TEACHING & FACILITATING
RITUAL DRAMA – The Mumming Plays
HISTORY and PRACTICE - Including costume and props.- history, design and making (Outdoor performance and voice usage)
ENSEMBLE WORK
Including voice and functional playing for dancing
VOICE WORK - MECHANICS Care and Development Performance techniques, converting tension into performance energy
TRADITIONAL - Vernacular
SINGING STYLES
Making the song your own
Telling the story
HARMONY SINGING
For duos, small groups
Arrangement - issues re traditional songs
PERCUSSIVE (STEP/CLOG) DANCE
English traditional steps, mainly from the Lake District
Devising new steps
“Step and Say/Step and Stop”: Linking foot percussion to speech/singing patterns
BALLADS
THEORY AND PRACTICE
Storytelling.
DEVISING/WRITING/CREATING
SONGWRITING
COMPOSITION/ARRANGEMENT
DEVISING for productions:
Story sound track (Melodic and abstract…vocal, instrumental and sound effects)
Voice and movement work
SONG
ACCOMPANIMENT
“Letting the song have its say”
LIFTING THE SONG FROM THE SILENT PAGE
Bringing the song to life from initial manuscript form.
TEACHING MENU - Towards Performance
Group and 1:1 coaching Examples of previous work in italics
RITUAL DRAMA – The English Mumming Plays
The endpoint of this workshop series is a performance of a Hero/Combat play (not restricted to male performers). We start with a traditional text, but the final script can be a “doctored” version (sorry!) or a group-devised piece using the older structure.
The work covers the history, social context and geography of the plays, plus costume and props used, and offers a chance to design and construct the visuals. It also addresses the problems of using the voice in the open air. Questions are asked regarding performance style, and the natures of performance and ritual.
Huddersfield University Drama Dept BA 3rdyear, ‘04 (Script performance)
Northern Ballet Theatre Education Dept (Script and design )
VOICE WORK - MECHANICS
Care and basic development of the natural voice; converting negative tension into positive performance energy; voice release; breathing issues; tone; vocal range; articulation.
Performance techniques; linking song to movement; voice into text/script
Salford University Music, Media and Performing Arts Dept. Voice tutor HND and BA (7years)
Huddersfield University Drama Dept. Visiting voice tutor. Most recently Nov/Dec ‘04 BA 3rd year, as part of work as visiting tutor at Newcastle University Music Dept, Folk Degree
VOICE INTO SONG
General voice and singing workshops, teaching body and voice release, songs and harmonies.
All rooted in (mainly) traditional songs sung in English.
Bradford Community College
Sidmouth International Festival, Devon. Tutor 9years
Towersey Festival
East Anglian Traditional Music Trust: ‘03 – ‘05
WREN (Baring Gould Trust) ;FOLK SOUTH WEST; FOLKUSs (NW)
A linked w/s for voice/movement “Dances that we Sing - Songs that we Dance” introduces songs that use movement and gestural language to help tell the story, and dances that have their own songs to help us through the movement sequences. Includes work with ballads.
TRADITIONAL (Vernacular) SINGING STYLES
A specialist course of study which follows on from Voice into Song
Listening to, analysing and developing practical experience of the story-telling techniques used by our (English language) source singers. The unaccompanied voice…..making the song our own………..telling the story effectively, and allowing the song to do its job!
Newcastle University Music Dept Folk Degree ’04 –‘05
Sidmouth International Festival of the Folk Arts
WREN (Baring-Gould Trust): Residential course Devon ‘04 and ‘05
FOLK South West: Easter Residential course, Bath ‘03 and ‘05
FOLKUS: North West Residential w/e Waddow Hall, Lancs, ‘04 and ’05
LIFTING THE SONG FROM THE SILENT PAGE
Bringing songs to life from original manuscript form. Fitting words to tune and vice versa
East Anglian Traditional Music Trust: Ralph Vaughan Williams . . . songs collected in East Anglia (Working on selected songs and teaching them back to local people). ’03 – ‘05
THE TRADITIONAL BALLADS
What they are, how they work and how to sing the story. Standing behind the song. Decoding and understanding ballad lore.
Newcastle University, Folk Degree
Sidmouth Festival
HARMONY SINGING for duos and small groups
Putting harmony into traditional song without it getting in the way. Arrangements that make the story a priority. Listening to examples of existing group work past and present.
FOLK SOUTH WEST Easter residential course, Bath ’05
SONG ACCOMPANIMENT
Philosophy and practice of instrumentally supporting the song and voice without getting in the way. Letting the song have its say.
Concertinas at Witney ’03
PERCUSSIVE (STEP/CLOG) DANCE
English traditional steps, mainly from the Lake District
Devising new steps “Step and Say/Step and Stop” Linking foot percussion with speech/singing patterns
Ryburn 3 Step weekly class, West Yorkshire
Lancashire Wallopers . . . Masterclass tutor
Reading Clog Dance . . . Masterclass tutor
National Theatre, London and on tour. Touring production of “The Good Hope’ Dance arranger, dancer and cast tutor ‘01 -‘02
DEVISING/WRITING/CREATING
SONGWRITING
COMPOSING AND ARRANGING
DEVISING FOR PRODUCTIONS: Voice and movement;
Story sound track - music and abstract sound using voice, instruments and effects
Aztec Theatre, performances and education work
Huddersfield University Drama Dept Visiting tutor 11years
“BESPOKEN” performances with Deborah Middleton
Visual art……..Set, costume and props design for productions
Northern Ballet Theatre Education Dept Freelance design tutor 5 years
ENSEMBLE WORK (Workshop series under development)
The mechanics and dynamics of forming a musical outfit with its various textures, from the point of view of FUNCTION: playing for social and exhibition dancing; accompanying the singing voic