Drama Ties Theatre Company's English Theatre Club - Paris
What's the English Theatre Club - Paris about?
The goal of the English theatre Club Paris, is to produce a high quality ensemble show at the end of the year and to give the participants a space for freedom, fun, expression, and poetry.
The theme for the show will be decided after the first months with the workshop leader and the participants.
We will work on professional exercises but perfection is never expected, beginners and those with no or little experience are always encouraged.
We will work for the most part in English and translations will be provided when necessary.
Initially we will experiment with improvisation and scenes from a classic / contemporary English speaking repertoire to find a good direction for the group according to their talents.
We will be working to help the participants find their creativity, expression, spontaneity and confidence.
Our approach is multi-disciplinary; no one style of acting or theatre is to be privileged. We will work with methods from classic method acting to more physical based methods.
We always work in an environment where no one can be wrong. Fear of failure is always a sure way of blocking expression.
Each participant is encouraged and required to work as part of a theatre ensemble, supported by the other participants. The basis of the pedagogy relies on the complicity each participant has with the others.
We will work to find and ground this complicity and create a stable and encouraging working environment where each participant can find their own expression, poetry, and voice.
Our Approach
We will work the principal skills of theatre as individuals and more importantly as a group.
The most important disciplines we will be working on are:
Play and complicity – Working with people and trusting the other members of the troupe. Finding the ‘play’ and the pleasure on stage.
Chorus work – finding one voice for the group.
Vocal work – work on placing the voice and breathing, using the apparatus correctly, overcoming the fear of using one’s voice on stage, projecting the voice, and expression.
Verbal work –Work on the placement of the English accent, diction, pronunciation, using silence.
Movement and physical work – warming up, stretching, group dynamics, posture.
Characters – Physical approaches to character, method approaches to characters, status work, improvisation to help find a character.
Improvisation – spontaneity, using the imagination, creating stories, improvising scenes.
Text – Sight-reading, remembering the text.
Comments about our English Theatre Club Paris
A dynamic and pedagogical teacher
The teacher quickly put us at ease with games that didn’t require any particular fluency in spoken English. The atmosphere was really nice..
Funny and enriching
The class and the teacher are very funny. You find yourself doing exercises you wouldn't think of doing anywhere else, and you realize that he's helping you discern certain details that are ultimately essential for theatre, but also for everyday life and work. All of this is in English and in a relaxed atmosphere. Very glad I tried this experience!
Fun, relaxing and pedagogical
Joe is a resourceful teacher who leads his class in a very engaging way. He makes you feel very comfortable and creates a relaxed atmosphere within the group, which I find essential for practicing theatre. I learned a great deal about theatre, breathing and relaxation techniques, voice, and even about myself.
Good teacher and good teaching methods
The course is well-structured, with a section of exercises (breathing, relaxation, work on space and voice) and a section of actual theatre (improvisation and texts). A performance is planned at the end of the year, which allows for a real theatre experience and fosters good teamwork. The course is entirely in English, and we learn a lot, especially in terms of pronunciation.
A mix of seriousness and good humor
Breathing, voice placement, body work and flexibility exercises, various improvisations—nothing is overlooked by Joe, our teacher, who is always ready to answer our questions and knows how to identify and utilize the group's potential. And all this in English, no less! Almost without us realizing it, everything seems natural. Even if pronunciation or comprehension corrections are made when necessary.
Practical information for the English Theatre Club Paris
Sessions will take place Tuesdays at 8 pm (except school holidays) at Mom’artre, 2 Rue de la Barrière Blanche, 75018 Paris, France – the entrance to the room is on rue Joseph de Maistre.
The nearest metro is Place de Clichy, you can also take the bus, lines 80 and 95 stop Damrémont – Caulaincourt
Mom’artre is a workshop / nursery for children located on the ground floor at the fork between rue Joseph de Maistre and rue de la Barrière Blanche. It is also the association that manages the financial aspects of the course (not Drama Ties).
It is recommended to wear comfortable clothes for classes. We do not play sports at all, but drama exercises are sometimes based on other methods; relaxation, flexibility, yoga etc. especially when working on voice and posture.
We have no age limit or level imposed I will adapt the choice of the play and the roles in relation to the people present, I simply ask that the student are able to learn a text of about an hour in total for the whole group.
I will explain the registration after your first class. The price is 180 € per trimester and then 10 € ‘adhesion’ with covers insurance.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
