photo. Sculpture Fool and Death by actress Sarah Bernhardt
Photo: Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet
Shakespeare's Clowns - a revelation in truth
A workshop taught by Ira Seidenstein
Shakespeare is a treasure chest for theatre. Clowns are a metaphor for acting and being. Revelation is creativity as the essence of your-self. Truth is a mathematical matrix of integers acknowledged by Plato, Pythagoras, Vitruvius, Da Vinci for expression of ones creative nature. The workshop includes physical training, integrative body-voice work, text work, and improvisation.
Theatre, acting, Shakespeare and clown are excellent tools for allowing you a chance to reconnect with your deeper creative nature. The workshop presents breakthrough information on the true nature of your being, you as a creative being. There are six elements to the workshop and each is clear and structured yet leads to unlimited possibilities for interpretation and exploration.
Slapstick represents the primal and intuitive side of theatre, the comedy mask of the Greek theatre icon, the skull in Hamlet’s hand, yin.
Shakespeare represents the spiritual and intellectual side of theatre, the tragedy mask, Hamlet, yang.
The workshop focuses on the most potent and most practical universal acting principle, The Principle of Four, integrated practice of body-voice-performance-creativity. The workshop uses duo-logues from various Shakespeare plays, physicality, body-voice, and improvisation. Theatre is life. One of Ira’s teachers, Carlo, the founder of the USA’s main physical theatre school said “You think I am talking about theatre, but I am not! I am talking about life.
Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man - the physical embodiment of the mathematical matrix 'the secret'.
The Principle of Four uses a twist exercise that Ira created in 1976 that happens to appear like the Vitruvian Man. Part 1 is the twist series, part 2 is a statue/held-shape, part 3 is the release and moulding of the actor's imagination, and emotional creativity in space.
Thousands of actors have seen how unusually potent this simple exercise is.
It appears that this exercise provides a direct conduit to the actor's individual and unique source of creativity.
Photo: Un Filet D'Amour - Paris 2008 - Marie-Soleil Fortin and Ira
About Ira Seidenstein
Parallel to his theatre career, Ira has had an ongoing process as a teacher and a healer. He is a Graduate of the Berkeley Psychic Institute - Advanced Program, a trained Iyengar yoga teacher, and experienced teacher of meditation and healing. He has maintained an ongoing interest in metaphysics and alternative therapies. Ira has worked in over 100 productions as well as television, film, commercials.
Most recently Ira played Yorick in Frank Theatre’s Hamlet Stooged, toured in the UK in the dramatic clown-theatre show Nothing Left to Lose, created Chaplin’s Eye, and was the first actor/clown to play alternating roles in Cirque du Soleil.
In 1992 Ira assisted establishing the Bell Shakespeare Company. He was the Resident Teacher and Choreographer, acted in all four productions, and co-directed Richard III featuring John Bell.
In addition to establishing the success of BSC’s first grand season as a touring ensemble, Ira made notable breakthroughs with several ‘problem’ scenes in Shakespeare’s canon. These breakthroughs were recognized by various former members of the Royal Shakespeare Company including John Bell and Anna Volska as well as Shakespeare scholars. Three BSC Associate Directors studied with Ira at NIDA and WAAPA.
Other work with Shakespeare includes: Directing Henry the Fifth (cast of 12 women), a breakthrough experiment with King Lear in Copenhagen, The Tempest in Sweden (in Swedish), writer/director A Girl's Guide to Hamlet, and his first solo clown show was a Shakespearean clown busking act in pubs in California.
In 1993 Ira established the universal principles for acting and theatre and called this organic system Quantum Theatre: Slapstick to Shakespeare.
Quantum as in quantum physics shows that everything is energy and potential. Stanislavsky called this prana. Quantum also implies quantum leaps are possible.
Valentyna and Ira backstage Cirque du Soleil - Corteo 2007
