Upcoming Events
MOTUS HUMANUS
ADVANCED SEMINAR 2009
COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO
June 20, 21, 2009
with
Professor of Acting
Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
In this experiential workshop, jointly sponsored by Motus Humanus and the Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling Department of Columbia College Chicago, Professor Per Nordin presents the technique developed by Yat Malmgren based on Rudolf Laban’s movement theories. Malmgren´s method of character development is concerned with a technique for expressing the inner states, called “inner attitudes,” of a character through movement.
Yat Malmgren (1916-2002) was a world-famous dancer who performed with the Kurt Jooss Company and subsequently became a theatre pedagogue. His methodology is based on movement psychology theories pioneered by Rudolf Laban and William Carpenter in the late 1950s. Personally encouraged by Laban after Carpenter’s untimely death, Malmgren took their exploratory work further, applying effort and space theory to create a training method for actors.
In 1963 Yat Malmgren helped to found the Drama Centre in London, a theatre school where “Movement Psychology” was, and remains, part of the core curriculum. Three years later Malmgren moved to Gothenburg in Sweden, where he taught “Movement Psychology” for many years. In 2000 the University of Gothenburg recognized Malmgren’s work in this area by awarding him an honorary doctorate.
This advanced seminar offers a unique opportunity for Motus Humanus members to experience the missing link between Laban’s original explorations of movement and psychological states and subsequent developments by Malmgren in Europe. The seminar promises to be a rich opportunity to learn more for all those interested in movement, psychology, and performance.
Seminar Leader
Professor Per Nordin currently teaches Acting and “Character Analysis” at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. While studying in Gothenburg, Per Nordin was taught by Yat Malmgren. After training as an actor in the 1970s, he has worked as an actor, director, playwright, and theatre teacher. While his professional activities have been centered in Sweden, he has also worked in the U.S., primarily in Milwaukee at the University of Wisconsin and at different theatres in that city. Nordin has also studied with Doreen Cannon and Uta Hagen, integrating these approaches with the “Yat Technique” of character analysis.
Seminar Schedule. Sessions begin at 10 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM on both days.
Saturday morning (June 20): Following introductions, Professor Nordin outlines the historical background of character analysis. He describes how Rudolf Laban’s and William Carpenter’s unfinished manuscript dealing with “Movement Psychology” was passed on to Yat Malmgren and how Malmgren developed these notes into a technique for actors in the 1960s. The morning session closes with presentation of key concepts in “movement psychology” and the “Yat Technique.”
Saturday afternoon (June 20): Key concepts introduced in the morning are put into practice. Participants will be given a short scene, with 15-20 lines of dialogue. Movement concepts like “working actions” (punching, pressing, slashing, wringing, dabbing, gliding, flicking, floating), “inner attitudes” (near, stable, “adream,” mobile, remote, awake) and “externalized drives” (“doing,” passion, spell, vision) are explained and explored in relation to the actor’s task of transforming psychological activities into visible physical actions on stage.
Sunday morning and afternoon (June 21): Participants continue to explore different concepts and the basic idea of the technique through practical exercises. Miss Julie by August Strindberg is examined to demonstrate how the “Yat Technique” can be used when analyzing a character in a play. There will also be time for questions during Sunday’s session. Note: Participants should have read Miss Julie prior to the seminar to have an understanding of the story, the three major characters, and their relationships.
Registration. Registration for this seminar is limited to 20 participants. They are expected to have basic familiarity with Laban’s effort theories of states and drives.
Early registration fees must be received by May 1st, 2009
Regular members of Motus Humanus: $250
Associate members of Motus Humanus: $260
Non-members: $325
Late registration – fees received after May 1st, 2009
Regular members of Motus Humanus: $275
Associate members of Motus Humanus: $285
Non-members: $350
More information: Contact Carol-Lynne Moore, 303-432-8060; clplus3k@comcast.net.
Local accommodations: If you are traveling to Chicago for this seminar, the following hotels are within walking distance of Columbia College facilities in the “South Loop” area:
Best Western
Grant Park Hotel
1100 South Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
312-922-2900
Toll Free: 800-472-6875
Fax: 312-922-0134
Congress Plaza Hotel
520 South Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
800-523-8561
Essex Inn
800 S. Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
312-939-2800
800-621-6909
Hilton Chicago
720 South Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
312-922-4400
Fax: 312-922-5240
Hyatt on Printers Row
500 South Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60605
312-986-1234
Fax: 312-939-2468
Travelodge
65 E. Harrison
Chicago, IL, 60605
312-427-8000
The Blackstone
636 South Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
312-447-0955