THE WORKSHOPS
"This workshop brought me home to who I am as a creative artist and most importantly, as a human being.
Don’t miss this.
It’s a gift.”
—Jill Van Note
“Nancy and Paul's sensitivity, wisdom, and unbelievable investment in each one of us, and our work, was inspiring and invaluable.”
—Shelley Hainer
“If you have the chance to study
with Nancy & Paul
—TAKE IT! Their workshop left me with rich material for further growth both in performance and in life!”
—Sean Kaminsky
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP:
ESSENCE OF ACTING & PRESENCE OF THE ACTOR
The first Essence & Presence intensive workshop immerses students in The Actor's Core and Real Time Acting techniques developed by International Master teachers, Nancy Gabor and Paul Binnerts.
Over three days, Paul and Nancy lead participants through a three-step, eighteen-hour workshop exploring all aspects of the actor: the private self, the self as an instrument, the player of that instrument, the hero of the story that is played, and the performer of that story.
The workshop combines guided improvisational exercises focused on physical and vocal awareness, breathing, grounding, centering, and movement, with learning and practicing how to tell real-life stories from participants' pasts in the freshly fully-embodied present.
Paul and Nancy's non-judgmental, supportive, and challenging process nurtures the seeds of new work, enables profound shifts within an actor's instrument, and imparts a way of working that can change how participants move through the world.
To book this workshop for your community, send us an email with your contact information, proposed dates, and budget.
TRAINING WORKSHOP:
ESSENCE OF CHARACTER & PRESENCE OF THE TEXT
The Essence of Character & Presence of the Text workshop builds on The Actor's Core and Real Time Acting techniques developed by International Master teachers, Nancy Gabor and Paul Binnerts and introduced in Essence of Acting & Presence of the Actor.
Paul and Nancy lead participants through a three-day workshop bringing the actor's authentic self to the truthful playing of a character and the compelling performance of
a story.
Working with participant-selected monologues by master playwrights and their own autobiographical narratives, actors practice being fully present as themselves, using
their voices, bodies, and the theater space to explore roles far outside their own life experience and discover the physical and emotional material for their stories.
Paul and Nancy's decades of experience training actors and working with text equip them with invaluable insights and simple, effective techniques that can reveal the emotional truth under the lines, and connect to it with courage and craft.
To book this workshop for your community, send us an email with your contact information, proposed dates, and budget.
PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP:
ESSENCE OF SCENES & PRESENCE OF THE STORY
The Essence of Scenes & Presence of the Story workshop uses Nancy Gabor and Paul Binnerts' The Actor's Core and Real Time Acting techniques, introduced and developed in the previous Essence & Presence workshops, to build an original, repeatable performance with the participants.
Over the course of a week, Paul and Nancy discover, develop, and rehearse a brand new theater piece with the workshop's ensemble, interweaving dramatic text with original stories from the participants' lives to deeply explore and communicate a theme of their choosing.
All the tools of Essence & Presence are applied in creating this performance: the ability to play your instrument and be the hero of your story as well as the narrator; the practice of truthfully portraying a character with your authentic self; the craft of working with both written and self-generated text; and also in this workshop, the skills of group collaboration, and the joy of telling a story together.
The Essence of Scenes & Presence of the Story builds on all of these elements to realize a full play in this uniquely personal and dynamic approach to theater.
To book this workshop for your community, send us an email with your contact information, proposed dates, and budget.