Course: The Actor's Toolbox, Modern Acting Methods

Kaivalya Plays invites you to 

THE ACTOR'S TOOLBOX

Modern Acting Methods

A weekend course for actors and performers of all experience levels covering Navrasa, The Method, Laban, Spolin’s Improv, Meisner and Stella Adler acting techniques.

🗓️ Begins Sunday July 7

⏰ Runs 11:30am-1:30pm on Sundays (July 7, 14, 21, 28)

📍 Sanskriti Kala Kendra, Aya Nagar, South Delhi 

🎟️ INR 3999/- per participant. Get 20% off on booking on or before 15th June 2024 by purchasing the available Early Bird ticket.

ABOUT THE COURSE

Dive into the world of acting with our comprehensive weekend course, open to actors and performers of all experience levels. This 4-week immersive course offers a deep exploration of various renowned acting techniques, providing a rich, diverse foundation for your craft. Through intensive training across four dynamic sessions, participants will learn more about:

• Navrasa: Discover the nine emotional states fundamental to Indian classical arts, and learn how to effectively convey these emotions to enhance your performance.
• The Method: Immerse yourself in this technique that encourages deep emotional connections to your character, fostering authentic and powerful performances.
• Laban: Explore Rudolf Laban's movement theory to understand and utilize body language and physical expression as vital tools in your acting repertoire.
• Spolin’s Improv: Engage in Viola Spolin’s improvisation exercises, designed to promote spontaneity, creativity, and ensemble awareness.
• Meisner: Practice Sanford Meisner’s repetition exercises to develop your instincts and ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
• Stella Adler: Learn from Stella Adler’s emphasis on imagination and the importance of thorough script analysis to bring depth and nuance to your roles.

Participants will:

• Go deep into acting theory: Learn about the basic tenets of different acting methodologies
• Expand their versatility: Gain a broad spectrum of skills, preparation methods and character work techniques.
• Develop a deeper emotional range: Learn to access and express a wide array of emotions authentically.
• Enhance their physical presence: Utilize movement and body language effectively in their performances.
• Foster collaborative creativity: Work closely with peers, building a supportive and creative ensemble.
• Apply to their acting practice: Learn how to apply these methods to theatre, screen and other scripts quickly and effectively. 

Note: This course is ideal for actors seeking to broaden their acting techniques and improve their performance versatility. All levels of experience are welcome, even if you are a beginner just starting out or  someone with a few performances already under their belt. 

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR

Varoon P. Anand is the Artistic Director of Kaivalya Plays and a facilitator specializing in applied improvisation. His multi-disciplinary training includes improv training from Danielle Scott, Shawn Kinley, Elana Fishbein and Lacy Alana; clowning from Ashwath Bhatt, Gardzienice physical theatre techniques under Anna Helena McLean, mentorship in Classical Theatre by Ignacio García, and Forum theatre training from React UK. Additionally, Varoon teaches Stella Adler's Method acting, Rudolf Laban's Eight Efforts, and Rasa Theory from Natyashastra, among others.  Varoon began his career in 2006 at the renowned Theatre Guild of Ancón in Panama. He has won Best Actor at the Short+Sweet Festival, as well as Best Director and Best Writer at the 48 Hour Film Festival Delhi. He has received over 20 commissions from the Embassy of Spain, Argentina, Ecuador, the Danish Cultural Institute, the Instituto Cervantes and Goethe Insitut to create work for Indian audiences. In 2018, he received the Refunction grant from Goethe-Institut to create Unravel, an improvised mental health piece performed in India and UK. In 2019, he was the first Indian to showcase at the Almagro Classical Theatre Festival in Spain with Marta la piadosa, and received the Gender Bender grant for Aguebao exploring gender and data. Additionally, Varoon has received grants  the Connections Through Culture India Wales (2021), IFA Research on performer safety (2022), Moleskine Creativity Pioneers Fund and EU Mediafutures Artists for Media grant for Mining Hate (2023), among others. He continues to explore new ways to present and teach the techniques of improv, along with his other specialties.​ 

ABOUT KAIVALYA PLAYS

Kaivalya Plays is a performing arts and production company led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh Nijjer as its General Manager. Since 2012, they have worked consistently, been very noisy, and built transcultural associations across India and the world. Their artistic work includes original, devised theatre performances which are multilingual, interactive and hybrid, use technology and media on stage as well as are built using techniques of improvisational, documentary and physical theatre. Their work includes live performances, education and training, community arts programs, producing guest performances, and more. Improvisational theatre is the cornerstone of Kaivalya’s artistic practice, which they apply to arts programs focused on artistic development, language learning, mental health and wellbeing, gender and representation, and multicultural performances, among other areas. They have received multiple artistic commissions and grants, such as EU MediaFutures Artist for Media grant, Goethe Institut’s Refunction and Gender Bender grants, amongst others. Their recent artistic work includes ABSURDO (2023), Mining Hate (2023), Ollantay (2022), Lifeline 99 99 (2021), Luz Negra (2020) How To Disappear Completely and Never be Found (2020), Unravel (2019), amongst others. Most recently, they received the Creativity Pioneers Fund 2023 from the Moleskine Foundation.