Action Theater creator Ruth Zaporah to teach at Boulder International Fringe Festival
The Boulder International Fringe Festival is right around the corner, and along with hundreds of performances in theatre, music, dance, film, and poetry, the Fringe is bringing innovative arts education to the Front Range. Headlining this year’s workshop lineup is Ruth Zaporah, who is best known as the creator of Action Theater, an improvisational physical theater training and performance method. She is also a performer, teacher, author, and Cultural Envoy for the U.S.State Department.
Zaporah’s workshop for the Boulder Fringe Festival, “A Splendid Moment,” teaches the fundamentals of Action Theater, which Zaporah describes as a “disciplined exploration of embodied exercises that lead to increased skills of strong, clear, spontaneous, and artful communication.” Although Action Theater is often employed by professional theater artists, Zaporah emphasizes that the practice is equally valuable for anyone who wishes to experience greater self-awareness and sense of playfulness.
In addition to Zaporah’s workshop, this year’s Learning Fringe offers workshops in physical comedy, self-scripting, and music, including “Embodying Rhythm,” a body percussion workshop with Jim Santi Owen, the director of the San Francisco World Music Festival. Local teachers are represented as well, including Boulder favorite square product theatre, with a workshop on crafting personal stories. Several of the workshops are appropriate for teens and kids, including “Using All Our Voices”, a multi-generational workshop that invites kids and grandparents alike to come and play, offering improvisation and theatre games, movement and music.
While most workshops take place on Naropa University’s campus in downtown Boulder, the Learning Fringe also extends to the University of Colorado, in a collaboration with CU’s theatre and dance department.
According to Cynthia Ward, the Fringe Festival’s workshops coordinator, “the Fringe Festival is great, because it’s an opportunity to see a wide variety of theatre, music, and dance professionals from around the U.S. and the world, right here in Boulder. But, the Learning Fringe is special because it’s a chance for folks who are usually in the audience to participate and be creative themselves. We strive to create a line-up of workshops that are appropriate for all levels of experience, from the curious beginner to professional artists.”
All Fringe Workshops:
Aug 18-21 A Splendid Moment – Action Theater with Ruth Zaporah
Aug 20 Embodying Rhythm – Body Percussion with Jim Santi Owen
Aug 22 The Art of Clowning Around – Physical Comedy with Jenn Zuko Boughn
Aug 27 Using All Our Voices – Multi-generational Creativity with The Catamounts Performance Group
Aug 27 Your Own, Glorious Life – Personal storytelling with square product theatre
Registration and Information: For full descriptions of the workshops and other Festival events, visit www.boulderfringe.com, and to register for the workshops contact workshops@boulderfringe.com or call 303-803-5643.
Registration fees for the workshops vary, with sliding scale, suggested donation, or scholarship options available for most workshops.
