Kharmful Charms of Dani Kharms!

AUDIENCE COMMENT: Alisa Slaughter said...
I saw Saturday's show with some friends, two of them from Ukraine. We were all amazed! Such high quality, and such commitment, for a single weekend of performances! The collective apartment piece was absolute genius.

Kharmful Charms of Dani Kharms
Based on writings of Daniil Kharms
Devised by Ensemble
Conceived and Directed by Olya Petrakova
2 performances only
Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11th at 8PM

Reservations: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/60213,
24 hour Ticket Hotline 1.800.838.3006,
Information 323.871.1912
Tickets: $17-30 General Admission
______________________________

Daniil Kharms (1905-1942) was an early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist.

By the late 1920s, his antirational verse, nonlinear theatrical performances, and public displays of decadent and illogical behavior earned Kharms - who always dressed like an English dandy with a calabash pipe - the reputation of being a talented but highly eccentric "fool" or "crazy-man" in Leningrad cultural circles. He was imprisoned in the psychiatric ward at Leningrad Prison No. 1. and died in his cell in February, 1942 -- most likely, from starvation, as the Nazi blockade of Leningrad had already begun. His writings (a vast assortment of stories, miniatures, plays, poems, and pseudo-scientific, philosophical investigations) were virtually unknown until 1970's, and not published officially in Russia until "glasnost".

Led by Olya Petrakova (a co-artistic director of ARTEL along with Bryan Brown), a mad-gang of artists and scientists will cook up in a devised-collaborative fashion a Russian Surrealist Absurdist Comedy at its most iniquitous and irrational, violent and erotic. Kharmful Charms is structured as an evening of not-so-innocent pranks and antics, vignettes and dreamlike incidencies set to rousing musical soundlife by multiple award-winner Jef Bek.

This production is paying respects to Daniil Kharms' founded avant-garde collective OBERIU, or Union of Real Art, whose aesthetic centered around a belief in the autonomy of art from real world's rules and logic, and the intrinsic meaning to be found in objects and words outside of their practical function.

Next Series of Workshop Auditions for Theater-Laboratory in Leeds

A Series of Workshop Auditions for a new Theater-Laboratory at the University of Leeds

“Meyerhold's vision was of a mutually supportive, interactive organisation incorporating a stage, a workshop and a training school in which: "the discoveries in the workshop would affect the training in the school as well as what was exposed on the stage" in a three-fold symbiosis.”

Bryan Brown, co-creator of Artel*, is looking for Performers and Students of Performance (performers, actors, dancers, musicians) that wish to explore the interstices of performance and the possibilities of a contemporary UK Theater-Laboratory within the framework of his Practice-As-Research Postgraduate work under the auspices of Prof. Jonathan Pitches and Dr. Tony Gardner.

The laboratory will be a continuation of Artel, extracting its research questions from the previous work in the USA and focusing its investigation into the relevance of theater-laboratories in the 21century by clearly defining the practical mechanics of theater-laboratories of the past in hopes to discover inspiration for the future. [This new Artel will be working throughout the next three years; however, acceptance into this stage does not imply or require a three-year commitment.]

The Structure of this new Artel will be based upon a triangular model, perhaps most clearly articulated by Vsevolod Meyerhold. The triangular model allows for a systematic investigation of Performer Training as well as Performance Development - the two branches of this Artel that will specifically focus on appropriation, tradition and innovation.

The third branch of the laboratory will be the Stage – the creation of specific productions that grapple with Russian thematic material as a means of creating a distance from which to approach new perspectives on UK contemporary reality. Wrestling with the great writers and philosophers of the last two centuries in the schools of Romanticism, Modernism, Existentialism and Postmodernism, the Stage will approach a language of production that aims at an articulation of hope and change while standing on the precipice of collapse.

If you are interested in participating in either or all three branches of this Artel, please send an email to bryan@arteltheatre.org

* Created in Los Angeles, California three years ago, Artel - a Russian word meaning labour collective as well as an acronym for American Russian Theater Ensemble Laboratory – is dedicated to an investigation of tradition and innovation in actor training and performance research with a focus on combining American and British experimental collective devising work with Russian and East European ensemble practice.

PLEASE NOTE DATES, TIMES AND SPACES CAREFULLY**

While there is no requirement to attend all of the workshop auditions, an ability to attend as many as possible indicates commitment and interest.

Performer Training Branch

“Everyone learned — students and teachers alike. It was a laboratory for working through the foundations of a new aesthetic.”

This branch of the laboratory will be a place to explore the potential syntheses of training practices that have arisen from American experimental physical approaches to theater and dance training with the ensemble actor training of Eastern European/Russian theater in order to arrive at an engaged Performer Training that provides a springboard for the creation of dynamic contemporary performance.

The Workshop Auditions aim to cultivate will, awareness, and sensitivity through the discovery of physical and vocal potentials. Our aim will be supported by a focus on imagination, rhythm, coordination, and the relations of the individual and the ensemble.

Participants should be prepared to work barefoot, to move in ways that will challenge their physical habits and to sing.

Tuesday 10 March 2009 9:30am – 12:30pm
Alec Clegg Studio, Stage@Leeds

Thursday 12 March 2009 6 – 9 pm
Dance Studio, Stage@Leeds

Saturday 14 March 2009 11am – 2pm
G14 Man Made Fibers Building

Tuesday 17 March 2009 9:30am – 12:30pm
Alec Clegg Studio, Stage@Leeds

Thursday 19 March 2009 6 – 9 pm
2.03 Man Made Fibers Building

Performance Development Branch

“The participants were not required to present preconceived conclusions, but were expected to find new paths to create new concepts of theatre.”

This branch of the laboratory will investigate the meetings and divergences of American/British devising processes with the rigor of Russian/Eastern European etude work. The majority of participants for this branch will ideally be mature(ing) artists searching for new possibilities to encounter the edges of our potential within the container that is Performance.

The Workshop Auditions will aim at physical approaches to individual and ensemble creation. We will begin with physical and vocal warm-up and training in order to move into three specific ways of composing etudes.

Participants should be prepared to work barefoot, to move in ways that will challenge their physical habits, to sing and to bring their own personal histories to the joyful act of creating!

Saturday 21 March 2009 11am - 2pm
2.03 Man Made Fibers Building

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 25, 26, 27 March 2009 6 – 9
2.03 Man Made Fibers Building

MAP OF UNIVERSITY
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/timetable/assets/map/index.htm

** We will be meeting outside the main entrance to the MMF Building or the Stage@Leeds Building 10minutes before scheduled start time. In some cases, the doors will lock once we enter the building. Please do not be late.

BRYAN BROWN has taught and studied extensively in New York City, Europe, and Los Angeles. He is co-creator of Artel and [via]Corpora. Deeply influenced by American Experimental theater teachers Stephen Wangh and Raina von Waldenburg as well as Mary Overlie, Viewpoints and Contact Improvisation practitioners, Bryan has spent the last two years investigating the contemporary theater practices of Eastern European and Russian ensembles primarily through his relations with the Grotowski Institute and the Song of the Goat Theatre.

Recently he was Artist-in-Residence at Hooyang Performing Arts Centre, South Korea. Besides consistent teaching in Los Angeles at [via]Corpora - Center for Performance Research and Development, 2008 had Bryan leading workshops in Poland, New Orleans and NY as well as co-producing numerous workshops including the first 5 day worksession of Song of the Goat Theatre in LA and a Teachers Practicum in NY of Stephen Wangh’s devising. He is currently teaching Performance Technique at the University of Leeds where he is a Postgraduate Research student.

All quotes are from Pitches, Jonathan Science and the Stanislavsky Tradition of Acting (London: Routledge, 2005)

Theater Laboratory in Leeds

Bryan Brown, co-creator of Artel, is creating a theater-laboratory in Leeds under the auspices of Prof. Jonathan Pitches and Dr. Tony Gardner as the practice-as-research aspect of his Post-graduate studies. The laboratory will be a continuation of Artel incorporating directly the use of a triangular model that allows for a more systematic investigation of Performer Training and Performance Development as two branches of the lab, with the third being Productions of new performance. The productions will grapple with Russian thematic material as a means of creating a distance from which to approach new perspectives on UK contemporary reality.

If you are interested in participating in either or all three branches of the laboratory, please send an email to bryan@arteltheatre.org

Auditions for New Work in Los Angeles

American Russian Theatre Ensemble Laboratory (ARTEL) is casting Kharmful Charms of Dani Kharms, a collaborative ensemble-devised project based on the works of Russian absurdist Daniil Kharms (1905-1942). Creation/training process will explore the styles of Eastern European clowning (Slava Polunin), vaudeville, cabaret, Viewpoints, Polish/Russian theatre practices (Grotowski, Meyerhold, Vakhtangov), and devising techniques.

Director Olya Petrakova Brown, training leader Garth Whitten.

Training/Devising March 9-April 9. Weekend Presentation April 10, 11 at Artworks Theatre. A full-production run is possible, dates/locations TBD.

Seeking character actors-creators, dancers, singers with a proclivity for comedy and absurd. Physicality, expressivity, courage to create are a must. Everyone will be required to devise solo and group work. Training in physical approaches to theatre, commedia dell'arte, clown, cabaret, sketch comedy is a plus.

Submission address: ARTEL, Attn: Kharmful Charms, c/o ArtWorks Theatre, 6567 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038, or email pix and resume to olya@arteltheatre.com. Audition Workshops will take place Sunday, February 15th 11am - 1pm and Monday February 16 7:30pm - 9:30pm at ArtWorks Theatre and Studios. Prepare to move, create and have a blast! Prepare a short monologue, preferably comedic.

Workshop Auditions for Theater Laboratory in Leeds

Workshop Auditions for new Theater Laboratory at University of Leeds

Saturday 14 Feb 2009 10am* – 1pm G14 Man Made Fibers Building

Bryan Brown, co-creator of Artel**, is currently a Post-graduate research student under Prof. Jonathan Pitches and Dr. Tony Gardner investigating the relevance of theater-laboratories in the 21 Century.

This Workshop Audition is for the first of two branches, the Performer Training Research branch, of a Theater Laboratory that will be created in the coming months and working throughout the next three years. (Acceptance into this stage does not imply or require a three year commitment.)

The laboratory will be a place to explore the potential syntheses of training practices that have arisen from American experimental theater, British devised theater and Eastern European/Russian ensemble theater over the last century in order to illuminate an engaged Performer Training that provides a springboard for the creation of dynamic contemporary performance.

The Workshop aims to cultivate will, awareness, and sensitivity through the discovery of physical and vocal potentials. Our aim will be supported by a focus on imagination, rhythm, coordination, and the relations of the individual and the ensemble.

Participants should be prepared to move, to work barefoot and to sing.

It is recommended to have some text memorized that we could work with.

To reserve your place, or for more information, please contact: bryan@arteltheatre.org

* We will be meeting outside the main entrance to the MMF Building at 10am sharp. The doors will lock once we enter the building. Please do not be late.

** Created in Los Angeles, California three years ago, Artel - a Russian word meaning labour collective as well as an acronym for American Russian Theater Ensemble Laboratory – is dedicated to an investigation of tradition and innovation in actor training and performance research with a focus on combining American and British experimental collective devising work with Russian/East European ensemble practice.

BRYAN BROWN has taught and studied extensively in New York City, Europe, and Los Angeles. He is co-creator of Artel and [via]Corpora,. Deeply influenced by American Experimental theater teachers Stephen Wangh and Raina von Waldenburg as well as Mary Overlie, Viewpoints and Contact Improvisation practitioners, Bryan has spent the last two years investigating the contemporary theater practices of Eastern European and Russian ensembles primarily through his relations with the Grotowski Institute and the Song of the Goat Theatre.

Recently he was Artist-in-Residence at Hooyang Performing Arts Centre, South Korea. Besides consistent teaching in Los Angeles at [via]Corpora - Center for Performance Research and Development, 2008 had Bryan leading workshops in Poland, New Orleans and NY as well as co-producing numerous workshops including the first 5 day worksession of Song of the Goat Theatre in LA and a Teachers Practicum of Stephen Wangh’s devising. He is currently teaching Performance Technique at the University of Leeds where he is a Postgraduate Research student.

Artel in Leeds, England

Bryan has been accepted into a Postgraduate Research program at the University of Leeds, under the supervision of Prof. Jonathan Pitches and Dr. Tony Gardner. His research will be primarily focused on the relevance of theater-laboratories in the 21 century. While predominantly investigated and contextualizing Russian and Eastern European models, the research will extend to theater-laboratory models the world over. The research will encompass questions of Tradition and Innovation not only in Performance Technique and Performance Development but also in Leadership and Social Structures. While the terrain is still being mapped, the proposal is a practice-led PhD which essentially entails the reconstitution of ARTEL in Leeds under the auspices of the University for Post-graduate research.

New Chapters

After the close of our well-received Legendary Times of Bulgakov in June and the recognition of nearly two and a half years of continuous work together, the four active long-term members of Artel decided it was time for a necessary break.

It was clear that a period of gestation, review and reorganization, of not only our labour collective, but of our individual lives was in order.

After some rich meditation, we decided that the collective needs were not sustaining the individual needs, and so, a New Stage in Artel is developing.

Artel, as a laboratory, is continuously proposing lines of research, evaluating how they are or are not being carried out, and adapting our actions to suit new methods of inquiry. The stage of an administrative collective based on consenus of each member of the performance collective has come to an end. We are proposing a return to a slightly more familiar theatrical model - that of Artistic Directors, Director, Members and Associates - but with the insight of our previous Stage and within the framework of an ensemble theater laboratory, exactly how this model will be adapted is still in process.

In fact a reevaluation of where and what Artel is, as well as what it can be, is also in process as we negotiate the continued building of community and associates in Los Angeles with the internal need for developing working relations with practitioners in Europe and Russia.

We recognize a need for our investigatory ensemble processes as defined and provided by [via]Corpora - Centre for Performance Research and Development, the intensive collaborative and performance opportunities provided by Artel, and the support and recognition of new work provided by Artworks Theater. At the same time, we recognize the need for our own work to enter a new phase of challenge - one that promises a deeper knowledge of research methods allowing for more engaging and relevant performance to be generated as well as an ability to articulate and contextualize our work in a language that may provide new models for American theater in the 21 century.

Towards this end, Bryan completed a PhD application to the University of Leeds under Jonathan Pitches (author of the keen description of a Theater Laboratory that serves as inspiration for Artel - posted elsewhere on this blog).

And so, Artel grows in unsuspected and exciting ways. Recently Bryan has made the move to Leeds while Olya remains in Los Angeles, organizing a new production, new workshops and new possibilites for our home, ArtWorks Theater, to expand beyond Artel and [via]Corpora to support and sustain other local artists.

While the research in England provides more opportunity to work with practitioners in Europe and to realize our goal of building relations and working with practitioners in Russia, we have a strong sapling growing in Los Angeles and are nurturing it towards the vision of an orchard.

Thank you for your continued support, involvement and excitement.

The Grand Guignolers are celebrating and we want you to join!

The Immaculate Debbie McMahon, [via]Corpora, Artel's Performance Research and Development House, and Don Cesario of Art|Works Theater invite you to the only Holiday Children's show in Los Angeles - not for Children, nor for the Holidays!

A Grand Guignol Children's Show*

(*not for Children)

Guignol, the French Puppet, is having his 200th Birthday and Andre du Lordes Grand Guignolers de Paris are celebrating, along with the city of Lyon and you! Come see this band of revelers serve you up some Birthday Cake along with a hearty helping of ancient Folk Tales reinterpreted in Grand Guingol style! Each Evening's billet will feature:

Hansel & Gretel:

A Horror Play

Little Red Riding Hood:

A Horror Play

The Ugly Duckling:

A Melodrama Ballet

and

Rapunzel:

An Erotic Thriller

(performed by French finger puppets)

Due to violence this show is not recommended for children.

For all those lucky enough to be considered Adults: Expect DANCE, ABSINTHE, PUPPETS, BIRTHDAY CAKE, MASKS, and GORE!!!

Where: Art|Works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038

When: Dec 5 through Jan 10

* Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30pm (no show 12/26)

* Two Thursdays at 8:30pm (12/18 and 1/8)

* Two Pay-What-You-Can Sundays at 7pm (12/28 and 1/4)

Tickets: $20 - 30, 1-800-838-3006

written and directed by Debbie McMahon

www.grandguignolers.com

RIP Steven Oliver Price, September 15th 2008

Read about Steven in SF Chronicle Obit... Here

Steven Oliver, words won't do justice - the loss is immense and yet sublime, as the vividness of life has emerged thousandfold stronger. You are an inspiration to the artists of many walks of life.

Her Majesty, Theatre was lucky to have you play in her court as of late. Your influence and presence will always be felt at Artworks and with Artel, a theatre space and a theatre company you helped to birth and grow!

Join us to celebrate Steven's Life at ArtWorks Theatre, on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008 at 8PM

Love to the Prince(ss) of Darkness, The Shadow...

The Legendary Time of Bulgakov - FINAL SHOWS!

photos by Taso Papadakis

4 shows left! June 6, 7, 13, 14!

LA WEEKLY SAYS GO!

THE LEGENDARY TIMES OF BULGAKOV

... a finely crafted creation of riveting visual theatricality, macabre symbolism and high-wire emotion. The four excellent performers (Bryan Brown, Keirin Brown, Olga Petrakova and Ilana Gustafson Turner) sing and speak in a collage of Russian phrases that become a cartoon of life in a crowded Moscow apartment.
... The company’s theatrical language consists of a sequence of visual images that roll through his marriages...
ARTEL’s style is that of a train in motion, challenging us to jump aboard and discern from the views that unfold, rather than stopping at a station, opening the doors and announcing where we might be headed...

This is a work that shouldn’t be missed. (Steven Leigh Morris)

Art/Works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.;
Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru June 14.
(323) 871-8382 or
www.arteltheatre.org.

NEWS: Stephen Wangh Teacher's Practicum

Artel is proud to announce that our extension, [via]Corpora has successfully helped Stephen Wangh (author of An Acrobat of the Heart) to gather a Teacher's Practicum at NACL in the Catskills July 5 -12, 2008. Bryan Brown will be attending the Practicum and will be reporting back on it later in the summer at the newly registered [via]Corpora What Arises? thoughts from the practice blog : whatarises.blogspot.com

10 Performances Only!

The American Russian Theatre Ensemble Laboratory strikes again!
- LATaco.com

ARTEL is delighted to announce 10 Performances Only of our latest installment of newly devised Bulgakov material,

The Legendary Times of Bulgakov!

We have been enticing this show, along with our ensemble and community, to blossom for the last two years! All three have burst forth in unexpected and astounding ways! After so much pruning, care, and love, we are very excited to share our growth with you, our audience, and discover what new branches may appear along the way!

Opening and Closing night Gatherings are planned, but as always with our work, each performance will have refreshments and time for discussions, singing and who knows what else. So please begin buying your tickets now, spreading the word, and planning to make each night a new perspective on Los Angeles community! We look forward to meeting you again.

The Legendary Times of Bulgakov captures the soul of Russian satirist Mikhail Bulgakov (best known in the West for his novel The Master and Margarita) and the essence of his time (Russia, 1917 - 1940). Though he was repeatedly censored, persecuted and eventually silenced by the Stalinist regime, Bulgakov continued to write until his final days. His depth of humanity and integrity serves as bountiful inspiration to all who may despair in times of increasing authoritarian control. ARTEL employs the use of movement, image, voice, satire, surrealism and song to present a quilt-like unfolding of Bulgakov’s story, inviting the audience to enter a mutual search for revelation.

When:
Fridays and Saturdays, May 16th through June 14th
At 8pm

Where:
Art|Works Theatre
6569 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Admission:
Sliding Scale $15-$25;
$25 general admission
$15 students/seniors/hungry artists
Tickets may be purchased at the Brown Paper Tickets link on the right of this Webpage
or over the phone at 1-800-838-3006

Here's what some of the community said after our Highways version in December:

Like a trusted lover, ARTEL savors blindfolding us, keeping us waiting, wanting, guessing…our senses wide awake, ready to engage. Fearless, avant-garde and determined to make us active participants in the creative process, ARTEL’s shows are disorienting and exhilarating, creat[ing] a symphony of spectacle and shock, always journeying on roads less traveled, stretching their wild imagination muscles to suggest, rather than dictate, Bulgakov’s incredible journey.

- Frankie Colmane, writer

Congrats on a terrific show! I really admire and respect all of the work you guys are doing, especially in this culturally vacant city, it means a lot!

- John Sinner, Director/Playwright

In Los Angeles, we critics see theaters put on plays as though in a slaughterhouse, one after another along the production line, busy people rehearsing between cell-phone calls and auditions for other projects, rehearsing for reasons rarely understood with clarity. Too often, the result is a carcass. When artists reach an understanding by reaching for an understanding of what they’re doing, and why, the nature and purpose of doing theater in a city as absurd as Los Angeles begins to emerge. That’s what I saw onstage at Highways last week. It was a nonlinear, imagistic, biographical and beautiful exercise dedicated to the proposition that one must continue the work because the work must be continued.

- Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly

Artel to help celebrate Highways 19th Birthday!

Come join Artel as we honor 19 years of a beacon and shelter for artists in Los Angeles! Artel will present A Chapter from the Legendary Times of Bulgakov as part of Highways 19th Birthday Celebration!

May 9 & 10th

HIGHWAYS' 19TH BIRTHDAY
NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

Celebrate our 19th year with great performances by fierce artists who honor us with their work.

FRIDAY
blue13 dance company
DanceGood.Damnit!!!
Naked with Shoes (Anne + Jeff Grimaldo)
Rosanna Gamson/World Wide

SATURDAY
ARTEL
Nao Bustamante
LeVan D. Hawkins
Mira Kingsley
Dorian Wood

Fri + Sat 8:30pm $20/$15

www.highwaysperformance.org

(please note the birthday bash is two nights of different performers and performances, Artel performs on Saturday).

Artel to host one of Russia's "zasluzhenniy deyatel" (national treasure)

Evgenia Osipovna Zasimova, professor of solo folk singing and dance at the Moscow State University of Arts and Culture and founder of folk ensemble Karagod, is coming to Los Angeles to work with Artel!

This visit is quite an honor for us.

Ms. Zasimova has been leading expeditions to Russian villages to learn ancient and traditional songs, dances and games for over twenty-five years. Her ensemble, Karagod, performs at some of the most prestigious concert halls in Russia and abroad as well as provides music and musicology for numerous film and theater productions.

We greatly anticipate our first collective work with a Russian master. Not only will we be able to learn how to sing directly from the woman whose CD's have been teaching us many of the songs we have been sharing at our Gogol-Mogols but we will also deepen our experience, knowledge and perspective of both Russia and America.

Ms. Zasimova is looking forward to meeting and sharing her wisdom with the larger community of Los Angeles artists as well. Artel's [via]Corpora will host a weekend of vocal-movement workshops with her at our studio, March 15 and 16. See www.viacorpora.com for more details.

Bulgakov's Law of the Conservation of Matter

Our performances at Highways in early December were precisely what we needed for making the next leap (today!) towards the Bulgakov performance we have been envisioning for the last two years!

Thank you all for coming out and supporting us in such numbers!

Two superb writers penned articles on the evenings, if you missed them, please see the Press section on the right side of our blog

Over the last few months, we have been taking the generous feedback we received from all of you as well as our own experiences of performing the two evenings and returning to the intensive work in the studio of shaping the Bulgakov material into the most concise, dynamic performance possible.

Our major concerns, besides our ever demanding vision of intensifying our physical and vocal edges in order to challenge our accepted forms of expression, have been the clarification of the story -- How much of the story is about Bulgakov and how much of it is about what Bulgakov inspires in us?

The big questions of Censorship, Transmission, the Role of the Artist, Terror and the Shaping of Consciousness, History and Man's Questionable Evolution have been gaining specificity and sharpness the longer we sit with them.

The fears of creating another theatrical biography are giving way as we find the more connected we are to the personal details and anecdotes of Bulgakov's life as well as emphasize the context around his writing career, especially his three marriages, the brighter the themes that brought us to the material in the first place shine.


We are preparing to show you all the new endeavor in mid-May.

Artel invited to Poland!

In November 2007, three members of Teatr Zar graced Artel's studio to lead us in a five hour workshop. This meeting was born in Wroclaw last summer during the Institute's Atelier between Bryan and Matej Matejka. Originally envisioned as three days of 8 hours, practicalities allowed for the one five hour day with Matej, Przemek Blaszczak and Kamila Klamut sharing a variety of daily physical exercises aimed at increasing concentration, trust, mutuality, coordination and psycho-physical expansion of expression.

Over the next few days, Artel found time to share conversations, songs, and a small showing of Bulgakov material with all of Teatr Zar, deepening our understanding of each others' work and vision. As all good meetings should, ours ended with a gentle sadness in our hearts fueled only by the commitment to meet again soon for a longer, more in-depth time.

In January, Artel received a formal invitation to Poland to work with Teatr Zar and friends of the Grotowski Institute, thus the Open Doors project was born! Open Doors is an establishing of relations between Artel, the Instititute, its resident theatre, its theatre associates, and its extensive Archives. Practically Open Doors is a two week intensive worksession (late July in Wroclaw and Brzezinka) between Matej Matejka, members of Teatr Zar, Ukrainian song theater Maisternia Pisni, and Artel to expand our expressive abilities, hone the Bulgakov material and develop our modes of creation!

Artel performance in May

Highways Performance Space is having a birthday! and Artel has been asked to perform as part of a curated evening of Highways favorite performers on May 10, 2008! We are honored to be selected for such a performance and willingly donate our time and work to such a bastion of live performance in Southern California.

Center for Performance Research in crisis!

CPR, the Center for Performance Research in Wales, is facing the struggle inherent in all theater practitioners lives, the sand we build our castles on is perilously close to the ocean. The Center for Performance Research in Wales, a deeply important enclave of theatrical research is in jeopardy of losing its funding! CPR is a model for Artel's [via]Corpora. For over ten years they have been creating international networks, offering some of the foremost worksessions in physical and voice work in theater today, publishing important journals and books (their next two years are almost solely committed to Polish theater and Grotowski). Wales has made itself stand out and seem like a beacon of light to artists who are underappreciated and undervalued in their own countries and now the Welsh government is disregarding this international "status" that it was beginning to develop and going the way of all conservative governments in an economically unfriendly time. In our letter of support we quoted this from Stanislavsky which seems mightily apropos:

The theatre is not a luxury in the life of the people, but part of its bread and butter. It is not something one can quite well do without, but something incontestably necessary for a great people....You can't postpone the art of the thetare for a while, padlock its workshop, and suspend its animation for a time. Art cannot go to sleep and then, when it suits us, wake up again. It can only go to sleep for ever, by dying. Suspend it, and it will perish...returning to life only centuries later, if then. The death of art would be a national catastrophe.

You can view letters of support from around the world here: centreforperformanceresearch.blogspot.com
For direct information: www.thecpr.org.uk/
To view/sign the petition please visit: http://www.gopetition.com/online/17052.html

Around The Teapot Inauguration!

Feb 9 saw the inauguration of a new outreach action from Artel, Around the Teapot, a discussion of the role of artists in society. This lively dialog grew organically out of our post-performance discussions and the research we continuously do. A small group of scholars, artists, critics and audience members with special guests, John Achorn and Steven Leigh Morris, gathered in our creative home for blini, tea and other treats.

For more information and to let us know you want to attend the next one, please go to www.aroundtheteapot.blogspot.com

A Workshop to inspire Workshops!

On Feb 17th Bryan and Olya held a free workshop for 8 students (primarily from CalArts) in order to share our work with younger performers as well as to expand the potential and purpose of Artel's teaching opportunities.

With no set timeline or criteria, the workshop was an exercise in meeting. How do artists interested in something verbalized as similar meet to work with minimal discussion, meet by letting their bodies speak, meet by entering the unknown?

For three hours we traversed a series of exercises aiming at the expansion of awareness, of listening, of glowing. We all experienced the edges of ourselves and shared in the support of that experience as an ensemble of players should. As many of Bryan's recent worksessions have, this workshop ended in a jam of sorts with the intent of pursuing the expression of the freedom found in moments throughout the day's work.

As we discussed the practicalities of the work at the end, Olya asked how many hours a day the participants all worked together (as she was not involved in the setting up of the workshop and therefore believed they were all in the same level at CalArts). But in fact, two of the participants had never met any of the people in the room before!

Everyone expressed a desire to continue the work on a regular basis and this, together with Bryan's ongoing weekly sessions, have led us to realize how much our approach is needed in the Los Angeles community, the need for a transmission of a new approach to the creation of a strong practice a performer can call their own craft, one which allows them to meet and work with anyone at anytime, if even they just met that day.

So, at the least, monthly workshops will be forthcoming. Please check www.viacopora.com for details.