TCT WORKSPACE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY 2009
INFORMATION SHEET

THE COMPANY THEATRE

The Company Theatre (TCT) is a theatre organisation with over 15 years of experience in the creation, sustenance and dissemination of theatrical work. Its ensemble of activities includes several performances, theatre workshops and seminars, performance-related studies, theatre festivals and international collaborative ventures.

Over the last five years, our efforts have been directed towards the fruition of our most ambitious project: The Company Theatre WORKSPACE - an international residency for theatre research & performance. The dream now realized, rests on 5 acres of land, surrounded by the inspiring environs of a lake, mountains and open fields in the Indian countryside. It is three hours away from the bustling city of Mumbai, near the thriving hill-station of Lonavala in Maharashtra. Led by its founder, theatre director and performer Atul Kumar, this is a facility that provides performance artists with uninterrupted time and space to further research and creative work.

TCT WORKSPACE

Today’s urban landscape, the world over, is marked by a pace of living that struggles to race against time and the constant pressures of maintaining one’s livelihood. The artist’s search has often suffered against the back-drop of the all-consuming city, his focus often shifted from exploration to plain existence. The importance of steady training as a way of life cannot be undermined for the performance artist. It is his fuel and nutrition, which can slowly get diminished in a product-oriented world, where the artist tends to move from one performance to the next without pausing to reflect on his art.

TCT Workspace offers the performer a refuge where one can rejuvenate and put into one’s craft the necessary rigour and focus to create new work. Although most of The Company Theatre’s members belong to urban backgrounds, in its riaz (a term mostly used in the field of Indian classical music referring to dedicated & laborious study, devotion and practise), TCT Workspace also turns to traditional Indian disciplines and practices that nurture the performer’s most potent instrument – his body. Here, the artist’s body is encouraged to tune into a very simple and basic lifestyle where it is free from the overwhelming distractions of a city.

Alongside the emphasis on training, TCT Workspace is also a laboratory that focuses on inter-cultural and inter-disciplinary exchange. It is The Company Theatre’s constant endeavour to bring together artists from different backgrounds and disciplines in order to connect and create with each other by sharing skills and experiences.

For more information on the company theatre workspace please visit www.thecompanytheatre.net

RESIDENCY 2009 AT A GLANCE

The Company Theatre is now launching its first creative project in TCT Workspace. The duration of this project is 7 months. It will commence in July/Aug ‘09 and culminate in a production that will tour India in Jan/Feb ‘10. This project will take place in 3 phases and detailed information on each phase is provided in Annexure 2.

The first 3 months will be spent in training, craft work and research. During this phase, The Company Theatre will invite experts and teachers from various performance disciplines that are valuable to and can be directed to fortify the performer’s process. Amongst others, these disciplines include Yoga, Kalerippayattu and Voice Training from Hindustani Classical Vocal Tradition.

The following 3 months will involve rehearsal for a full-fledged production. This will be a devised performance piece, to be directed by Atul Kumar- the artistic director of The Company Theatre. This will be a time to meet and workshop with certain renowned practitioners of Modern Indian Theatre who will be invited for short stays during this period to work with the participating artists. For this project, The Company Theatre will also invite selected skilled and experienced Indian performance artists to participate in the final performance.

To ensure an extremely focused and concentrated learning and sharing process amongst participants the project has decided to invite only 6 foreign and 2 Indian artists.

The final phase of the project will include dissemination of the performance. After the residential project closes, The Company Theatre will take the performance to audiences in major Indian cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and New Delhi.

The Company Theatre invites applications for its first residential project from performers in the creative genres of theatre, contemporary dance and music. Through this project, The Company Theatre is keen to initiate a long-term collaboration with the participants.

ANNEXURE-1
STRATEGIC DETAILS

The project will provide the participants with the following:

1. Three meals per day will be provided for the entire duration of the project. At the time of touring the final production the participants will be given per-diems to cover food costs.

2. Accommodation and bathroom supplies will be provided in individual furnished cottages with attached bathrooms and hot water.

3. Free laundry service for the entire duration of the residency.

4. Free Pick-up and Drops to International airports on arrival in India and at the end of project.

5. All local transportation around the residency and inter-state travel during the Indian tour will be taken care of by TCT.

6. Free domestic phone calls within India and common internet access will be provided.

7. Basic medical care and first aid will be available alongside services of doctors and hospitals close to the residency in case of any need.

8. At least 1 visit to another performing arts residency in India will be undertaken. This visit will be to another part of the country and all costs involved will be borne by TCT.

9. The Company Theatre will sponsor passes for all participants to select performances of dance, theatre and music in the cities of Mumbai and Pune.

10. A basic stipend will be offered to all participants per show performed during the Indian Tour. This will be competitive with payment to Indian artists per show in Indian Rupees.

All participants must arrange the following:

International Return Airfares
Visa to India
Participation Fee
Personal Insurance

The Company Theatre can, with select applicants, mutually help raise funding for the above from cultural consulates and other grant making bodies:

WHO CAN APPLY & HOW

Artists of any age involved in performance activity or with a background of performance training are invited to apply. Performers from the following disciplines may apply: Theatre, Mime, Clown, Puppetry, Contemporary Dance and Music. All artists applying must be open to physically exploring the rigorous training and skill exchange that will be practiced during the period of riaz and should be willing to participate in the final performance that will be rehearsed and toured at the end of the residency.

Applications must be made both on e-mail as well as in hard copy (details in the application form). The application material will not be returned to the participants.

All the selected participants will have to enter into an international contract with The Company Theatre. The decision of The Company Theatre in selection of the participants will be binding once this contract has been signed.

The language required for this project is English.

The participation fee for the project (duration: 7 months) is € 8000.
The selection process starts from 31st Nov ’08 on first come first served basis and will be finalised by 31st Jan ’09.
Last date for receiving applications is 31st Dec ’09.

ANNEXURE 2
THREE PHASES OF THE PROJECT

PHASE- 1

This will be a 3 month period (July/Aug 2009 to Sept/Oct 2009) of basic training, learning and skill exchange where all the following activities will be practiced on a regular basis.

KALERIPPAYATTU

Originally a martial art form from the south of India, Kalerippayattu offers various exercises and routines to performers which help them to control and apply breath and energy to their body movements at will. Basic training in this art form prepares performing artists for the stage at a very fundamental level, in terms of their awareness of body and mind, concentration and flexibility. The outcome of this training can be experienced by all performers in the areas of removing natural blocks in the movements of the body and empowering body expression by synchronising physical and mental energies.
Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalarippayattu
Please note that Kalerippayattu will continue into phase 2 of the project as well. Total duration: 6 months

UZHICHIL

Kalari Uzhichil is a body massage given by a master to the student with hand and foot. Generally, this relieves physical tiredness, promotes blood circulation, relaxes muscles and invigorates body systems. It tones the musculoskeletal system and alleviates general body weakness. By using a very unique technique and special oils, vital body points are stimulated leading to a completely relaxed body and mind.
Info: http://www.sreerangomayur.com/Kalarichikiltsa.htm
Total duration: 14 days

YOGA

Yoga has many forms but basically is a series of fluid body postures and exercises done under the supervision of a master. It is essential for every performer to learn to control and play with the highly potent & complex ‘living instrument’. It is impossible to separate the elements of that instrument - mind, body, breath, and energy. Regular yoga practise helps a performer to build flexibility, focus, stamina, coordination, balance, and a healthy sense of self.
Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
Please note that Yoga will continue into phase 2 of the project as well. Total duration: 6 months

HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL VOCAL MUSIC

An age old classical art form that needs no introduction, Hindustani Classical Music, is based on knowledges in voice culture and voice engineering. These are knowledges acquired over many years that address the musical qualities of voice, its anatomical behaviour and health, breathing apparatus and finally resonance systems in the abdomen, chest, throat and head.

There has always been an understanding that a voice has to sound and behave in a certain manner to be able to do justice to the demands of the performer. Basic training in this art form will help our participants in the areas of greater vocal power and energy, improved vocal quality, texture and tone as well as voice focus and projection.
Info: http://www.itcsra.org/sra_hcm/sra_hcm_index.asp
Total duration: 3 months

EYE WORK FROM KATHAKALI

Kathakali is a well-known dance-theatre form from South India. The eyes being an important medium of communication for all performers, Kathakali eye exercises daily will enable the participants to develop focus and energy in the eyes. This will also include work towards the basic emotions expressed by the eyes; Netrabhinaya (The play/ act of the eyes) based on the Navarasa theories of the ancient treatise of Indian Dance and Drama- Natyashastra.
Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathakali
Total duration: 1 month

BREATH WORK FROM KOODIYATTAM

Koodiyattam is also a classical dance-theatre form from South India which is a few thousands of years old, now considered a part of humanity’s intangible heritage (UNESCO). Laying stress on breath control and its realization, Koodiyattam can open doors for all performers to stimulate their emotional and psychological expression. This study will rely deeply on breath patterns of everyday life and life around us. The participants will work with primordial rhythms of breath patterns in and around them and explore breath patterns of the basic emotions as prescribed by Natyashastra.
Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koodiyattam
Total duration: 1 month

RHYTHM WORK

Performers must enhance their work by developing an appropriate inner rhythm of their being. Speed, Intensity, Tempo and Energy are all an outcome of an inner rhythm, its realisation and control. All of this helps the performer to develop a truthful character emotion and a powerful connect between inner feeling and outer expression. Combining knowledges of classical and modern performance cultures, participants will explore the rhythms of postures and gestures, of characters and situations, of stillness and movement.
Total duration: 1 month (2 separate modules of 15 days each)

PUPPETRY (PAVAKOOTHU)

Pavakoothu means shadow puppet play. It is a ritual art form performed during festivals in temples with epic tales as its theme. The puppets are arranged behind a long white curtain stretched across the view line. Behind this curtain a row of burning lamps are placed. The light from these lamps casts the shadow of the puppets on the curtain when the puppeteer moves the puppets. The project intends to explore the craft and the many ways in which it can be extended into a contemporary expression in form as well as content.
Total duration: 1 month

THEORETICAL COMPONENT

Every month The Company Theatre will invite, for a day, a specialist to talk to participants about different aspects and fields of knowledge that have a bearing on the process of a performer. While some of these will be informal sessions, some will also take the form of lecture demonstrations. These have been envisioned as sessions of sharing, discussing, opening up to understand each artist better and also helping a deeper understanding of Indian performance traditions and practices. Almost all of these will further the theoretical understanding of all the practical work that the participants will undertake at the residency.

VISIT TO ANOTHER RESIDENCY

At the end of Phase 1, all participants will visit, for a week, another performing arts residency situated in some other part of India. This will be a chance for them to work in a newer space and introduce themselves to the craft, philosophy and way of life of that particular residency.

BREAK

A week long period is kept aside for participants to unwind and refresh themselves. In this period, all participants may return to Kamshet or visit other parts of India at their own expense.







PHASE- 2

Soon after the break, the participants will be expected to return to the residency where rehearsals towards a performance will begin for the next 3 months. The director, Atul Kumar, who will be present during the Phase 1 as well, will initiate rehearsals immediately into the 2nd phase. Germ ideas for this production will already have emerged and maybe even discussed during the first 3 months of the project. 2 guest artists from India from the field of performance will also be invited at this point to join the project. They will, on their part, bring in their skills, expertise and experience to this process. We truly hope that at this point the project turns into an exchange programme, facilitating a dialogue of skills and knowledges between artists.

SHORT WORKSHOPS

Once every month into the 2nd phase, as required by the growing work and need, the project will invite other performance teachers and practitioners to come in from various parts of India and hold shorter workshops with the participants.

PHASE 3

The performance created out of the project will be performed and toured immediately after the 6 month process in 4 Cities of India-Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi. Over a month at least 10 shows will be performed during this tour.



ANNEXURE 3
CALENDAR

TIME ACTIVITY DETAILS

July/Aug 2009 ARRIVAL OF PARTICIPANTS WELCOME
Jul/Aug 2009 TO Sept/Oct 2009 RIAZ- TRAINING PERIOD KALERIPPAYATTU EVERYDAY
YOGA EVERYDAY
HINDUSTANI MUSIC EVERYDAY
UZHICHIL FOR 14 DAYS
RHYTHM WORK 1 MONTH
EYE WORK 1 MONTH
BREATH WORK 1 MONTH
PUPPETRY 1 MONTH
MONTHLY THEORETICAL EXCHANGE
Sept/Oct 2009 VISIT TO ANOTHER RESIDENCY WORKSHOP DESIGNED BY HOST
Sept/Oct 2009 BREAK VISITS OR REST TIME
Oct/Nov 2009 RETURN TO RESIDENCY PREPARE FOR REHEARSALS
Oct/Nov 2009 TO Dec/Jan 2009 REHEARSALS EVERDAY REHEARSALS
MONTHLY GUEST WORKSHOP (3-4 DAY
Jan/Feb 2010 SHOWS & TOUR MUMBAI- 5 SHOWS
PUNE- 1 SHOW
BANGALORE- 3 SHOWS
DELHI- 1 SHOW
Jan/Feb 2010 PARTICIPANTS RETURN END OF PROJECT




DAY’S ROUTINE

Phase 1

7 to 7.30 am- Eye Work
7:30 to 8.30 am – Kalerippayattu/Uzhichil
8.30 to 9.30 am – Yoga
9.30 to 10.30 am – Breakfast
10.30 to 11.30 am – Break
11.30 to 1.00 pm – Hindustani Vocal- Voice Work
1.00 to 2.00 pm – Lunch
2.00 to 4.30 pm – Break & Tea-Coffee
4.30 to 6.30 pm – Rhythm Work/Breath Work/Puppet Work
6.30 to 8.00 pm – Discussion Sessions/Break
8.00 to 9.00 pm – Dinner

Phase 2

7:30 to 8.30 am – Kalerippayattu
8.30 to 9.30 am – Yoga
9.30 to 10.30 am – Breakfast
10.30 to 11.00 am – Break
11.00 to 1.30 pm – Rehearsal
1.30 to 2.30 pm – Lunch
2.30 to 4.30 pm – Break & Tea-Coffee
4.30 to 8.00 pm – Rehearsal/Workshop
8.00 to 9.00 pm – Dinner









THE COMPANY THEATRE, G-8, SILVER ANKLET, YARI ROAD, VERSOVA, ANDHERI WEST, MUMBAI- 400 061, INDIA
ph: 91 22 2630 1294, thecompanytheatre@gmail.com, www.thecompanytheatre.net

TCT WORKSPACE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY 2009
APPLICATION FORM FORM NUMBER:

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• Artistic and Professional Bio-Data/Curriculum Vitae (PLEASE ATTACH SEPARATE SHEET)

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• Why you wish to participate in this residency program? What you hope to achieve for yourself through this program? (PLEASE ATTACH SEPARATE SHEET)

• Enlist any Work Samples attached (by way of video/audio recordings or pictures) Please do not send originals as we cannot return materials:

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DECLARATION:

I AGREE, IF SELECTED FOR THE RESIDENCY 2009 AT THE COMPANY THEATRE- INDIA, TO BE PRESENT AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ENTIRE PROJECT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS STATED IN THE INFORMATION SHEET.


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NOTE:

• Please use separate sheets wherever necessary
• Feel free to send us any printed material, press coverage, promotional or any other support material of your past work
• Please send a completed application form by e-mail to: thecompanytheatre@gmail.com
• The last date for submission of application is 31st December 2008
• Along with the e-mail application, please send a hard copy of the completed application form with support material to the following address:

THE COMPANY THEATRE
G-8, SILVER ANKLET,
YARI ROAD, VERSOVA,
ANDHERI WEST,
MUMBAI- 400 061
INDIA thecompanytheatre@gmail.com
PHONE: 91 22 2630 1294 www.thecompanytheatre.net

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