Iris Seaman, top, and Devin Preston, above, will instruct a physical theater workshop for students.
Southwest Iowa Theatre Group will host a physical theater workshop for students August 1-5, 2022, at Park Playhouse, 604 Sportsman Park Road, Shenandoah, Iowa.
The one-week workshop in physical theater and improv will culminate in an invited showcase where students present original scenes. Students from sixth to 12th grade will take part in theater games and exercises that use the full body to deliver a playful education on the building blocks of performance. Physical theater is an approach to the stage that doesn’t start from a scripted play, but uses movement and character interaction to create scenes and stories that come from the actors’ own ideas. The instructors’ method helps students learn to act and communicate in a way that is engaging and creative. Going beyond just delivering lines, our students use their own imaginations and storytelling muscles to invent scenes and scenarios that they’re excited to perform.
The course begins August 1 and will run in two sessions: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for sixth through eighth grade students and 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. for 9th through 12th grade students. Sign-ins will take place 15 minutes before class starts on August 1.
Both groups will have an opportunity to present their creativity to their parents, friends and family with a final combined showcase on Friday, August 5, at 5:30 p.m. Rehearsals for the showcase will be July 29.
Come prepared to move, and wear comfortable clothing. No other supplies or experience are necessary.Each session is limited to 15 students. Call Paul Seaman at 712-204-0974 to reserve your spot. The cost is $120 per student. If there are more than one student from the same family, each subsequent student in that family is $50 per student. Some need-based scholarships may be available.
Workshop instructors will be Iris Athena Seaman and Devin Preston.
Seaman is a theater maker and teaching artist based in Philadelphia. She has a Masters in Fine Arts in Devised Performance from the University of the Arts / Pig Iron School and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Drake University. She has served as a guest faculty member of the Circadium School of Contemporary Circus, where she leads her students in crafting original circus theater. Her most recent performance work focuses on slapstick and comedic farce. Iris is the daughter and stepdaughter of Paul J. Seaman and Beverly K. Jones, Tarkio, Missouri.
Preston is a performer, gamemaker, and certified coach based in Philadelphia. He has a Masters in Fine Arts in Devised Performance from the University of the Arts / Pig Iron School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television, and Theater and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Notre Dame. He currently teaches acting at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.
