5 day workshop

Nov 2nd - 6th, 2026

Lead teacher: Kimberley Twiner

What if we didn't have to 'get emotional' to play emotions?

Can the performance of emotions be purely physical? Purely rhythmical?

What if we don't have to go psychologically searching in our own mind or history to perform character psychologies?

This workshop is a study of the moving vitality of emotions. Every script, every character, every story will involve playing emotions. Working within the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq who posits ‘tout bouge’ translated as ‘everything moves’ the workshop will unpack how the emotions move. A character expresses itself through action and emotions are actions in space. The workshop is grounded in the Lecoq methodology of Mask, Mime and Movement Theatre.

"If a character becomes identical with personality there is no play. It may be possible for this kind of osmosis to work in cinema, in psychological close-ups, but theatre performance must be able to make an image carry from stage to spectator. There is a huge difference between actors who express their own lives, and those who can truly be described as players." Lecoq, 2000

Physical theatre is a study of and recreation of movement patterns. This applies to emotions. The Lecoq work says that there is a common ground, one that is pre-verbal, and totally embodied in its storytelling. The common ground of embodied movement allows the audience to participate in the universality of the work. In our Mimo Dynamique practice we can move as a dog and that is quickly and easily identifiable… So let's apply the same principles to emotion. Read more about Mimo Dynamiques here.

The beginning of the workshop will involve the Neutral Mask, attuning us towards a sense of neutrality. The Neutral Mask is an essential compass. It reveals our habitual somatic structure and opens us up to a sensitive physical presence. There is usually some movement pattern or structure that we can let go of in order to be available for transformation.

The second part of the workshop will focus on the natural world and the infinite inspiration it offers. In the Lecoq work we call this a Mimo Dynamique study. Nature provides us with an embodied movement analysis with variations in rhythm, tempo, shape, breath and sound. We will create a non-psychological lens to access the emotional work. We will then study the archetypal movement dynamics of the core human emotions.

The final part sees us play in the very fun and very heightened genre of Melodrama. We will use some classic Melodrama improvisations and some famous texts as frameworks to amplify our emotional play.

The work will cover:

Individual somatic movement analysis
Mimo dynamique practice
Identifying and playing specific movement patterns
Maintaining and amplifying physical choices
Playing together, complicity, action/reation
The level of physical engagement required for stage work
Fixed point, articulation of movement
The fundamental actions (push/pull) and fundamental tempos (fast/slow)
Playing within existing structures (lazzi)
Improvisation skills in the style of Commedia dell’Arte (lazzi)
Heightened performance skills specific to Melodrama
Developing themes/building crescendo

The work is play-based. We will learn through embodied collective tasks moving on the studio floor and through improvisational play. It is not an acrobatic work though it does involve a level of basic mobility. All participants are encouraged to work to their own capacities.

Who is it for?

This workshop is for two kinds of humans. Theatre artists who are wishing to involve themselves in a rigorously embodied playful theatre training who seek practical stage skills. And for humans who work in fields with emotions. Such as therapists, psychologists, teachers etc who are fascinated by the expression of emotions and how they show up in real time in the human body. The workshop is open to people of all levels of experience. All participants must submit a letter of application to join the class.

Dates and Times:

Mon 2nd Nov - Fri 6th Nov

9.30am - 4.00pm each day

**It is compulsory to attend all classes as this is a strict learning continuum aka one class leads into the next.

Location:

Pascoe Vale Sth Uniting Church, 10 Cumberland Road, Pascoe Vale Sth, 3044

Prices

Deposit: $250.00 NON-REFUNDABLE

Super Early Bird (Full payment due by Sept 2nd): $550.00

Early applications (Full payment due by Oct 2nd): $625.00

Standard Price (For payments completed after Oct 2nd): $700.00

Student Loyalty Price: $550.00

This is for students who have attended two or more 5 day workshops with Kimberley in 2026.

Once accepted into the course you are required to pay a non-refundable deposit - which secures your place in the course. Failure to pay within 5 days will see your place forfeited. If you are paying the entire fee straight up please know that it contains the deposit.

Read the refund policy here.

Minimum participants: 8

Maximum participants: 12

APPLY VIA EMAIL:

Please send an email to Kimberley outlining what motivates you to continue your work with clown. Please outline any further training you’ve done since we last met and if you have taken your clown out to the stage/performances and your reflections on that. What do you desire to find more of in the clown work?

Send emails to: ktwiner@gmail.com

A note on AI. Please do not use AI to generate your letter, this is not a job application, it is not about you ‘looking good’ it is about you expressing your drives, motivations, urgencies and poetic visions. We are fierce resistors of the plagiarizing machine that is known as AI. We deplore its impact on ecology, society and creativity. AI is inherently uncreative and applications shaped by AI will not be accepted.

Any questions can be directed straight to melbphysicaltheatreschool@gmail.com or call Kimberley on 0468664466.

Gallery

Neutral Mask, Clown and Bouffon training. Lead teacher: Kimberley Twiner

Neutral Mask, Clown and Bouffon training.
Lead teacher: Kimberley Twiner