Kids turn play into theater, May 18, 2007

Theater
Poquelan Theater presents two plays
Sat, May 19, 6:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
Free

The Poquelan Theater group presents two short plays for the spring theater season: “The Tempting Dress,” a farce in French by the director of the group Flora Esperon Lepine; and “La Vita Traverso Gli Scherzi,” a collection of sketches in Italian, also written and directed by Flora. Meet these young actors at the Teatro Santa Ana tomorrow, Saturday, May 19 at 6:30pm.

Humans being

Acting workshop
Mondays & Thursdays, May 21–July 19, 1–3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25

Have you always wanted to try acting but were too shy to try?

According to author and teacher Ana María Muñoz, acting is one of the most magical and transformative experiences in life. It is as old as human society, having started as rituals within the first human communities as a way to talk to the gods and spirits of nature. In ancient cultures, says Muñoz, theater was also the way of keeping historical records of important events, and a means for expression of the spiritual and societal concerns of human groups. So acting belongs to every human being.

Acting is to live an imaginary situation as though it were true. It is to play with life, to reach for the highest emotional risk, yet to be safe because it is fictional. By acting you give yourself permission to think in unusual ways because you are someone else and the situation is not real. So it deepens your knowledge of yourself, without judgment. It is also a way to watch relationships from the outside when you are in the audience. Acting is learning how to laugh right in the face of life.

Teatro Santa Ana will soon team up with Muñoz to raise the curtain for “The Pleasure of Acting,” a workshop for everyone who has ever wanted to have the experience of acting while feeling safe from fear.

This unique workshop is taught by Ana María Muñoz, who has taught in professional acting schools for 21 years, both in Chile and in Mexico. She learned the Actors’ Studio’s Method in Santiago, from Luis Wigdorsky, who had studied with Lee Strassberg. Muñoz was a Logopedist who, after studying acting, dedicated herself to vocal coaching for actors, both as a researcher and as a teacher. She developed her own approach for coaching actors, an organic method based on body.

In 1994, Muñoz was invited to teach at the National Center of Arts’ Acting School (ENAT) in Mexico City and has lived in Mexico since then. She is the author of the book Bases Orgánicas para la Educación de la Voz (Escenología, 1999 and 2003) and of several published articles. She has also trained acting teachers in her organic vocal and acting method in Mexico City, as well as consulted for numerous theatrical productions, including Guanajuato’s Cervantino Festival. After teaching for 11 years at the National Center of Arts, Ana María Muñoz now lives in San Miguel de Allende and wants to share her passion and experience with people living here.

The workshop, “The Pleasure of Acting,” will consist of developing improvisational skills following the Actors’ Studio Method. Everyone will have the opportunity to play scenes on stage, solving a fictional conflict through improvisation. There will be physical exercises to open your body to acting and everyone will learn much about acting appreciation from Muñoz’s comments on the improvised scenes. Classes are presented in both English and Spanish and are held from May 21to July 19, on Mondays and Thursdays. For more information, contact munoz_anamaria@yahoo.ca. You may register with José Luis at Teatro Santa Ana, Biblioteca Pública, Insurgentes 25.