Sentient Objects: Provoking Prop Animacy for Self and Stage
Wake up objects and develop stories through clowning, somatics & movement.
With Holly Sass
Inanimate things surround us constantly, whether it’s “trash”, tools, or potential prop. What happens when we start to ask them questions? What happens when we start to play with them? What if they play back? Using practices derived from clown, dance and somatics, we will open up the portal into the pulseless world and question what it means to be really alive. We’ll invite in both randomly found and tenderly meaningful objects, and dive deep into our bodies, voices and senses until stories emerge. We’ll playfully exhaust the function of each item until they completely transform into something else. We’ll explore the attempt of fully becoming these various forms of matter, seemingly so far from human (to discover that we maybe aren’t so different). The majority of the course will be for discovery and research, though we will leave some time to collect the bits, narratives and relational anecdotes that emerged between us and our objects to then find a way to collectively devise them into a performance (if the class desires). You don’t have to be a performer to attend this course, you just need to be excited to play, get a little freaky, and dip into the unknown, body first. *Please note that Saturday's class will take place 12:00 till 15:00*
- Dates
- Thu 5 Nov, Fri 6 Nov, Thu 12 Nov, Fri 13 Nov
- Time
- 14:00–17:00
- Cost
- €60-150 (+ €5 membership fee for new members)
- Attendance type
- You should attend the full course
- Desired audience
- This course is both for the performer (dance, theater, clown, music) who wants to expand their performance tools beyond the living and for the person who has never set foot into a studio or onto a stage in their life and wants to get more into their body and their voice by playing with found objects and new friends. For those who want to access parts of themselves that they maybe can’t reach alone or within a state of seriousness.
- What should I bring?
- Participants will be asked to bring a variety of objects, some with meaning to them and some found objects. No prior knowledge is needed but folks who have dabbled (or more) in theater or movement are very welcome. Don’t be shy, total theater/clown beginners are very welcome!
- Class type
- Theatre, Performance, Clown
- Space
- Movement Space
About the artist
Holly Sass is a Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist, provoking the intersections of dance and clown. They’ve been dancing for both pleasure and profession on and off (but mostly on) since age two. Their edge-of-clown NYC-based performance duo called BREAKTIME has performed and taught across the US, and was their initiation into object play. Clown teachers that have shaped their practice are Phil Burgers (Dr. Brown), Lucy Hopkins, Michelle Madsen and Shai Cohen. Holly birthed Wetman, who lovingly haunts the halls of 90mil. Adjacent to the arts, Holly is a bodyworker, continuously informed by the vast teachings of the healing justice movement.
Instagram: @h0llysasshollysass.com
Accessibility
90mil is wheelchair accessible. Please see the yellow section below for more on accessibility.
Sliding scale
We use a sliding scale to make courses as affordable as possible. Here’s how to use it: Lower end: You don’t have a stable income. Mid range: You have a less stable financial situation and are more selective about where you spend your money. Higher end: You experience relative financial stability. Solidarity spot: You’re experiencing financial precarity and wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to come to a workshop.