Melbourne Physical Theatre School

Summer workshops are up!
This is a simple website to connect you to intense physical theatre training. Join the family of Melbourne performers who want to get gritty with their theatre.

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SUMMER WORKSHOPS ARE HERE!
Giovanni Fusetti is visiting again with a program of great theatre workshops.

Giovanni Fusetti
5 Day Workshops

Jan 20th - 24th: Politics of the Fool - SOLD OUT -
Jan 27th - 31st: Greenhouse of Fools

READ MORE HERE
Feb 8th - 9th: Pedagogic Supervision Group - A workshop for drama/theatre teachers

READ MORE HERE
Melbourne Physical Theatre School
Moving Text Series
Embodying Shakespeare's Voice with Rob Meldrum

Location: Northcote Town Hall
4 weeks on Thursdays
Feb 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th from 10am - 1pm
Attendance at all sessions is compulsory
Sliding scale pricing

Booking details here and full details here.

Please direct any questions or queries to Kimberley at ktwiner@gmail.com

Bouffon Training: Studies in Satire, Mockery and Grotesque

Lead teacher: Kimberley Twiner
Location: Northcote Town Hall
8 weeks on Wednesdays
Feb 5th - Mar 26th from 9.30am - 2.30pm
Attendance at all sessions is compulsory

Participants will...

-Learn the fundamentals of performing and devising in 'The Bouffon State' as per the pedagogy of Giovanni Fusetti
-Study the history of satire, stemming from the lineage of Greek satirical comedy and engage with an exciting curated list of theories/resource texts
-Learn technical performance skills from the Lecoq pedagogy of mask, mime and movement theatre
-Work on some short bouffon pieces for an open class showing in the final session
-This workshop will work for beginner bouffons aswell as bouffons with some experience but who keen to engage more deeply in the form

Cost:
8 weeks of training totalling approx 40 hours for $400.00. This training can only be delivered at this price due to a venue subsidy from Darebin Arts.

Booking details here.

Please direct any questions or queries to Kimberley at ktwiner@gmail.com
Gallery
Clown and Bouffon training in 2024. Lead teacher: Kimberley Twiner
Past Workshops
Winter 2024
Bouffon: Play Fuels the Fire (5 days) - by Kimberley Twiner
A Clown is Born (5 days) - by Kimberley Twiner
Summer 2023/24
Australia Dell'Arte (2 weeks) - by Giovanni Fusetti
Clowns Life (2 weeks) - by Giovanni Fusetti
Winter 2023
Melodrama: More is More (3 days) - by Kimberley Twiner
Character: An Embodied Way In (3 days) - by Kimberley Twiner
Physical Theatre Conditioning: Invigorating the Poetic Body - by Kimberley Twiner
Mimodynamique Training: Animal Drives - by Kimberley Twiner
Autumn 2023
Physical Theatre Conditioning: Invigorating the Poetic Body - by Kimberley Twiner
Mimodynamique Training: Animal Drives - by Kimberley Twiner
Summer 2023
Mimodynamique of The Colours - by Kimberley Twiner
Bouffon (5 Days) - by Kimberley Twiner
Summer 2022
The 20 Movements - by Giovanni Fusetti
The Red Nose Journey - by Giovanni Fusetti
The Neutral Mask in Nature - by Giovanni Fusetti
The Spirit of Commedia dell'Arte - by Giovanni Fusetti
Winter 2021
Abbotsford Convent Pivot Residency Project - by Kimberley Twiner
Autumn 2021
Bouffon 2 Day Workshop - by Kimberley Twiner
Clown Play 2 Day Workshop - by Kimberley Twiner
Flock Fit in the Park Series - by Kimberley Twiner
Winter 2020
Outdoor Physical Theatre Conditioning Series - by Kimberley Twiner
Summer 2020
From the Neutral Mask to Red Nose - by Giovanni Fusetti
The Pedagogy of Bouffon - by Giovanni Fusetti
Bouffon and the Ecstasy of Mocking - by Giovanni Fusetti
Spring 2020
Drag 101: Performing Skills - by Kimberley Twiner
Character Charge Up - by Kimberley Twiner
Creative Food
Resources for the eyes and ears that capture something about the incapturable.

Books
Copeau: Texts on Theatre by Jacques Copeau
The Archetypal Artist by Mary Antonia Wood
A History of the Dance by Curt Sachs
Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord
The Dance Cure by Dr Peter Lovatt
Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Poetic Body (also known as The Moving Body) by Jacques Lecoq
Women Who Run With The Wolves by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Empty Space by Peter Brook
Why Is That So Funny? by John Wright
True and False by David Mamet
Every Little Movement by Ted Shawn
Listenings
Myths of the Family by James Hillman
The Creative Fire by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Politics of Feeling by James Hillman
Pagan Psychology by James Hillman
Pink Madness by James Hillman
The Blog
Thoughts, musings and ruminations.
What is Bouffon?
21 janvier 2025 · Bouffon,Lecoq,Physical Theatre,Mockery
Bouffon is a satyrical, grotesque physical comedy grounded in mockery. As a formalized style of theatre, Bouffon can be traced to the Lecoq school of mask, mime and movement theatre in Paris. In the 1970s the pedagogic director, Jacques Lecoq, started to explore a core performance dynamic...
Alison Croggon's Article
14 juin 2024
As promised here is the article. HERE
Mimo Dynamique Training: Movement Beyond the Self
18 mai 2023
The movement doesn’t mean something, it is something. Mimo Dynamique training is a type of theatre training that is grounded in one key principle: observe the world then imitate it. It is a pillar of the Lecoq pedagogy of Mask, Mime and Movement Theatre and can create a really liberating state...
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About
Here's the background...
Melbourne Physical Theatre School was officially started by Kimberley Twiner in 2019. It is a place for high quality training in the Lecoq lineage, taught by local, national and international maestros. Kimberley's main collaborating teacher is Giovanni Fusetti.

Kimberley is a Melbourne based performer, director and teacher. She is a Fusetti, Bolton and Gaulier trained performer. In 2019 she studied THE PEDAGOGIC JOURNEY: An Advanced Training in Movement Theatre under the tutelage of Giovanni Fusetti. This was a study into teaching the within the Lecoq lineage of mime and movement training.

Kimberley is obsessed with many aspects of theatre training and believes that technical training and play-based training hold hands with each other. Play without technique doesn't work, and technique without play doesn't work. Kimberley seeks to train people in a non-personal way, because theatre trangresses the personal, a performer must go beyond their own private experience. Mask, mime and movement training is her core passions to move towards a dynamic theatre.

Kimberley's expertise is found in devised physical comedy, clown, bouffon and character comedy. Her practice is ensemble powered, devised and deeply collaborative. Her current working ensembles are PO PO MO CO, The Beaks, Fish & Twiner's Bait Shop, The Bouffonery, The Wholesome Hour and Brunswick East Entertainment Festival.
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