5 day workshop

Nov 30th - Dec 4th

Lead Teacher: Kimberley Twiner

In the Lecoq methodology of Mask, Mime and Movement there are three strands of Bouffon studies: Grotesque, Fantastic and Mystere. This workshop is an exploration of the Fantastic Bouffons. Fantastic Bouffons draw their inspiration from the creatures found in fairytales and myths.

Fairytales and myths are rich source texts for larger than life characters. The stories are often strange and they are complex which makes them more than just moral tales. In them we encounter archetypal figures that speak to the depth of human existence. The creatures inside fairytales are often transgressive and go beyond realistic functions; animals can talk, the natural world has personality, harsh punishments are handed down, love can be instant, huge quests can happen overnight, tragedy is often harrowing. There is an otherworldly wildness and ruthlessness to the contents that can easily move us into the saturated playful style of Bouffon.

‘As for fairy tales, they are a pure nature product. They show how nature plays with itself. They are like the dreams of those who write down their dreams but never think about them. Therefore, through fairy tales you can see how compensatory processes form: how destruction surfaces and how a solution forms, how another destruction and then another solution follow. There is no end to this process.’ Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales, 1972 lectures.

The flocking technique which is primary to our ensemble devising mimics this creation/destruction of forms cycle. The flow of play is irrational and yet sensical. Our satirical bouffons are highly playful creatures willing to amplify the splendour and putrefaction of the natural world!

The workshop will work through three explorations: 1) Characters (figures/creatures), 2) Stories and 3) Bouffon amplification/dramatic transposition.

Our first step will be movement explorations of classic figures from fairytales, how they move and what their core urgency is. For example: the giant, the witch, the fairies etc. The second step will be exploration of the stories themselves and core character pairings inside them. For example: the hero and the villain, the asleep one and the awake one, the predated/the predator. That will provide us with exciting themes like love, greed, revenge, quests, trickery and more. Our last step will be layering in the Bouffon eye. We can ask where do these characters and themes appear in our society? Who are the giants of the now? Who are the sleeping beauties of our modern world? Who are the children shouting 'But the emperor has no clothes on!'

Bouffon is a territory of theatrical study found in the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq. The bouffon taught at Melbourne Phsyical Theatre School draws on Giovanni Fusetti's continued thorough research of the style. That style being a satirical, grotesque style of physical comedy that aims to ‘say something and (most importantly) play something’ about the hypocrisies of humanity. Read more about Bouffon here.

The work is play-based. So we will learn through collective embodied tasks moving on the studio floor and through improvisational play. The work draws on mask work (Commedia dell’Arte) in the sense that the actor works within a strong masked state to generate their content. From that state they find themes to improvise in, then look for amplification and crescendo to build the story.

The work will cover:

• Creating and maintaining physical characters from fairytales/myths
• Amplifying characters to bouffon saturation
• Playing together, complicity, action/reation between performers
• The Bouffon ‘state’
• The level of physical engagement required for physical theatre
• Fixed point, articulation of movement
• The fundamental actions (push/pull)
• Improvisation skills in the style of Commedia dell’Arte (lazzi)
• Devising/writing
• Developing themes/building crescendo
• Writing specific to the comedic mocking style of Bouffon
  

Workshop pre-reading:

To ensure there is a shared language to draw from the participants will receive a reading list of fairytales to familiarize themselves with prior to the workshop.

Who is it for?

This workshop is good for anyone engaged in theatre performance such as stage performers, storytellers, roving performers, improvisers, choreographers, writers, directors, designers. It is also good for people who want to make political theatre or protest art. It may also be of interest to therapists or people who work with humans investigating the human psyche. 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:

9.30am - 4.00pm

Mon 30th Nov - Fri 4th Dec

**It is compulsory to attend all classes as this is a strict learning continuum aka one class leads into the next. You cannot skip any portion of class.

Venue: Pascoe Vale Uniting Church, 10 Cumberland Rd, Pascoe Vale

Prices

Deposit: $250.00 NON-REFUNDABLE

Super Early Bird (Full payment due by Sept 30th: $550.00

Early applications (Full payment due by Oct 30th): $625.00

Standard Price (Full payments made after Oct 30th): $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 3 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: 9

Maximum participants: 16

APPLY VIA EMAIL

To apply please send a letter of motivation to Kimberley Twiner at ktwiner@gmail.com

In your letter please address:

Your existing physical theatre practice (short bio of previous training and shows)

Your experience with Lecoq theatre work

Why this? Why now?

Any other driving provocations or inspirations that pull you towards this work

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.