellow Elementary School. You can also read about it here.

The Tomte & The Troll:
Tomtes and Trolls are as old as the dawn of Scandinavia… and they are sworn enemies. So how is it possible that Tomte Kajsa and Thorkelson D. Troll are friends?

Hear the stories, straight from the fairytale characters themselves; stories that will amuse you, bring you closer to your heritage, and maybe even save your life! Kajsa and Thorkelson will tell you all you ever needed to know to outsmart a hungry troll, and take you back to ancient beliefs of Sweden and Norway on a charming, enchanted adventure.