Dr. Michael Devine has directed nearly fifty professional productions in nine languages, including work with national theatres in Canada, Serbia, Kosovo, Romania, and Hungary.
He has been a featured guest artist at major international theatre festivals including MESS (Sarajevo), FITS (Sibiu), FIST (Belgrade), and others across Europe and beyond. His performance creation and actor-training system, BoxWhatBox, has been presented in more than twenty countries across five continents. Michael is the Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Alternative Theatre Training (CATT), an international actor training intensive conducted annually in intercultural contexts.
Classically trained at LAMDA (London) and HB Studio (New York City), he continues to develop the BoxWhatBox methodology, including his forthcoming book BoxWhatBox: Holistic Acting for the 21st Century.
is an actor, writer, poet and Alexander Technique Teacher. After working as a professional actor in Canada for half a decade or more, Mary Fay decided to hop across the pond to pursue more acting training. In 2010, she found herself at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her time at BOVTS was invaluable, not only because she grew as an actor but because it exposed her to what is now her greatest passion, the Alexander Technique. In July 2016, Mary Fay graduated from a four-year teacher training program, studying under ITM’s Head of Training, Don Weed, and is now a qualified ITM Alexander Technique teacher. She currently teaches in Bristol, England, Cork and Dublin.
is an Irish freelance director, tutor, workshop leader and consultant. She trained in the UK and Ireland and is currently based in Copenhagen. Previous work includes Det Norske Teatret Oslo and Teater Momentum Odense where she was Co-Artistic Director of the theater with Jens August Wille and directed DK Ultra and Vejen til Gudhvorhver. She regularly devises physical theatre productions at Den Danske Scenekunstskole Odense and has also directed at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and at the KHIO State School Helsinki. Caroline was Artistic Director of Locus Theatre Company Ireland for many years working in Cork and Dublin where many of her productions were created through the process of Devised Theatre. Caroline recently re-established Locus Theatre Company in Denmark and the first project was a collaboration between Denmark, Norway and Iceland to develop a show called Seemingly Someone. Locus were Theatre In Residence at Københavns Musikteater to develop a show entitled 3 Nights in October 2016. Caroline teaches Viewpoints/Devising in state schools in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Germany and Ireland as well as workshops for professional actors, dancers. directors, set designers, musicians, playwrights, dramaturgs etc. She holds a BA Contemporary Arts UK, Certificate in Drama Therapy (UK) and an MA in Drama Studies (Dublin).
Session 1 - Alexander Technique - Mary Fay Coady
The Alexander Technique is the study (the fun!) of thinking in relation to movement. By studying the relationship between thinking and movement, we will be learning a mental discipline that can be applied to every part of your life, including the designing of your life and the reaching of your dreams. Alexander Technique helps you to recognize ideas built up over a lifetime of stress that aren't helping you, onstage and off. Through interacting with these ideas, you will have a better understanding of yourself, how you move and how you can move with greater freedom and expressiveness.
Session 2 - Viewpoints: Dynamic Listening - Caroline McSweeney
Viewpoints is a movement based improvisation which was created by Mary Overlie in the US in the 1960s and has since been further developed and used internationally through the work of Anne Bogart (US) and The SiTi Co (NYC). Viewpoints breaks down two key components, Time and Space, into elements to create a language to meet and talk to each other on the floor. Working dynamically it builds ensemble and true kinesthetic listening. Viewpoints trains the performer to be truly present, generous and spontaneous. Viewpoints works as a training, like musical scales for the body, gives a series of tools for improvisation and can also be used as a compositional vocabulary.
Session 3 - BoxWhatBox: Acting For Joy - Michael Devine BoxWhatBox is an actor-training and performance creation method designed by Michael Devine in 2004. It has been used with actors from more than 20 countries on 5 continents. Through original games, exercises and études, BWB focuses on Demechanisation, the identifying of physical, mental and emotional habits which can inhibit the actor’s freedom and variety of expression; Rhythm, the understanding of the music of performance; and Non-Linear Creation, the use of targeted improvisation to create character choices that are fresh, surprising and which utilise all of the actor’s four expressive vocabularies (verbal, non-verbal, gestural, and postural).
A visual record of laboratory work, rehearsal processes, and international collaborations.