Sara and some graduates of the Clown through Mask program will take their clowns on a walk about downtown St. John’s, following whim, fancy, and traffic signals. See if you can spot this band of mischief-makers, bizarre alien life-forms and gorgeous weirdos…and interact with them, if you dare! Bound to be fun, funny, and strange. Anything could happen!

She Said Yes! Theatre Company offers Pochinko Clown through Mask training annually, through Artistic Director Sara Tilley, one of a handful of teachers of this method in the world. The Pochinko method focuses on connecting more deeply to our bodies and imaginations, bringing out hidden aspects of our personalities, and allowing ourselves to freely share our honest emotions in the moment. Anyone can train in Clown through Mask, if they are willing to be open to the process. It is vulnerable, weird, and wonderful work.

Location:

Downtown St. John’s
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

Directions:

We will be wandering up and down Duckworth St., Water St., and Harbour Drive from 2 to 4 pm. There is no planned route, but we will leave markings of some sort for those adventurous types who would like to track us!

Sit in on a dramaturgy workshop and reading of a script-in-progress, and see how a play develops before it hits the stage. Dramaturge Sara Tilley will work with playwright Amy Anthony on her script Sweets which was just dramaturged through She Said Yes! 2010 Mail-Order Dramaturgy program.  4 professional actors will work with Sara and Amy to examine the script, hear it read aloud and give feedback. Come check out the whole workshop process, or just pop in for the reading at 4 pm.

Location:

Room B, Arts and Culture Centre, St. John’s
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

Directions:

When you enter the Arts and Culture Centre, follow the signs for the Basement Theatre. Keep walking past the Basement Theatre and past the dressing room doors all the way to the end of the hallway and turn left. Room B is at the end of the corridor down several steps. There is a wheelchair lift for accessibility.

Check out Culture Days’ website for more listings of free public art events near you, September 24th to the 26th, 2010.

She Said Yes! Theatre Company presents the fourth annual

MAIL-ORDER DRAMATURGY PROGRAM

A long-distance dramaturgy program for new plays in development. Works must be in the first draft stage or later. Each script will be paired with a professional dramaturge, who will work with the playwright via email through the completion of a further two drafts of their work.

All playwrights, regardless of experience or province of residence, are eligible to apply. Up to three scripts will be chosen for development in 2010-2011. Please note that She Said Yes! is a feminist theatre company, and as such we are interested in developing works that are written by, for or about women. While we do not stipulate that the playwright must be female, priority will be given to works which develop and enrich the canon of theatre for women.

Submission deadline is October 1st, 2010, at 5 pm. Submissions should be emailed or postmarked by this date.

To apply, send a copy of your script in pdf or Word format, along with a cover letter stating your reasons for applying to the program and your history as a playwright to sara@shesaidyestheatre.ca, or send submissions by post to: Sara Tilley, She Said Yes! Theatre Company, 64 Quidi Vidi Rd, St. John’s NL, A1A 1C1.

We pay a small honorarium to all participating playwrights and dramaturges.

For more information on She Said Yes! and its work contact Sara Tilley, Artistic Director of She Said Yes!, at sara@shesaidyestheatre.ca.

Clown Through Mask 2010

Reid Theatre, Arts and Administration Building, MUN

Mondays and Wednesdays 6-10 pm, Saturdays 1-5 pm (except May 30 – Sunday 1-5 pm)

May 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 31, June 2, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30, July 3

“Clowning isn’t something we need to learn so much as something we become aware of in
ourselves.  Any time that we are curious, playful, or creative, we are in clown mode.  When we
are in a state of wonder or awe, surprise or amazement, we are in clown.  Whenever we have
hunches, act on impulse, or digress - we are in clown.  Whenever we have strong emotions, we
are in clown.  The clown lives in the place of laughing and crying at the same time.” –Jan Hendersen

Pochinko technique, or Clown through Mask technique, is an intense, personal process which takes each participant through a series of exercises designed to open up hidden creative possibilities, and bring us back to an experience of play, impulse, wonder, and limitless potential for expression.

We face ourselves in six directions, in innocence and experience. By making and wearing a full-face mask, we explore the body first. By transferring this mask work into a red nose (the world’s smallest mask), we arrive at a powerful, unique character – the clown.

This training is not intended to prepare you for the circus. There are no tricks, no juggling and no stilts involved. Rather, we seek to expose human vulnerability, innocence, and wonder through the exploration of clown.

This work is a powerful tool for any artist working in any discipline. It opens up new avenues of exploration which can be pursued in any medium. Participants do not need to be performers – all that is required is the willingness to experiment, to face yourself honestly, to explore, and to move beyond your comfort zone.

This intensive training process is available free to participants. A maximum of 10 people will be accepted. Attendance is required at all sessions. If you are interested in this work please email Sara at sara@shesaidyestheatre.ca as soon as possible to secure a spot.

Sara Tilley trained with Ian Wallace (nion) and Sue Morrison in Pochinko Clown Through Mask technique, and has created many different clown performances in the past ten years, ranging from full theatre productions to burlesque numbers to improvised characters who are occasionally seen in public places. In 2008, she trained with Ian Wallace to teach Clown through Mask and Neutral Mask. She is the artistic director of She Said Yes!, and uses the Pochinko work as inspiration not just for clown, but for acting, directing, writing and design.

All photos by Victoria Wells, from the premiere of Shannon Bramer’s MONARITA, co-produced with White Rooster Theatre and RCA Theatre, February 25-28, 2010. Directed by Sherry White, featuring Sara Tilley and Ruth Lawrence.

Set and Props: Amy Anthony

Costumes: Gina Rae Hoyles

Lighting Design: Phil Winters

Sound Design: Sean Panting

Stage Management: Mark White

Check out the article from the Telegram.

January 11, 2010: White Rooster Theatre, She Said Yes! and RCA Theatre Company are joining forces to present MONARITA, the first stage play of Toronto-based poet, Shannon Bramer.

Mona and Rita have always been like sisters, best friends, girlfriends, to each other. But as Mona struggles with her introduction to motherhood, Rita carries on her single life of good shoes and fabulous haircuts. They are like two halves of the same person, at once completely in tune with each other and yet total opposites. What happens when they get to the edge of their relationship? This debut play by seasoned poet Bramer is eerily accurate in its depiction of female friendship, yet is infused with a delightful sense of magic and a quirky sense of humour.

“When our legs touch I feel like our brains are touching, Mona. When I’m not with you – I don’t know. It’s easier. You irritate me. I think too much – you say things. I’m happy not thinking. I want to be happy.”

MONARITA will premiere in St. John’s, February 25^th – 28^th, 2010, at the Basement Theatre of the Arts and Culture Centre. Starring Ruth Lawrence and Sara Tilley, who last were seen together in the RCA Theatre/She Said Yes! production of The (In)complete Herstory of Women in Newfoundland (and Labrador!), voted the Best Theatre Production in St. John’s by the Scope Readers’ Survey 2009, it also features Mark White. Director Sherry White returns to the theatre, fresh from her highly acclaimed film, Crackie, to direct a show that demands trust and vulnerability between its two actors. Funny and poignant, the friendship of sweet-natured, fumbling Mona and self-assured go-getter Rita will make you laugh. It may also make you appreciate those people in your life who know and love you, as you are.

Showtime is 8 pm, with a pay-what –you-can matinee on Sunday, February 28 at 2 pm. Tickets are $20, and $15 for students and seniors. Preview on February 24^th, tickets $10. Contact the Arts and Culture Centre box office for reservations: (709) 729-3900, or boxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com.

Produced with the support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, the City of St. John’s, and with the sponsorship of Sound Salon & Spa, MONARITA is a great play to see with a woman you adore.

For more information on this production, and to arrange interviews, contact Production Manager Monica Walsh at 739 7834 or mmwalsh709@hotmail.com.

-30-

with Sara Tilley

Level I: 1-5 pm, Sunday, January 17

Level II (only for those who have completed Level I): 1-5 pm, Sunday, January 24

Reid Theatre, Arts and Administration Bldg, MUN

$40 for one session/$20 for students

$65 for both sessions/$35 for students

Limited space available. You must pre-register by emailing sara@shesaidyestheatre.ca.

Dress in comfortable clothing and bring either a yoga mat or thick blanket.

NEUTRAL MASK is a powerful tool for any creative person - it allows you to simplify, to reconnect to the physical body, and to live in the present moment. The neutral mask pares us down to the essential. It is a beginning place from which to approach any new character or project. This work is benefi­cial to all artists - actors, writers, musicians, dancers, visual artists - as well as to anyone who is curious about mask.

LEVEL I will focus on the essentials for work with the mask. We will use the mask as a clearing tool for the body, to help shed old habits, gestures and postures in order to be ready to take on new experiences. Some work will occur with using the mask to channel new energy.

LEVEL II will take the neutral mask experience further into its application as a sponge for energy and experience. Using the mask to channel different natural energies and to create the foundations for character, this session will build on the work done in Level I. We will look at a variety of ways to use the mask as a springboard for creative expression (you must take Level I first, either on January 17, or have taken the class in Feb. 2009 to attend this session).

Sara Tilley has studied neutral mask with Ian Wallace, Dean Gilmour and Jill Courtney. She is a trained mask teacher, and works with artists and non-artists in Neutral Mask, Pochinko Clown Through Mask and Kinetics.

“Neutral mask allows those who wear it to get in touch with their core being, their most authentic, intuitive self. The mask encourages a sense of wholeness, of physical, emotional, and intellectual centeredness. In the mask one lives in the moment, questioning nothing, yet empowered to make changes as needed. It integrates mind and body, clari­fies impulse and allows the wearer to experience the power and increased presence that come from absolute self-acceptance. Energy that formerly would be wasted on self-doubt and critical comments about a given situation is now used on problem solving. Neutral mask allows you to take off all the other masks.”
- Jan Henderson

She Said Yes! is pleased to announce that this year’s Mail-Order Dramaturgy program will feature:

Playwright Amy Anthony (NL), working with dramaturge Sara Tilley on Sweets

Playwright Lindsay Wilson (QC), working with dramaturge Lois Brown on Puck Bunny

The dramaturges will assist the playwrights in the completion of two full new drafts of their work. This program is funded by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. For more information on the program, see our Dramaturgy page.

Congratulations to the selected playwrights, and thank you to all those who submitted their work for consideration.