Workshop "Out of the dark"

(actualisé le )

En décembre 2011, les 2nde 8 ont participé à un atelier théâtre en anglais dans le cadre de la préparation à la sortie théâtre "Out of the Dark". Ils nous donnent leurs impressions et critiques en anglais (...)

Theatre in English


Before it began, I first started thinking that it would be a little boringbecause we would spend three hours locked in the theatre.
But when it started it was unexpected, because we shouted one by one asfast as possible, it was amazing , in front of me someone playedthe cowboy, and everybody participated : it was funny.
Then we did an awareness exercise, where we had to follow our partner. We had our eyes closed, and we had to be very close to the people we were following to feel each movement they did, for example if they climbed stairs or turned.
Sometimes we were afraid of tricks or pranks that our partner could do.
It was weird because we could not see, so we had to focus on other senses like hearing, which is one of the most important sense after seeing, and when we opened our eyes we thought we were somewhere but we were in a different part of the theatre. I think it is the activity that I preferred.
After that we tried to make different noises referring to different places, like a forest at night or somewhere in Provence. And we were split in groups of eight and had to create a sound-landscape, mine chose to recreate a restaurant’s kitchen.
Afterwards we made a small trailer summing up the parts of the movie that we’d seen and story we had read only three times. We did plenty of other activities but these are the ones I preferred.
To conclude, all these activities were great and entertaining, three hours were the perfect time or even a bit short.

Guillaume SOUDAIS

Theatre workshop in English for the 2de 8

On Friday, December 2nd in theafternoon, our class (2de 8) took part in a theatre workshop in English with two professional actors : Louis and Sophie. At first, we had to form a big circle and to do an exercise about energy. We had to shout something to our neighbours and clap in our hands to pass the energy. At the beginning, of course we were shy and we didn’t really feel like shouting but we did this exercise several times and at the end, it was amazing to see how fast the energy moved around the circle. As Louis said, we became sort of radioactive. Then we started to talk more about Helen Keller and the different scenes. At first we had to chose a partner and to put a blindfold on. Our partner guided us in the theatre and we had to trust him and to listen, to feel under our feet what type of ground it was, in order to have an idea of where we were. Of course we were absolutely lost and even when we had a small idea of where we were, we were not there at all and when we took the blindfold off, it was very disturbing.
After that, we did soundexercises : we sat in a circle closed our eyes and Louis and Sophie gave us some “sound landscapes” to imitate. Everyone had to add a sound, a noise, to make the landscape more realistic. We had to create a forest at night, a desert, Avignon in summer at midday and a party. It was amazing to see how realistic it could be if everyone added something. Then we were in groups and had to create a “sound landscape” of our choice. We listened to a car accident, a beach in Marseille, a harbour and a steamer. These sound exercises were my favourite parts in the workshop because we had to use our creativity and our team spirit to do something as realistic as possible.
At the end, still in groups we had to invent a trailer for Helen Keller’s story. This part was quite hard because we didn’t have a lot of time to talk about our ideas so it was more like improvisation. I remember that my team did something very poetic, at the end my team-mates formed the word “Water” with their bodies to evoke the “body language” used by Anne Sulivan and Helen Keller. I think that one of the hardest exercises was when we had to walk in front of a partner while staring him in the eyes and he stopped you when he thought you were too close. The purpose of this exercise was to learn about your vital “bubble” and the strength of your sight. I really liked this workshop because for three hours, we felt as if we were real actors and we realized how hard it can be if you are deprived of one of your senses such as the sight for example.

Thanks to Louis and Sophie for this great afternoon.

Claire VELTEN 2de8

Drama workshop with Sophie Brech and Louis Fortier

Sophie Brech and Louis Fortier, two British actors, came to the Lycee Rabelais last Friday, to perform a three-hour theatre workshop with the 2nd 8. To get us ready for the theatre play “Out of the dark”, these two wonderful actors made us discover the world of Helen Keller, a deaf, dumb and blind woman, through inventive group exercises. We started with a class exercise based on the developement of energy. Afterwards we studied one aspect of Helen Keller’s handicap, her blindness. In groups of two, one with closed eyes, and one guide, we walked around the theatre to experiment some of the sensations which are part of usual life of blind people. This was a very intense experience, which really obliged us to trust our partners. Then we determined our own limits in the stage space, our own “bubble”. We also studied the sense of hearing, and, eyes closed, we tried to create the sound environments of some usual places like a party, a forest by night or the kitchen of a restaurant… That was just magical, we saw the creative and imaginative power of a class of 36 students !! We finished with a small group exercice, creating a trailer for “Out of the Dark”.

This incredible workshop gave us a small insight into the theatre world and the day to day work of these actors.Even if, at the beginning, we were mostly a bit shy, waiting for what was going to happen to us, Louis and Sophie managed to develop our energy, in a very sensitive way. Indeed, I am sure that, for all the people who were there, it was really a wonderful, successful and joyful experience ! Thanks to Sophie Brech and Louis Fortier !
Etienne Marsot

For an afternoon, the students of the 2°8 pretended to be real actors. With the help of Louis Fortier and Sophie Brech, who suggested various and creative activities, we were able to imagine what it is like to live without our bearings. The aim was to understand how handicapped people can live and communicate normally in society.
Firstly, there was a little exercise to introduce ourselves. We werestanding ina circle and we had to say or scream our names, one by one, in a particular way : we could move, scream, clap our hands… This activity was called the “dominoes” and we found that it was the easiest one.
Then, another one : “At home !”. Louis screamed this sentence and we took a stage position. So, we had to imitate every movement and every sound he did.
But for us, the most challenging exercise was to walk towards a partner and go as close as the partner allowed. It was difficult because we needed to have a total trust in our partners, all the more so as we couldn’t chose them.
What we preferred was the sound exercise. In groups of 8 people, we had to make different sounds to recreate a place. The other groups closed their eyes and guessed the place.

We want to thank Louis and Sophie for this afternoon, it was very funny and we kept wonderful memories of these 3 hours with them. All the class was happy to do this workshop and we hope to see them again soon.

Morgane TULLIO & Marie-Jeanne RAOUX

A funny Drama Workshop with Sophie Brech and Louis Fortier
Last Friday, two actors of the Company “Theatre Fools and Feathers” came to do a drama workshop with us. Before we were very excited and impatient to see what we would do.
And we saw ! For 3 hours, we did a lot of warming-up exercises :
 In circle, we projected our energy by clapping our hands and shouting.
 “At home” : we followed Louis who made signs, shouted words and took strange positions…
 With a partner, we looked at each other, walked towards our partners who stopped us when they felt that we were entering their “personal bubbles”. For me, it was the easiest exercises because I think it was a way to create a link between the two persons who were looking at each other.

After the warming-up, we worked on the silent world of Helen Keller :
 With an exercise where we were blindfolded and we had a partner who was our eyes. It was the most surprising and challenging exercise because when you don’t know your partnervery well , you think that he (or she) will make naughty pranks to you (even if it’s not the case) and it was also avery interesting exercise to open your other senses. Try it !
 We made a circle and with sounds (eyes closed), we created a place (forest at night, the Provence region and a party) : first all together and after in groups (Some groups evoked a restaurant or a beach, others evoked a steamer or a car crash).
We made a little improvisation : a teaser of Out of the Dark. For me, it was the funniest exercise because we saw the play and characters very differently.
To finish, some of us had to recognize things by smelling them (tea, soup, coffee…). And we said goodbye to the two actors.
I think it was an incredible and an enriching experience to understand more about the life and the world where Helen Keller lived.
I am looking forward to seeing Out of the Dark because I think now, with the workshop, I will be able to understand the play better

Jeanne Badiche

Hello Louis and Sophie,

I’d like to thank you for your theatre workshop, I have to say that I was really impressed by your professionalism and you friendliness.
Before the workshop, I really expected something great, because I love theatre and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

I would say your way of teaching is “international”, very different from the French one and much more interesting. I discovered the “dominoes”, “at home”, sound exercises with great pleasure and the time passed too fast, too bad…

The easiest exercise was the one where we were blindfolded, because we did not have to use our brains, it was very intuitive, and interesting.

The most challenging one was “sound exercise” because we had to create something corresponding to an environment, even if we did not have any ideas of creation.

The funniest one was the last one, the “smell exercise”. Indeed, it was quite nice to discover people’s reactions, even with products they used everyday.

I’ll remember all your special and interesting workshop, I am really happy to see you in January for “Out of the Dark”.

I spent, a very nice moment,like the whole group !

Antoine, 2°8.

Dear Sophieand Louis,
I would just like to thank you for the amazing 3 hours that we had together !
All the games that we did were interesting.
Especially the domino game, thanks to it, I learnt to share energy, to share feelings.
It was a good way to express our feelings
I’m quite shy at first sight and you made me feel confident.
I’m looking forward to seeing you on stage. I’m sure it’ll be good !
Once again thank you,
Arnaud F.

Dear Louis and Sophie,

I would like to thank you for the time you devoted to us onFriday afternoon, you taught us how to be spontaneous and how to feel like real theatre actors.
To my mind, the best exercise we did was the one when we were blindfolded and our partner had to guide us because it gave me a new view point on what a blind person can feel but also how they can struggle to be like the others.
The second exercise I particularly liked was when we had to create an atmosphere with only our voices and noises because when I closed my eyes I felt as if I was really in a restaurant or in Provence on a terrasse.
I think we have all been changed by this experience, we’ll never look at blind people the same way and you managed to transform shyness into energy.
I’m looking forward to seeing you on stage.

Thank you for everything
Arnaud Le Teunier

Today I went to the theatre with the European class.
When I got on the stage, I felt the whole energy produced by Sophie and Louis, two really good actors.
In 3 hours they shared their pleasure of acting with us.

We started with a warming-up exercice which liberated our energy : we just shouted a word one after the other . It’s a simple exercise but it is really important to express our power on stage.
Then we felt as Helen Keller by being blindfolded, it was an interestingexercice because as Sophie and Louis played Out of the dark, they showed us how the life of Helen Kellerwas.
After that, as we were all prepared, we made a sort of trailer about a film on the life of Helen Keller.

That was an incredible experience because I think Sophie and Louis are really interesting people and the fact that all the exercises were in English was perfect.

Thanks to you Sophie and Louis !
Sylvain Durey

Dear Sophie and Louis,

I’d like to email you to thank you for the wonderful wokshop you gave us last Friday. When I arrived in the theatre, I was really excited because I love acting, and I’d never done it in English before. I was sure that it would be great ; it was better than that.
The warming-up was perfect : you managed to attract all of us in very little time (even if we were36 !). As I am in a drama club once a week, I had already done all the exerciceswe did on Friday, but it was not the same with you. I found it really amazing how the class progressed from the first “Dominoes” exerciceto the last exercise. We got into the game very rapidly.
You made us fell at ease as if we had known youfor a long time, and I think that’s why these three hours were so interesting. For me, the most surprising exercise was the one when we closed our eyes to create an atmosphere. For one minute, I just felt that it was as if I wasn’t in the theatre anymore : I was in the forest, then in Avignon … I loved it.
The “at home” exercise was really funny because even if you looked crazy, everyone imitated you.
The last exercise, when we had to smell something, was the funniest one. I didn’t think that my nose was so bad !It was not fair, Houmous man doesn’t use soap…
Once again, thanks to both of you, you did a wonderful job ! I think you complete eachother. I’m looking forward to seeing you playing in Palaiseau…

Avner, a.k.aHoumous Man

Hello Sophie and Louis,

First of all, I would like to thank you for the workshop. It was amazing !!!!
It was very funny, and were all more confident towards the end because of the time that we spent together.

You made us feel like seeing Out of the dark about Helen Keller.
Each activity had a particular aim and that was very interesting ; we had the same feeling as Helen Keller !

I enjoyed all the exercises, but the most amazing was when we created the trailer of Helen Keller and when we all closed our eyes because we all paid more attention to sound. All the exercises made us realise what kind of life Helen Keller had and that was interesting.
You are very good actors and you made us feel comfortable !

My general impression about the workshop is really positive. I think we all spent a very good moment !

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year !!! Good bye !!

Axelle TROTEL

Hello Louis and Sophie,
How are you ?

I’m writing this email to thank you for what we did last Friday.
I really liked the exercises we did.
In fact, at the beginning I was a bit shy and embarrassed.
I felt I was ridiculous...Especially during the warming up.
But you made me feel comfortable and at ease.
And I really enjoyed the other exercises, especially the one where we were blindfolded and someone was guiding us because it was something new, different from what we do in our everydaylives and it was surprising and interesting. I can’t find the words to describe what I felt about that.
I liked the other exercises too, and I found the lasttwo exercises (when we had to invent a landscape with sounds and we had to play a scene from the story of Helen Keller) very funny and amazing.
Thanks to your exercises I understood the pleasure of playing on stage with real actors whereas before I didn’t really like the idea of being on stage...
To conclude, I will remember this afternoon with you for a long time and I really thank you for this experience.

Once again, thank you very much !!!!
Blanche Dekeyzer

Dear Sophie and Louis,

Let me give you my opinion about your workshop.
I really loved all your exercises ! At the beginning, I was very surprised and I thought that the first exercise, the “ dominoes “, when we had to shout to each other was a bit weird … But, at the end of this exercise , I was very excited and I wanted to continue !
The exercise when we had to walk with a partner and we were blindfolded was very interesting ! We discovered what Helen’s world was like…I was stressed at the beginning but I totally trusted in my partner so there was no difficulty . I preferred to be blindfolded because , being a guide is too important … You have many responsabilities and the blindfolded people totally trust you…
The exercise I preferred was the improvisation work. We could express our creativity in the group and the result was beautiful ! Each group made something different ( dramatic, poetic … ) , it showed us that everybody had a different interpretation.
All those exercises were very enriching. Personally, it helped me because I’m a bit shy and , during the workshop , I forgot my shyness and I wasn’t afraid to present my work in front of the class .

You did a fantastic job , thank you so much !!!
Mathilde Blanco 

Dear Louis and Sophie,

Thank you a lot for the workshop about Helen Keller. I really enjoyed this work even if I was a bit shy at the beginning.
I really loved all your warming-up exercices and particulary the “dominoes”. I was a bit surprised at the beginning because we had to shout, to be really energetic but in fact, it made us feel comfortable and it was really funny. I found this exercide the most challenging, as we always had to be ready. “At home “ was also one of my favourite warming-up exercises and it was, for me, the funniest one : we had to be ready all the time, not to lose the energy we had and make all the funny faces Louis was doing. The “Space awareness exercise” was really interesting because when we were blindfolded, we had to trust our partner to feel safe. I realize that, being blindfolded made me listen more to the noise which was around me, to develop another sense. I wasn’t scared of being blindfolded, but of my environment, of the people who were near me and of hurting someone as I couldn’t see where I was going. I was also afraid of falling when I was climbing the stairs. The improvisation work about the play was also very interesting and when we watched every group on stage, we could see that people had different view points on Helen Keller’s life : some groups made the improvisation really dramatic, some very funny (they presented it as on TV), others poetic...
From this workshop, I think I will remember that when I am on stage I have to stand on my two feet, to be always ready to give all my energy because the public must feel that too. I will also remember that I always have to speak really clearly with a good pronounciation and really loud because everybody in the public needs to hear me, even the people who are sitting in the back row.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this workshop which made me understand how I have to be on stage, and I felt as if I was an actress for these 3 hours. I didn’t see the time passing and when you asked us to take a break I didn’t want to, I wanted to continue and not to waste time because it was great !
Once again thank you, this workshop was amazing !

Clémence.

Hello guys,

I would like to thank you for the wonderful experience you shared with us. I really had fun on Friday afternoon, it is something I will remember for a long time.
I expected something too serious, I thought that I would be bored but you made me change my point of view about theatre. Moreover, I really felt the character of Helen Keller.
It was weird exercises that you made us do, but I had fun and everybody participated, so it was cool. I was able to express myself and I felt like a real actor.

I’m looking forward to seeing you on stage, thanks again for the time you devoted to us.
See you soon !

Florent

Dear Sophie and Dear Louis,

I wanted to thank you for the amazing afternoon I spent last Friday, it was very interesting, and I think I’m not the only one who thinks so. When I heard that we would have a theatre workshop, I didn’t think that it would be so funny. I really enjoyed all the exercises we did, especially the walk with a partner when we were blindfolded, it taught me to trust my partner (even if I hurt my head against a wall, thanks to Arnaud). It made me feel like knowing more about Helen Keller. And the exercise about the environment created by our sounds was definitely great, it enabled me to be very creative. I will certainly remember it. The most surprising exercise was the “at home”, because I still don’t know what its aim was, and also it must have been difficult for Louis to make everyone in the group imitate him.
On stage, I didn’t feel shy anymore, you made me feel confident, it was as if I was another person, it’s the beauty of theatre. I personaly think this experience made all of us feel closer to one another.

Clément Marie

Hello Louis and Sophie,

How are you ?

I’m writing to you because I’d like to thank you for the amazing workshop you gave us.
Maybe some of us were a bit shy at the beginning but you quickly made us feel at ease.
Both of you look like very good actors and it was easier for me to do what you wanted us to do because I was sure that what you asked us to do was useful and constructive.
The exercises were very funny, interesting and enriching. With the warming up exercises,
I was able understand how important energy is in theatre.
I particularly enjoyed the exercises about the senses of sight and hearing.
The feelings I had when I was guided by my partner were strange. I had to trust
my partner. I was totally lost in the theatre even if I know it by heart.
The exercise in which we had to create atmospheres was like a magic event. We
were just in a theatre but I had the real feeling that I was somewhere else.
Time flew away and I didn’t notice it. For me it was a timeless workshop. If I could do it againit will be when you want ! You taught me so many things such as how to give energy in mymovements.
I just thank you once again for the great momentyou gave me and the good memories now have thanks to you.
See you soon,

Gabrielle.

Hi Sophie and Louis,
First of all, I want to thank you for this very amazing experience with you !
I have been in a drama club for four years and it was a very different approach of it with you. It was awesome…
The warming up was based on classical theatre exercises but your vision of it made me very enthusiastic. You made all of us feel very comfortable and self-confident . There were no shy people, no good or bad actors, so because of that we had a great experience !
Normally the warming up exercise of dominoes (we call it the Ya in our theatre company) is something not very difficult but you turned it into a challenging exercise and it increased the excitement and spontaneousness of all of us.
I think that we all enjoyed the space awareness exercise, it was very enriching.
For me the most surprising exercise was the improvisation exercise because we had to do a trailer and it’s not very common for a stage exercise. That’s why I liked it.
To conclude, you both gave us an amazing energy on the stage !
We could see that you complete each other and make a nice couple of actors : Louis is more eccentric and moves every where on the stage, but Sophie is much more precise and has
another kind of energy which is probably more difficult to feel if you are not part of the audience.

To put it in a nutshell, we had a great experience and I want to tell you a great “Thank You” !!!
Dorian H.
Hello Louis and Sophie

I would like to tell you how much I liked the drama workshop.
It was really funny and original.
I really liked the warming up because it made us more confident
The exercise” at home” was fantastic : Louis, you have a lot of energy !!
I didn’t really understand the “space awareness exercise” but the others explained it to me afterwards. It was a bubble, a personal space wasn’t it ?
I found the blindfolded exercise very interesting. To be blindfolded made me vulnerable. I touched everything around me and I was really afraid of falling because my partner was very tall and walked too fast !! It was an interesting experience.
Moreover the improvisation work about the play was too short, we didn’t have much time .
The easiest exercise was the creation of an environment with sounds because all the class took part in it so it was very realistic.
The most challenging exercise was the dominoes because it was really rapid and we had to be very quick and shout very loud
The most surprising exercise was when we were blindfolded because we were exactly like blind people, we discovered the theatre and when we removed the blindfold we were surprised of the place where we had stopped.
The funniest exercise was “at home” I loved it ! Everybody did it perfectly, we laughed a lot.
So I’ll remember everything of this afternoon and I really liked it, thank you for this funny and energetic afternoon !! As far as I’m concerned I forgot all my problems

Good bye !!
Julia

Dear Sophie and Louis,

I wanted to thank you for the workshop.
With this experience, I really learnt a lot about Helen’s life, her feelings and her relationship with the “outside”.
The warming up was just awesome : you ‘re very good at creating energy and a kind of magic ! After it, I was not shy andI didn’t feel ridiculous anymore.
I really enjoyed the different exercises, like the space awareness exercise, and the one about sounds. I didn’t realise the importance of the other senses when you are blind, and deaf.
The “taste” exercice with the blindfold , was very funny : without your eyes, you lose all of your bearings, it’s incredible.

With this workshop, I also learnt a lot about an actor’s job : you really have to trust your partners.
I was very impressed, because both of you can embody different characters very easily.

I wish you good luck for the performance, I think it will be awesome !
Moreover, you are very nice people and I love Louis’ Canadian accent ! ;-)

.. AT HOME !!

Léa :-)

Hello !
I want to say thank you for your drama workshop. It was the first time that I had been on stage to act, and I really enjoyed it. All the little exercises were funny, I learned to use my senses in a new way and to open myself, and I appreciated it, so thank you very much.
I loved the exercise when we were blindfolded and guided by someone, I had to trust my friend (it was not very easy) and I enjoyed the exercises with the sounds too (we could improvise and sometimes it was very funny and interesting).
So, I want to say a big THANK YOU again and I am very happy to see you on stage soon.

Clément REVECO

Hello,

I’m Malo and I wanted to thank you for the workshop we did with you in English !
It was great, and we all had a good time….I just wished we had had 3 hours more !!!!
You are both really nice and I could see the little thing in your eyes ! It showed that you are some real professionals ! (It was a vocation, I guess !)

The only bad point that I can see is that it didn’t last long enough ! I think we spent too much time on the warming up exercices, and not enough on the stage…but time just flew away…

You’re both really different but you both knew what you were doing and we had fun at school.(OMG, I can’t believe the sentence I just wrote !!!!).

The game “at home” (or “a la maison” for Louis !!!), was really funny, it was like really quick and you had all our attention, because we had to listen to Louis whispering to be able to repeat what he was saying, though.

And the warming up exercise with Sophie, in which we had to shout in circle was awesome ! We all got in the mood….(even Mme Pavard !!!).

And what you pointed out about our everyday position was really funny. Like the Iphone position for example ! And I can’t believe how many times I naturally went back to my everyday life position (I mean, crossing my legs, crossing my arms and all !), without even seeing it, though !

When I came in, I didn’t expect this at all….I actually didn’t expect much, because I don’t really like theatre and all the acting stuff…and when we started I thought it was going to be boring, but at some point Louis started shouting and, I believe, this is when the little light in my eyes came up !!!

The exercise that was a lot of fun, was the one in which we had to walk, blindfolded beside someone of the class, it was really funny, but a bit scary, and while doing this, I just realized how hard and terrible it must be to actually BE blind… I would hate that, but I know that you don’t choose when it comes up in your life…

So once again thanks alot for all the time you gave us and all the energy you both brought up with you…it was AMAZING !!!!

MALO FAGE ;)

Hi Sophie and Louis ;
I would like to thank you for the workshop. It was really interesting to work on our
senses. We realized that when one of our senses disappeared , the others were more acute so it was a strange sensation. The exercise I preferred was the one about the sounds , creating an environment was funny and the gathering of our different noises created a realistic place. I hope you also appreciated working with our class. To my mind it was a really great moment but unfortunately too short. I had never tried to understand how it was to be blind, deaf or dumb before, so it was very special for me. Thank you very much for this wonderful afternoon !

Naïma

Dear Sophie and Louis, hello.

Thank you for coming, it was a brand new theatre experience for me. I really enjoyed that workshop, for many reasons, I won’t talk about all of them because it would be as long as a book. I loved your view-point on theatre, Louis, and how you explained it. It was really funny, and even if it was many of us, you successed in making exercises that everybody took part of. I would like to see a funny theatre play with you. Of course, it wasn’t only funny, the blindfold exercise was very interesting, we could say many things about it, and I also liked creating a sound landscape.
Well, thanks, and see you later.

Paul

Hello Louis and Sophie,

I really loved the workshop that we did with you. I didn’t expect that, so I was impressed. Before starting I thought that we were going to play alone on stage and I was scared because I am shy. But what we did was by far better than that.
I particularly loved the exercise with the sounds. It was interesting because I realized that together we could create an environment ( and it was really realistic ! ). I liked the space awareness exercise too. When you explained to us the aim of this exercise, I didn’t understand. But when we began, I realized that when my partner stared at me it was really embarrassing. This embarrassed feeling quite surprised me, this exercise made me feel weird… But it was interesting to discover this kind of exercise. The moment when we were blindfolded was great too. I preferred to guide my partner because when I was blindfolded I was often afraid to fall…And when I was guiding her I could do her everything that I wanted !

All these exercises were so interesting. Both of you were so energetic ! I want to say
“Thank you” !It was awesome !And now I really want to go to see you at the theatre.

Madina

Dear Sophie and Louis,

First, I want to thank you about the workshop we had last Friday, it was really funny ☺.
Before the start of the workshop, I must admit I didn’t want to do it because I don’t really like theatre. But when we started, I was immediately impressed because of the energy you gave. I had always thought theatre was boring but now, I think it’s really funny and amazing.
In every exercise we did, I did my best (the “dominoes”, “at home”). While we did “improvisation exercises” , I appreciated your help before and during the interpretation, it was really nice. I think the easiest and the funniest exercise was the “dominoes” because maybe it was just a warming up. The most challenging and surprising exercise was the ‘blindfold” exercise, it was difficult and we had to concentrate.

I will remember your kindness and all exercises we did thanks to you.

THANK YOU 

Arthur Kasperzec

Hello Sophie, hello Louis !

It’s Juliette from the 2nd8 of the Lycée Rabelais.

I ‘m writing you a little e-mail to thank you for the drama workshop of last Friday.
It was really AMAZING !!! I loved the moment we spent with you and my class together.
First, the exercise of the dominoes. I have been in a drama class for three years and it has never been as energetic, and funny as with you !!!
I think “at home” is a really good exercise because even the less spontaneous people of the class did it with an incredible energy. And besides it was very funny !
What was also fabulous was that I didn’t know you but I felt comfortable during the whole workshop, I enjoyed spending this afternoon with you.
What the whole class appreciated was the diversity of the exercises : warming-up, exercises about senses and improvisations. That was a great thing for two reasons : first, it was impossible to be bored and then, everybody did an exercise he/she loved.
Some of the exercises made us feel like real actors, for example, when we worked on the energy, or on our shyness.
I especially liked the one when we worked on our feelings, walking towards our partner. I thought it interesting in the way that for many people, we didn’t have any link with this partner and that was a good way to create some.
All the exercises about the senses of sight and hearing were really interesting and thanks to that I think that we’ll see Out Of the Dark from another perspective on 6th January and I can’t wait to see both of you on stage after seeing with which skills you played on Friday.

Once again, thank you for this incredible afternoon.

Julie

Hello !
The workshop was a great experience, I enjoyed it. Playing with the different senses was entertaining, especially when we were blindfolded and guided by a partner. We had no idea where we were going but we trusted our partners, and we could walk safely. The eyes-to-eyes exercise was good too, it showed that you canexpress lots of things though your eyes. It makes you aware of the space you need around you to feel comfortable. 3 hours was quick, we could have spent more time but not less. Moreover you were very nice people, cool and funny.
Thanks to you, it was something great, amazing and all of us loved it.

Pierre L.

Dear Sophie and Louis,
I was very glad to do the theater workshop with you last Friday. It was very interesting and gave me a different perspective of drama. Before this workshop I didn’t enjoy drama very much . But you were so energetic and motivated that I began to think that drama could be wonderful !
When we did the different exercises, it was so funny and interesting ! The “dominoes” and “at home” were the funniest and showed us that drama is ENERGY ; the exercise where we walked towards a partner, staring at him/her and went as close as the patner allowed, and the “Helen Keller” exercise showed us our own limits. Moreover through these exercises, we realized that drama is a personal work and also a work we have to do together ! That’s why we had to be self-confident and to trust the others.
I think what I will remenber is that when we are a group, we are able to do many things,. That’s why when we all made sounds of a specific environment we were able to see it in our heads, it was very impressive ! That’s also why, thanks to Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller escaped from her “no-world”.

Keep your ENERGY !!
Thank you

Alix :]

Dear Sophie and Louis,
Thanks for this AMAZING drama workshop, I also play drama in a theater company and I can say that I didn’t expect that it would be so great ! It was the first time I had met two English-speaking actors, I can say that it was a great experience, very interesting, very enriching, and of course really funny !
The exercises we had to do during this drama workshop were each more interesting, and original than the others, especially for the space awareness exercise ! I also really appreciated the “ domino” exercise ! I think it was the best way to awake our most primal feelings : love, anger, happiness, sadness etc … Thanks to these exercises ( I think most of the class must agree with what I’m going to say) we were able to express our energy in another way, by shouting, clapping !
Once again, thank you for this drama workshop !

Simon

Hi Louis and Sophie,

I want to thank you for the workshop you did with us. I thought that the work would be boring because I did another workshop and it was very bad ! I’m a litlle shy, but with your energy you made me feel at ease and comfortable.  At the beginning, it was very funny and interesting with Sophie’s exercises. They helped us to express feelings in a different way and to find energy (it wasn’t that easy !).
The ‘’At Home !” exercise was amazing. We had a very good time. But the exercise which struck me was when we created a situation with noise. We could imagine how blind people feel in real life. I enjoyed creating a trailer, from Helen Keller’s life. I was lucky to be in a group, which implied a lot of work. The most challenging work was the exercise with the blindfold. This work was based on a trust relation between 2 people. The most surprising work was the dominoes. All the exercises were interesting. Sometimes, it was easy, sometimes, more difficult. I will remember the ‘’At Home !” exercice for a long time, I enjoyed it a lot !!!

One word to describe this afternoon : AMAZING !

Once again : Thank you !

MathildeBonardi (with the black glasses )

Dear Sophie and Louis,

I want to thank you for the workshop  !!
It was really interesting, I didn’t expect this at all.
I’m quite shy, so I thought that we would have to do exercises where I’m not really comfortable, but it wasn’t the case.

I first felt that Louis and his exercises were crazy ! I told myself “Am I going to do THAT ?!”. Then, after the first warming up (the “dominoes”) that Sophie led, where I was still a bit shy, I started to be at ease with the funny “at home” exercise.
I was afraid of the blindfold exercise before doing it because I hate this kind of exercise , indeed I’m always afraid to fall. But finally I really enjoyed it !
I think the easiest exercise that we did was the “space awareness exercise”.
The improvisation work was hard because I was nervous.
I didn’t see the time passing, the hours were like minutes in this theatre.

I will remember your enthusiasm and your love for your work !

Once again, THANK YOU !!
Mona

Hello Sophie and Louis,

I would like to thank you for the workshop. In my opinion, it was a very interesting experience !
You are very good actors and you teach drama very well. It was very kind of you !

At the beginning, I think all students were embarrassed because some people were shy but towards the end we were more confident : we were less afraid of being ridiculous.
Right from the beginning, on stage, I lost my bearings and I know It was the same for others.

Each activity had its specific aim. It was amazing !
I liked all the exercises but I really enjoyed the exercise when we were with a friend and we put a scarf on our eyes. We had to walk towards a partner and go as close as he allowed. We didn’t see anything so we felt the same as Helen Keller. It was so interesting because we had to trust our partners.
Moreover, the funniest exercice was when we imitated Louis (“at home ...”). It was so cool !
And, the exercice where we made sounds was the most surprising exercise for me, because only with the body we could represent many environments. We had to use other senses.

The most difficult for me was to act on stage. I am used to going on stage but speaking on it was hard !

My general impression about the workshop is positive. I had a very good time !

Good luck for the rest of the rehearsals. Good bye !

Emeline PECRIAUX

Dear Sophie and Louis,

I am writing this e-mail to you to thank you for all you did for the class.
Indeed the workshop was really super. I expected a boring activity, but I enjoyed what we did. All the exercises were interesting. I especially liked “at home” and the “sounds landscape”. The first one made us very energetic and the second one was nearly magic : we were in another place just by hearing noises ! The workshop was both funny and serious. We learnt lots of things about an actor’s job, acting…
I think it was one of the best afternoons of the year. I’ll remember it for a long time.
Pierre Michel

Dear Louis and Sophie,

I’m Samuel, a student of the 2de 8 of the Lycée Rabelais in Meudon.
I would first like to thank you for the great moment we spent with you on December 2nd at the theatre of the lycée.
I’m a bit shy, and when I arrived in the theatre room, I was not really self-confident. But as soon as the first exercise began, I felt transformed. I became very energetic and enthusiastic. I think that with this exercise, we forgot all our problems “at home”.

We spent three hours of happiness together. You managed to give us a different perspective of what Helen Keller’s life was like. With your exercises, we created a specific environment where we could express ourselves without being afraid of being ridiculous.
I particularly enjoyed the exercise with the noises. I think that the atmosphere was very realistic, because we felt as if we were in that place, in the forest at night, or in Provence. When we opened our eyes, we were surprised to be in the theater, whereas a few instants before we thought we were in another place.
The exercise when someone was supposed to be blind was also very interesting. In fact, it obliged us to really trust our partners, even if we didn’t know them very well, and that created a link between us.
This workshop made us feel like going to the performance on January 6th. Thank you for this afternoon of happiness, and see you next year.

Samuel SIROT 2de8