Unshameable Ecstatic theatre (Performance workshop) Led by Mrinal Gautam
We all have those areas in life where we’re vulnerable to shame, any critical internal or external rejection can typically trigger existing insecurities, beliefs, or flaws. These existing insecurities usually develop in early life as responses to painful criticism, rejection, or pain. However, we also have areas where we can never be shamed which either we received from a loving environment or inner work. This workshop aims to increase our capacity collectively to be more resilient to shame and to shine the way we are.
Brene Brown: “I define shame as the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging—something we’ve experienced, done, or failed to do makes us unworthy of connection.I don’t believe shame is helpful or productive. In fact, I think shame is much more likely to be the source of destructive, hurtful behavior than the solution or cure. I think the fear of disconnection can make us dangerous.”
Methodology:
Ecstatic theatre relies on empathy rather than on intellect, an experiential work through modalities of applied Improvisation theatre and explorations of emotional access within us to peep into our childlike state and wisdom of age. Improvisation, or Improv, is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene, or story are made up in the moment. Often, improvisers will take a suggestion from the audience, or draw on some other source of inspiration to get started. It is rooted in being in the moment and spontaneity. Awaken your inner light through play. Playfulness is at the core of improvising with life experiences. It makes a good situation wonderful and a bad situation comfortable. But where does playfulness hide? How do you bring it out in yourself? Through a series of fun games, probing exercises, and reflection on yourselves we will find your ‘play’. This ecstatic theatre workshop is a research space to explore different hidden parts of us while having fun discovering new perspectives.
Performance workshop:
We would learn how to bring play into real life by practicing improvised scenarios in real settings and we would also do a beginners showcase for the audience at the end of the workshop.
Takeaways from the workshop:
– Accepting Other People’s Ideas (Yes, and…)
– Fully Committing to Whatever You Decide to Do
– Look at Failure as a Way of Learning
– Be Comfortable with the Uncomfortable Through Repetition
– Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
– Sometimes It’s Better to Go with the Flow Instead of Trying to Plan Everything
– Everyone Brings Something Unique to the Table
Skills you will learn through play:
– Learning to live in the present
– Listening
– Teamwork and uplifting others
– Treating mistakes as “gifts”
– Commitment
– Spontaneity
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is open to anyone above the age of 18 years.
The workshop will include physical movements.
Attending all sessions is mandatory as this is a collective sensitive work and coming late to sessions or missing sessions creates distrust with other participants.
About the facilitator
Mrinal Gautam- Deep experiential curiosity about human behaviours and his fears introduced him to Improv theatre around 5 years back. He has been practising it as a student and a facilitator since then. He is passionately interested in “transformative improv” based on emotional intelligence and flow.
Dates: 8,9,10,11,12,13 and 14 June 2024.
Maximum number of participants – 18
Workshop Schedule:
9 am -12 pm
2 pm-5 pm
Total number of hours: 42 hours.
For registrations email: gmrinalg@gmail.com