Mask Conference

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There are no Mask Conference sessions scheduled at the moment.

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Mask Conference

Spend the weekend of December 7-9 exploring one of the most compelling chapters in the evolution of modern improvisation. The Hideout is hosting a conference-workshop on the tradition of Trance Masks that originated with Keith Johnstone, and we’ve invited the current keeper of the flame, Steve Jarand from the Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, Alberta, to join us.

If you’ve ever read the trippy last section of Johnstone’s Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre, then you know that this work is a primal look into the ability of performers to be genuinely in the moment. Masks are effortless creatures, acting with an immediacy and lack of self-consciousness that makes them magnetic on stage. As improvisers, the applications for this are limitless.

Click for a description of what to expect from the workshop.
“When a mask is developed it can do almost anything onstage to the delight of the audience because it is a pure being, free from critique, free from being right.”

Click for a brief bio of Steve Jarand.
“From tribal dances in Africa and performances in India to my own creations here at home, masks continue to teach me a great deal about, spontaneity, accepting and exploring myself.”

 

Check out this video of Keith and Steve Jarand Teaching Trance Masks

And a bunch of photos of the kinds of half masks you’ll be working with

You have two options:

The full weekend Mask Conference – Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm (total of 15 hours, with a one-hour lunch break) – $169
One evening Introduction to Masks – Monday evening 7-10pm – $45