Devising with Myth & Folklore Workshop
This workshop explores ways of taking a story off the page and finding ways to present it live. Participants will work with two stories: La Voladora (Flying Woman) from Chilean folklore and Yedua from Jewish mythology. It includes playing with the voice and body, understanding narrative structure, and ways for developing confidence with performing! The session will look a little like this:
- Fun Icebreaker and Improvisation Activities
- Finding and interpreting the meaning or essence of a story
- Identifying key themes, ideas, and literary devices
- Gentle warming up of the body through games and ensemble activities
- Playing with Voice and Body to create character including gesture and repetition
- Stagecraft – strong and weak positions on stage, composition of space
- Staging key moments through tableaux (frozen images)
Participants should come in comfortable clothes and bring water bottles. Paper and pens will be provided.
About the Stories
THE YEDUA
The Yedua is a creature made from vines, leaves and roots. Violent and territorial, it attacks anything within reach and consumes all nearby vegetation. Its bones are prized in witchcraft: held in the mouth during certain incantations, they are said to reveal the future.
LA VOLADORA (FLYING WOMAN)
La Voladora is a witch who transforms into a heron or crow to carry secrets between witches. To fly, she vomits her intestines into a hidden bucket before taking bird form. At night, she travels through the air shrieking and cackling, bringing misfortune and death to those who hear her. Before sunrise, she must retrieve and replace her organs to become human again. If they are lost, she remains trapped as a bird and soon dies.
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Facilitated by Asha Cornelia Cluer. Asha is a bilingual theatre maker with a focus on creating culturally diverse work. Her newest play, A Magical Guide to Fighting Facism, a piece of trilingual magical realism, debuted at Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre and is part of 10 Nights in Port Festival. She co-facilitated Ngalaka Daa 2023 for Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company and WA Youth Theatre Company (dir. Bobbi Henry), performed in Noongar language (Whadjuk dialect) by a company of young performers. She was awarded the UWA Graduates Association Prize for her work in Linguistics during her undergraduate degree (BA Political Science). She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK (MA Acting) and her acting career includes numerous West End and UK No. 1 Touring credits.
