Alexander Techworks

Ian McKellen in rehearsal for King Lear

The long awaited visit to Los Angeles by the Royal Shakespeare Company presenting “King Lear” and “The Seagull” was a huge success. Jean-Louis Rodrigue organized master classes in “Speaking Shakespeare” with Lyn Darnley, RSC Head of Voice and Artist Development and Gemma Fairlie, RSC Assistant Director. Sponsored by UCLA Live, these workshops were designed for the MFA students at the UCLA Theater Department and also open to the L.A. theater community.

The RSC had been traveling around the U.S., and the company members were tired and in need of a “tune-up”. Jean-Louis and Kristof came to the rescue and scheduled appointments for the actors interested in taking Alexander lessons. Sir Ian McKellen was the first to sign up and took several lessons during the run of the play. The RSC makes use of the Alexander Technique in their on-going training of actors, and Sir Ian states that “I was very enthusiastic about the value of the Alexander Technique and I made it possible for all members of the “Richard III” and “The King Lear” companies to have lessons whilst rehearsing.”

Beside McKellen, several other actors took lessons including Romola Garai currently starring in “Atonement” and Monica Dolan who plays Masha in “Seagull”.

www.rsc.org.uk

www.uclalive.org

Poster courtesy of Universal Studios

Lymari Nadal

Lymari discovered Kristof Konrad in Larry Moss’ acting class three years ago. She has been coming on a regular basis to work on various aspects of her acting and using the Technique as a way of preparing for her roles. Kristof has been helping her to get into the body of the stunning girl friend of Russell Crowe’s character in one of the most anticipated movies of the year “American Gangster” directed by Ridley Scott. The film is opening on November 2, 2007.

We congratulate Lymari and we look forward to seeing the movie.

www.americangangster.net

Jean-Louis has been working with cellist Sebastian Bäverstam since he was ten. Now 19, Sebastian has the exceptional opportunity of continuing to study and grow with the Alexander Technique.

In 1994 the Verbier Festival and Academy included the F.M Alexander Technique course in the Academy curriculum. Jean-Louis Rodrigue took over this programme in 1998, and with Kristof Konrad has insured that it has gained in importance by working tirelessly to fulfill their goal of making it available to all of the attending professional artists, orchestra members and academy students.

The level of talent at this year’s Verbier Academy was truly staggering. It was a convergence of musicians from all over the world with a common goal; to achieve excellence and work together on performance problems. After the first week, we were able to recognize and work on these creative challenges, often finding practical solutions and new ways of performing. The wonderful and rare opportunity offered by the Verbier Festival is the opportunity of working with musicians over many years and watching them grow as human beings and artists.

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony

The most fascinating artists and performances in the Festival included a new composition by Esa-Pekka Salonen called L.A. Variations, conducted by Esa-Pekka. An intense piece of music that truly expressed the soul and multi-faceted character of Los Angeles.

Anoushka Shankar

Another unusual evening of music was offered by Ravi Shankar’s daughter Anoushka. She performed two pieces composed by her father for sitar, tabla, and the violin played by Joshua Bell. The first piece was called “West meets East Sessions” commissioned by the United Nations and the second, was a new piece especially composed for the Verbier Festival. Bravo Joshua and Anoushka for the hottest evening at the Festival- you rock!

Jean-Louis Rodrigue is currently organizing master classes with the RSC artists of “King Lear” and “The Seagull” and John Tiffany, the director of “Black Watch” presented by the National Theatre of Scotland. These master classes are offered for the actors of the UCLA MFA acting program and part of UCLA Live’s educational mission. A limited number of auditors will be admitted to the master classes. Dates to be announced in Fall 2007.

"Black Watch" directed by John Tiffany and presented by the National Theatre of Scotland

“Black Watch” is based on interviews with former soldiers who served in Iraq. This taut and uncompromising piece of theater tells the story of Scotland’s legendary 300 year-old Black Watch regiment, whose disbandment was announced in 2004 just before its 800-man battalion replaced some 4,000 U.S. Marines in one of the bloodiest areas of Iraq. Magnified by recent events, Black Watch reveals the harsh reality of the “war on terror” and its impact on those who serve.

Sir Ian McKellen leads the Royal Shakespeare Company in two explosive new productions of "King Lear" and "The Seagull".

Sir Ian McKellen leads the Royal Shakespeare Company in two explosive new productions of “King Lear” and “The Seagull”. This production reunites McKellen and director Trevor Nunn with the RSC for the first time in 17 years. Both have studied the Alexander Technique and use it in the rehearsal process of the plays. McKellen says about the Technique: “I was very enthusiastic about the value of the Alexander Technique and I made it possible for all members of the “King Lear” company to have lessons whilst rehearsing.”

NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
“Black Watch”
Sept. 18- Oct. 14, 2007

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
“King Lear” and “The Seagull”
In repertory October 19 – October 28, 2007

For tickets visit www.uclalive.org

Jeffrey Blitz (right) directing Reece Thompson in "Rocket Science"

Jeffrey Blitz came to study the Alexander Technique with Jean-Louis to deal with the tensions and duress that most film directors experience these days. He also was interested in improving his ability to guide performances from young actors and find new ways of dealing with his stuttering. Blitz’s constant work over his stutter is ripe material for his new film. “Rocket Science”, this year’s grand jury prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival, has opened around the country with rave reviews. It’s his debut feature, the follow-up to his Oscar-nominated 2002 documentary “Spellbound”.

Working on “Spellbound” and “Rocket Science”, Jeff has acquired a new respect for the inner lives of kids: “There’s something about the age of a high school student- you live in a raw, ragged way. You haven’t figured out how to defend yourself against your own emotions, in a way. Like, when you get upset, you get really fucking upset. When you’re in love, you’re desperately, completely in love. So I think I’m drawn to making movies about that age for that reason- they seem to be very ripe for drama and comedy. And then the competitive aspect to it; I think it’s less the competition that interests me and it’s more that when you’re talking about academic competitions, you’re talking about kids who are outsiders. They’re not the cool jock kids; they’re kids who don’t fit in and gravitate towards those sorts of activities. Those are the kids I’m more interested in.”

We enthusiastically recommend “Rocket Science” as a personal, moving film with incredibly sharp and humorous dialogue. Bravo Jeff!

Interview with Jeffrey Blitz: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLbtjdjSrn0

www.rocketsciencemovie.com

Kristof Konrad, Ilona Katzew, and Jean-Louis Rodrigue at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The encounter between European and indigenous cultures was among the most cataclysmic events in world history. The richly diverse art forms subsequently produced throughout this vast region not only reflected the resulting seismic changes but were also central to the development of new identities. This exhibition presents magnificent, sometimes startling, and largely unknown works of art in all media, created by Europeans, indigenous, and mestizo artists and craftsmen, and outline how the mix of cultures was expressed in the arts in novel mediums and styles. The exhibition has already traveled to Philadelphia, Mexico City, and New York. As Christopher Knight, art critic of the Los Angeles Times wrote in his review of the exhibition, “curator Ilona Katzew has opted for a thematic presentation, unlike the “treasure house” approach taken in Philadelphia. With sections devoted to documentary aspects of painting, society portraiture, functions of devotional imagery, comparisons between Mexico and Peru and more, the beautifully installed show makes sense out of art that might otherwise be unfamiliar. This installation does not obscure the pomp and circumstance typical of Latin American colonial art. Meanwhile, its inventive, sometimes even trippy strangeness is revealed.”

Ilona Katzew came to study the Alexander Technique with Kristof Konrad because of a back problem; “I began studying Alexander Technique after a friend suggested that it could help heal a lower back injury. Studying Alexander allowed me to become more aware of how I moved and how, when stressed, I tended to contract my body. It was a gradual process of retraining my neurological system, eventually allowing me to heal.”

Thank you Ilona for this extraordinary exhibition and gift to the whole Los Angeles community. We encourage everyone to see this groundbreaking event because it gives you a unique opportunity to understanding how the mix of cultures and races shaped the history of the New World.

The Arts in Latin America 1492-1820
August 5 – October 28, 2007
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

www.lacma.org

Michael Rodgers as Christopher Flanders in "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" by Tennessee Williams at The Fountain Theatre

This is the Los Angeles revival of Tennessee Williams’ rarely-produced black comedy. Flora Goforth, an immensely wealthy and outrageous woman living high atop her Italian villa overlooking the Mediterranean and the Divina Costiera, dictates her memoirs to her secretary, Blackie, when they are disrupted by the violent and mysterious arrival of a handsome and charismatic poet known as the “Angel of Death.” Mrs. Goforth wants him as a lover, but he’s there for other reasons. Fountain Theatre’s production of “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore” by Tennesee Williams is directed by Simon Levy and stars Lisa Pelikan, Karen Kondazian, Scot Presley, and Michael Rodgers.

The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
By Tennesee Williams, Directed by Simon Levy
September 28 – November 4, 2007
The Fountain Theatre

http://www.fountaintheatre.com/whatcoming.html

"The Bacchae" directed by Gulu Monteiro

The Getty Villa Theater Lab will present a production of Euripedes’ final drama “The Bacchae”. Directed by Gulu Monteiro and produced by his Ipanema Theater Troupe, the production will deliver an intense mystical and ritualistic experience. Rodrigue is collaborating with Monteiro in preparing all the cast members physically and vocally using the Alexander Technique as a way of dealing with the demands of the highly physical production. Five actresses and dancers portraying the Bacchae are joined by four percussionists—two of whom are capoeira masters—who will use over 20 Brazilian instruments.

Narrated largely by a chorus of Bacchae, followers of Dionysus, this last extant Greek tragedy describes the epic clash between the rising cult of Dionysus, god of wine and theater and symbol of the emotional and irrational, and traditional Greek beliefs and order. Seeking to avenge crimes commited against his mother, Dionysus unleashes his wrath on the city of Thebes, possessing its women with a violent and uncontrollable religious ecstasy that precipitates total social breakdown. The Bacchae is the last play by ancient Greek tragedian Euripides (480–406 B.C.). His earlier play Hippolytos was performed at the Getty Villa in September 2006.

Dates: Friday, May 4, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 5, 3:00 and 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 6, 3:00 p.m.

Location: Getty Villa, Auditorium

Admission: Free; a ticket is required. Tickets available beginning Thursday, April 19, at 9:00 a.m. Call (310) 440-7300 to make reservations.

Felix Solis as Al and Elisa Bocanegra as Minerva. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Elisa Bocanegra lengthens and widens to the max with the Alexander Technique, and she glides like a feather! She recently came to work with Kristof Konrad to develop the character physicality for the leading role of Minerva in Luis Alfaro’s new play. The challenges of the role included wearing an enormous fat suit and a flying harness. The Huntington Herald described Elisa’s work in the following review: “You’ll laugh out loud, cry inside, and feel for Minerva, who is buoyantly portrayed by Elisa Bocanegra. How this engaging actress manages to float high into the rafters, smiling all the while, is remarkable.”

Kristof previously coached Elisa for another role in Alfaro’s play “Electricidad” at the Mark Taper Forum in 2005.

www.hartfordstage.org

Natasha Gregson Wagner

Natasha Gregson Wagner, who has been studying the Alexander Technique with Kristof Konrad, is co-starring in a new television series pilot called “Skip Tracer” for CBS. It is an unusual project because it is directed by celebrated film director Stephen Frears. The pilot co-stars Stephen Dorff and Beverly D’Angelo. Natasha met Kristof at the Larry Moss intensive workshop and studies regularly with Nancy Banks.