September 8-29: Jeremy Sher, Suzuki Method
September 9: Geither, Wells, Randoja, Living Tall
September 24: Margaret Jenkins Dance Masters Class

Jeremy Sher
Suzuki Method of Actor Training
Saturdays, September 8, 15, 22, 29, 10-11:30am
followed by FREE Community Practice 11:30am-12:30pm
$90, $75 with a non-refundable payment by August 24

Photo by Elaine Spicer

Suzuki is a powerful physical training technique drawing from ballet, martial arts, Kabuki and other disciplines. Focusing on breath, the center and the lower body, with stomping, slow movement and sharp explosive gestures, Suzuki brings attention to the voice and its connection to the physical body. Come prepared to sweat and laugh and reinvent your work on stage. No prior Suzuki experience required. Each session will be followed by an hour-long community practice open to workshop participants as well as artists with prior Suzuki Training.

Jeremy Sher is a professional actor in Chicago, who has trained in Suzuki for over nine years around the country and overseas. www.collectivetheatre.org

Mike Geither, Ker Wells, Karin Randoja
Living Tall: A Workshop Performance and Discussion
Sunday, September 9, 3pm-5pm
$10

Ker Wells in Living Tall, Photo by Sherri Hay

View a workshop solo performance created by Cleveland playwright Mike Geither in collaboration with Toronto performer Ker Wells and director Karin Randoja, followed by an interactive discussion regarding their creative/collaborative process and the application of Growtowski's principles for performance. This special event is coordinated in conjunction with the Rhino Festival, Chicago's Festival for Original Theatre.

Mike Geither's plays have been seen at Curious Theatre Branch, Randolph Street Gallery, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and Cleveland Public Theatre. Ker Wells and Karin Randoja were founding members of Canada's renowned physical theatre troupe, Primus, teach physical theatre at The National Theatre School of Canada and teach, perform and direct across Canada, the US and Europe. www.curioustheatrebranch.org

Margaret Jenkins
Dance Masters Class
Monday, September 24, 6:30-8:30pm
$15

Margaret Jenkins’ master class will focus on the clarity and articulation necessary to move the body fully, freely, with both wisdom and abandon. The class begins with a warm-up synthesized from Jenkins' years with Cunningham and Limon techniques. Engaging the dancers’ mind and body, she will then teach movement phrases and guide students through the manipulation of this material toward a deeper understanding of choreographic alternatives. Margaret Jenkins Dance Company performs at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, September 27-29.

For more than 33 years, choreographer Margaret Jenkins has been expanding the physical and conceptual boundaries of modern dance. A native of San Francisco, Jenkins began her dance training with Judy and Lenore Job, Welland Lathrop, and Gloria Unti. She continued her studies in New York City at the Juilliard School of Music with José Limón and Martha Graham. After training at UCLA, she returned to New York to dance with a number of modern dance companies, including those of Gus Solomons, Viola Farber, Twyla Tharp and Sara Rudner. She was on the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio for 12 years where she acted as Mr. Cunningham's special assistant, teaching and restaging his works for companies in Europe and the United States. In addition to the over 75 works she has made for her own company, Jenkins’ choreographic work has been commissioned by dance companies and universities across the United States and abroad. For her unique artistic vision, Jenkins has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Irvine Fellowship in Dance, the San Francisco Arts Commission Award of Honor, and two Isadora Duncan Awards. In 2002, she was awarded the Bernard Osher Cultural Award for her outstanding contributions to the arts community in San Francisco and the Bay Area. www.mjdc.org