Course Info
Mike Alfreds is offering a masterclass of five 2-hour sessions on Laban Efforts. He will work on the eight archetypes (Floating, Gliding, Dabbing, Flicking, Slashing, Wringing, Pressing, Thrusting), exploring how body, voice, feeling and thought are integrated so that actors can function fully and equally in all aspects of their expressiveness. Laban increases the actor’s ability to break pattern, develop flexibility and provides an invaluable approach to characterisation.
The structure of the course will be, more or less:
1: The elements of weight, space and time: the building blocks of the Efforts
2: Floating/Thrusting
3: Dabbing/Wringing
4: Flicking/Pressing
5: Gliding/Slashing
This structure is sufficiently flexible, so that the sequence or focus of a session can vary, depending on the interest and experience of the group. The subjects of some sessions may well over-lap. The work accommodates those taking part!
If you have a copy of the book, DIFFERENT EVERY NIGHT, you will find several pages (229-238) on Laban Efforts in the chapter on Characterisation. You will receive a page summarising the Efforts that you can refer to. Do not memorise them!
About Mike Alfreds
Mike Alfreds was born in London and trained as a director at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lived in the USA for eight years during which he worked for MGM Studios in Hollywood, was Artistic Director of Theatre West, Tucson and them of the Cincinnati Playhouse-in-the-Park. For five years he worked in Israel where he became Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Khan Theatre. He has also worked in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, China and Mongolia.
In the UK he was the Founder and Artistic Director of Shared Experience which he ran for thirteen years, He was Artistic Director of Cambridge Theatre Company, later renamed Method & Madness for ten years, and has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal National Theatre where he was an associate director, as well as for several regional repertory theatres. He has staged over two hundred productions, some of which have won awards both abroad and in the UK. He has adapted novels and stories for the stage, devised performances and translated the texts of several of his productions.
He maintains a parallel career as a teacher. He was a Senior Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, on the staff of LAMDA for five years and frequently gives courses on acting, directing, storytelling and dramaturgy. He has written two books, both published by Nick Hern Books and used in most drama schools and theatre departments: Different Every Night which describes his approach to theatre and his rehearsal processes when working on plays and Then What Happens? which describes his techiques when working on adaptations and storytelling.
Booking Info
21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th November
10am - 12pm each day
Full Price £250
Returning* £175
Venue London - TBC
Book now by emailing info@lidlesstheatre.com with you acting CV or a short introduction!
*For anyone who has booked onto Lidless Workshops before
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea / Blue Valentine) discusses working with Mike and how his use of Laban has shaped her work as an actor.
Mike Alfreds in discussion about his use of Laban through rehearsals.