Site Title
Artist Residencies in puppetry and avant-guard theatre
Dragon Dance Theatre has produced international artist residencies
which aim to preserve intangible cultural heritage
in different countries since the mid-'80s
join us for a memorable
mask and puppetry workshop
July and/or August 2024
We invite you to take part artist residency focusing on theatre, dance, music and mask-making.
Dragon Dance organizes intense, experimental and improvisational theatre labs. Featuring plastic arts workshops, where we make masks, sets and costumes, all in the spirit of producing socially conscious work.
These residencies are a fully integrated, intense experience, working shoulder to shoulder with other artists.
Dragon Dance Theatre, rehearsal from 2019
Together we will imagine, and realize our own creative Utopia. We will make a peaceful, historically relevant, community art event. We will dance and sing, make music, break bread together, laugh and inspire one another, while working in our chosen fields. We will create a memorable public performance. We will have fun. We will work. We will experience our own world of cultural exchange, cooperation and creation.
This is an in-depth, immersion; a working environment, side by side with, musicians, dancers, actors, puppeteers, painters, printers, poets, writers and sculptors...
We work together in all aspects of the production, from developing the story, creating the masks, improvising the scenes and inventing the music.
There will be public performances at the end of the process.
Our method:
In the mornings, we work in the plastic arts; building the armatures and sculpting the masks with clay. After a few days, we can start to cover the first masks with paper-maché, while other armatures are being built.
In the afternoons, we work on the story itself, studying the characters, defining the conflicts, and improvising the scenes. Everyone participates and enriches the group with their ideas and input. We use our tried and tested method of socializing the roles as we study the stage, the scenes and the story.
As the project unfolds, we will start to use the finished masks on the stage and learn to manipulate these giant figures. We will spend more and more time developing the story, while creating and integrating the music.
At the end of the workshop we will perform the show for the local public.
After the 8 weeks, you will have gained a working knowledge of how our process; using the ideas, the strategies and theories of collective creation to develop and mount a performance.
Finances:
It is our practice to ask participating artists to share in the financial costs of the project.
For the 2024 residency we will be holding ongoing workshops during the months of July right through to end of August.
Dragon Dance will provide; materials, documentation, direction, plus room and board.
Your part of the costs will be 1500 Canadian dollars per month.
Some scholarships are available.
Minimum stay is 2 weeks, and the cost for 2 weeks is $ 1000 CDN
The registration fee is 500 CDN.
This is non-refundable. Once you register, your place is reserved.
Accommodation is rustic -
tenting or dormitory
special arrangements can be made upon demand
We will provide breakfast plus the main meal at lunch and a light evening supper.
Location:
Dragon Dance Theatre 's home base in Trois-Rivières, québec, Canada.
Languages:
the main languages spoken will be French, English and Spanish,....
We welcome other native languages and you will be encouraged to use what ever language you feel comfortable with on the stage.
Some photos representing groups from past years
Registration, questions, ideas:
APPLICATIONS:
Write to us at: dragondancetheatre2@gmail.com
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Tell us why you want to undertake this residency and what you hope to accomplish
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Tell us a bit about your self and your artwork, include photos or links
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Provide us with the dates you'd like to stay, if possible, provide alternative dates
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Give us your complete contact information, including address and phone numbers
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References required