OUR CREATIVE TEAM
OUR CREATIVE TEAM
GET INVOLVED
In each country and venue where we perform, we will recruit and train amateur choruses of around 30 people. Acting and performance experience are not necessary - just basic singing ability and enthusiasm to get involved!
We are recruiting for the premiere production of Egyptians in Canterbury! See below for information on the chorus recruitment and rehearsal process, and how you can get involved.
CHORUS CREATION, TRAINING & ROLE
Building on the ancient Greek model of an amateur youth chorus sharing the stage with professional performers, the principles which guide our work are the following:
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to recruit through taster and open access sessions an inclusive, diverse chorus that genuinely represents each city we perform in.
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to train this chorus to acquire the skills and stamina to deliver the challenging material and to engage them creatively, intellectually, emotionally and philosophically in the issues and dilemmas of the plays.
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while the ancient Greeks worked only with young men, we also work with young women and people of all gender identities, and older groups too.
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we can either create an entirely new chorus or collaborate with pre-existing choirs who have a proven interest in singing and dancing.
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from past experience, the legacy of each chorus is powerful, building a network of connection and solidarity, similar to reports from the ancient world.
WE'RE RECRUITING!
We're recruiting now for the chorus of the premiere production of Danaids at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre!
If you're local to the Canterbury/Kent area, you've always wanted to explore music and movement, you're interested in how we related to each other and you want to take part in a collective experience that will engage, stretch and reward you, this is your chance. Come along to a fun taster session to see if it's for you.
We are currently planning sessions throughout 2024 but we would love to hear from you in advance.
To register your interest, email henry@wildyak.co.uk or call 02039831515.
REHEARSAL PROCESS
In each country and venue we recruit and train amateur choruses of 30 over a seven-week period, usually working one evening a week and one day at the weekend. A repetiteur will teach the chorus the words and music with the help of recordings and a support pack created during the workshops. A dance coach will teach the chorus their movements using video and with support from Sasha Milavic Davies.
If the production is being performed in English, two actors, a chorus leader and two musicians (rehearsed separately in the UK) will travel to the country together with the team of core creatives. A final one-week intensive phase sees all the elements - scenic, choreographic, musical and dramatic - knitted together in the space where the performances will take place.
This rehearsal process aims to approximate the original creation methodology.Aeschylus, like any ancient playwright, would have been awarded a chorus and, with his team, would have spent up to nine months creating the performances. He would have been responsible for words, music, acting, choreography and design.
During a workshop in October 2019 at Malmö Stadttheater, David Greig introduced the idea of ‘embodied writing’ where workshop participants contribute to the creation process through writing exercises and improvisations based on material from the Danaid myth. The resultant work was enriching for participants and enriched the new text too. This creative and empowering technique stimulates the imagination of the community chorus and feeds directly into the final work. Collaboration forms the bedrock of the project.