NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019
Workshop for Professional Performing Arts

Read the full version here.

The newsletter contains:

1. Breaking news!
1. feast
2. Our new employee has been found
2. Since last
1. Honorary award to Jesper la Cour
2. The seasonal experiment “What is an experiment?” is LIVE
3. CPH STAGE 2019
4. Platform
3. Upcoming activities
1. Nadine George Summer Intensive
2. Workshop with the Institute for Performing Arts (S)
3. New seasonal experiment
4. Current member attempts
1. Nayika, the heroine
5. Special for members
1st working day 25/6
2. Summer shutdown
3. Training new season

Tadaaaaaa!
Celebrating our 10th birthday
We simply had to do a photo-shoot to announce the date of the 10th birthday celebration of the Experimental Station! Yes, that’s right; we’re rounding an important corner this year and we’d like to ask you to mark your calendars now for Saturday 7 December when we’ll be celebrating! The programme is not in place yet but the date is – and we hope you will help us celebrate this special anniversary. More on this when we get closer.

Our new employee has been found!
(click on photo to watch video where she talks about her tasks)
https://youtu.be/Y5mQzUPNY3U
Photo: Rikke Jeppesen Rod
Please welcome Rikke Giselsson, who will take up the position of administrator at the Experimental Station on 1 August. Dorte Burmester Wium will go on maternity leave at the beginning of the holidays and until she returns from maternity leave, Rikke x 2 will take care of the various tasks in the office. Rikke Giselsson will be available on our main number 38793828 and mail@forsoegsstationen.dk.

Remember that both the office and the rest of the house are closed for the WHOLE MONTH OF JULY. However, members have access to the booking system so they can start booking appointments in August over the summer if they have renewed their membership by Tuesday 26 June – for the working day (read more about this at the bottom of the newsletter).

Since last

Jesper la Cour receives honorary award
During the annual Wordsfestival (https://www.wordsfestival.dk/) in Elsinore, Jesper la Cour (Det Fortællende Teater, STORY PLAY) received the festival’s honorary award “for a lifetime of commitment to good stories” (quote from motivation).

Jesper is also a member of the Forsøgsstation’s board, where we also benefit from good sparring from Associate Professor Annelis Kuhlmann (AU) and festival director Morten Krogh (CPH STAGE).

Seasonal experiments tried out in the world
As announced in the press release (link (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/2019/05/21/forsoeg-arbejdsdemonstration-ord-praksis/) ), the seasonal experiment “What is an experiment? A working demonstration in words and practice” has been ‘out in the world’ for the past few months. With this working demonstration we want to:

“…make visible the ‘invisible’ but essential elements of creating professional performing arts. Professional performing arts are an accumulation of invested time, training and persistent artistic experimentation. With this in mind, we have created this working demonstration based on a multi-year experimental project of the same title. It is a study of the stage expression of the actor and the puppet theatre and the fusion of both into a new stage expression. The experiment is inspired by theatre theorist Edward Gordon Craig’s thoughts and ideas about the “ideal” actor, the übermarionette, free of strings attached, free of psychology and realism, and inspired by the poetry and symbolic universe of puppetry.” (quote press release)

The concept behind “The Actor and the Übermarionette” was presented during a seminar in March at Aalborg University organized with Professor mso Falk Heinrich, Research Laboratory for Art and Technology, AAU and Associate Professor Annelis Kuhlmann, Dramaturgy, AU. Students from both institutions also participated in the workshop based on the work demonstration and discussed artistic research. In addition, a large group of American students from DIS Study Abroad In Scandinavia (https://disabroad.org/copenhagen/) experienced the work demonstration at the Creative Approaches event held at the Experiment Station in April. The full working demonstration has been shown at the conference “On the notion of practice” (https://www.dansehallerne.dk/forestilling/on-the-notion-of-practice/) led by Dansehallerne d. 9-10 May, which took place here at Forsøgsstationen for a small invited group of performing artists and during CPH STAGE where it was announced to a wide audience as a free event u
during the festival. In the autumn, the experimental report will be published and we will tell you more about the experience of its creation and the encounter with the public.

A short film has also been produced in collaboration with Helle Lyshøj (https://hellelyshoj.com/) . It describes how the experiment came about and what the vision is for this dissemination work. The film can be viewed via link (https://vimeo.com/315081324) or by clicking on the photo below.

CPH STAGE 2019

We were again this year in the video teaser for the festival – see it here (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=367079263907909) . As usual, we had planned an Open House and were looking forward to welcoming friends, colleagues, neighbours and new acquaintances in the old cinema. However, we had to cancel large parts of the programme due to deaths in yours truly’s close family.

On Friday, however, we were able to open the doors to those who came by, and we more or less ‘hand-held’ a film and tour for those who attended. We had a visit from “Madam Blå (http://settlementet.dk/madam-bla/)” – a group of elderly people who meet and go on outings together, organised by Settlementet here on Vesterbro. Others had seen it via the CPH STAGE programme, or were locals who had come to the cinema when it was called BOULEVARDEN or CAMERA. Below are excerpts from our brochure on the Experimental Station with old drawings of the cinema. Read more about the house via link (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/brochure-om-forsoegsstationen/) or click on illustration.

Brochure om Forsøgsstationen

It’s always nice, educational and enriching to meet locals and talk about the life of the house, past and present. Everyone is curious about what the house ‘hides’ and we are happy to have this format to open the house, show the public what we do, and explain why we can’t be ‘open’ all year round – immersion requires working space… Very appropriately, we also had a screening of the working demonstration as announced in the CPH STAGE programme (https://www.cphstage.dk/event/skuespilleren-og-ubermarionetten-2019-05-31-17-00/) . Besides Øyvind Kirchhoff, Bjarne Kalhøj and Rolf Søborg Hansen were also on the floor. Many different people came to the screening and there was a lot of interest afterwards.
/Rikke

Platform
On Friday 14 June we held the biannual Platform. There were exciting projects that could inspire each other in many ways – and as often happens, many were surprised by what seemingly very different performing arts could enrich each other.

The experiments presented this time were:
Birgitte Lundtoft: The blue hour (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/den-blaa-time/) . Choreographic and performative spaces of experience ift. study of the blue hour’s light, darkness and twilight.
Declan Whitaker: To those who wait (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/to-those-who-wait/) – choreographic study of compressed time.
The Olske Orchestra: the Actor as Shaman (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/skuespilleren-som-shaman/) – study in transformation and presence.
Theatre Borderline: The Biggest Dream (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/den-stoerste-droem/) – study of the emphasis between real and fairy tale planes in dramatic narrative.
Simona Zanini: Nayika, the heroine (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/nayika-the-heroine/) woman in different stage of love – a study of female characters in Indian dance.
Linn Sandegård: The Self (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/selvet/) – Examining the self as a physical state.

Remember that it is possible to participate even if you are not an ‘experimental participant’ or a member of the Experimental Station. The next Platform will be on Friday 13 December 2019.

Upcoming activities

Nadine George Summer Intensive 2019
This year we have the pleasure of hosting the Nadine George Summer Intensive, which is usually held in London. We already have the privilege of having Nadine visit once a year for our 6-day workshop but this year we have been given the opportunity to offer the framework for a 2-week workshop for an international group of performing artists. The workshop is fully booked.
Nadine George’s technique is an integral part of our DNA at the Experiment Station and we offer members ongoing basic training in this work. There is thus voice training every Wednesday at 9-10:45 where you can keep your technique up to date. Read more about it here (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/stemmetraening/) .

2019/20 season trials
In the coming season, the research projects “Silence – the sound of expectation”, “Pause – resonance in private space” and “Audience memories – what remained” will be launched.

These research projects include the creation of 3 small sound works, developed by composer Peter Bruun in collaboration with an experimental choir and the artistic direction of Forsøgsstation. The project culminates during CPH STAGE 2020 and is supported by both the Bikuben Foundation (https://www.bikubenfonden.dk/vi-nyskaber-muligheder) and the Danish Arts Council’s (https://www.kunst.dk/) music drama inter-aesthetic pool.

All of these projects seek to understand audience relations from an overall artistic and social motif. There is a great need for reciprocity, exchange and respect between the performing arts and the public, so as not to “educate” or “develop” the public, but rather to extend the relationship, albeit still in a context of high artistic quality.

More information on the pilot projects will be available once the 19/20 season is underway.

Workshop with the Institute for Performing Arts (S)
On 4 – 6 October 2019 INSTITUT FÖR SCENKONST (S) will visit Forsøgsstationen with the workshop “The Doing of Being” by MAGDALENA PIETRUSKA and ROGER ROLIN.

It is a 3-day workshop in acting with a focus on the actor’s dramaturgy and the conscious-spontaneous. We look forward to sharing their work with interested performing artists.

Read more about their workshop, price and registration details here (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WS_BEING_OF_DOING.pdf) .

Current membership attempts

It is always possible to read about ongoing or previous trials via the database (http://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/databasen/) or under trials (http://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/) on the website, where you can also download trial reports and read the trial team’s intention reports – i.e. the trial team’s presentation of the trial itself. Members can apply for time and sparring on trials – see how here (http://forsoegsstationen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7e4ab507ee0681aacca9cd6c7&id=ee294188b7&e=7b9b825c44) . Views may not always make it into the newsletter, so keep an eye on our facebook page (http://forsoegsstationen.us8.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7e4ab507ee0681aacca9cd6c7&id=3ce7a29bec&e=7b9b825c44) and the website if you are particularly interested in experiencing the artistic research processes up close…

Membership attempts in the calendar…

Nayika, the heroine

“Nayika, the heroine (woman in different stage of love)” is a study of female characters in traditional Indian dance exemplified in ‘Nayiakas’ and their relevance in a Western performing arts context. The experiment is led by dancer and actor Simona Zanini and also features dancer and choreographer Divya Chandran.

Read more about the trial here (https://www.forsoegsstationen.dk/forsoeg/nayika-the-heroine/) .

Special for members

JOINT WORKING DAY ON 25 JUNE
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As last year, we are holding a joint work day on Tuesday 25 June from 10-16 and hope to see as many people as possible for a day of giving it a go with a project the house is sighing for.
There will be lunch together – Lotte will make her homemade soup for us – and there will be plenty of opportunity to chat with each other over work and soup!
Registration to mail@forsoegsstationen.dk / dorte@forsoegsstationen.dk

Use the Network!
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We would like to encourage members to use this unique network (which many already do – not least via the facebook group “Forsøgsstationen intern” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/944010352410912/) ) – both in the form of invitations to screenings of trials or rehearsals, but of course also when it is time to play a performance.

Training next season
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The training offer for next season is:

** Monday 18-19:30 – Dance – basic* (Stands&Dans)
Monday 19:30-21 – Flow and technique* (Stands&Dans)
Tuesday 20:00-21:00 – Gaga People **
Wednesday 9-10:45 – Voice training# (SMS the day before)
Thursday 8:30-9:30 – Gaga People **
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GAGA starts already from the beginning of August while the voice training and the dance teams start only in September (week 36).

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*) Read more about the teams on their website here (http://standsogdans.dk) . It is free for members to attend. Please write to info@standsogdans.dk and provide your Member ID when registering.

**) Free for members – and non-members can participate for a fee of 70 DKK per session. See more about dates here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1448549642051388/) .

#) Offer for members only. Registration required by 9pm the night before by texting Angelina on 20150949. Class starts at 9am, so be there early.