action theater
Following the moment-to-moment experience, the improviser gives form to the embodied manifestation of our internal world through the language of the body, voice, and words.
Action Theater is an improvisation method created by Ruth Zaporah. Through a vast catalog of exercises, it builds an elegant and pragmatic toolset for the improviser to refine awareness, choice, and articulation.
The practice develops the skills of performance composition — design of the space and timing, action of the body, texture of the vocals, content of the text — in solo and with partners.
Action Theater is especially useful for dancers exploring vocal expression and text in performance, performance ensembles refining group composition, and actors and artists of all disciplines seeking to further inhabit and discover information from within the body.
While the method is constructed around skills for performance, it’s not necessary to be a performer or artist to benefit from it. Action Theater expands the imagination through training a continuous, spontaneous collaboration between the sensational experience and the imagination — it’s useful to anyone interested in entering new territories of awareness and expression.
Photo credit: Ron Wyman, Zero Gravity Films | From left to right: Rachel Cohen, Mary Rose, Skye Hughes, Sarah Bild, Ino Badanjak