Mayra Fernández gives a workshop on document theater within the framework of 'La parábola del carbón'

The performing arts project La parábola del carbón, co-produced by Saltantes Teatro and La Térmica Cultural, includes several workshops ranging from acting through dance to document theater, lighting and production. These workshops are free and are aimed at anyone interested, from 16 years old.

The Asturian actress and playwright, Mayra Fernández, will give a theater workshop document under the name El legado del carbón, which will take place on April 20, 21, 27 and 28.

Due to limited places, to participate in any of these workshops it will be necessary to register in advance by contacting the e-mail laparaboladelcarbon@gmail.com, indicating the title of the workshop, name and surname, age and if you have any experience in the discipline of the workshop you are registering for.

Important: Those registered commit themselves to attend all the sessions of the course.

Dates and times

April 20 and 21, from 4 to 9 p.m.
April 27th and 28th from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

Objectives

To explore the historical and cultural impact of coal in the community of Ponferrada, making use of the document theater and its tools.
To train students from schools of Art, Dance, Theater and other disciplines related to the artistic fact and belonging to areas of just transition, to use the theater document as a tool for creative expression.

The idea is that this workshop will not only focus on enabling students to develop theater skills, but also provide them with the opportunity to be agents of change in just transition zones by applying document theater techniques to explore the complexity of the coal legacy.

Duration and participants

20 hours. Four days of 5 hours each with a maximum of 20 participants.

Agenda

Introduction to Documentary Theater and the Just Transition
- Basic concepts of the theater document and its focus on gathering community testimonials and the importance of just transition zones.

Interviews and collection of material
- Main techniques: the interview and the recording technique

Analysis of testimonials
- Review of the recordings: most relevant and significant aspects

Character creation and scene composition
- Development of characters and scenes that reflect the experiences and emotions related to coal and its importance in the community in which the work is contextualized.

Application of theatrical techniques
- Theatrical techniques, vocal work, body expression, improvisation dynamics, etc.

Guided improvisation
- Both in groups and individually, improvisation techniques will be used to explore situations based on the testimonies collected.

Rehearsals and staging
- This agenda item will be optional and will depend on the willingness and desire of the group to continue or not to advance in the exploration of the document theater.
- In any case, the different groups formed during the workshop will try to set up their scenes, writing dialogues that will help to give coherence to the scenes they intend to reflect, always based on the compilation of real documentary material.

Final presentation and discussion with the audience
- Also this point will be voluntary, if it is decided to perform a small sample of the work done, the community would be invited not only to attend as spectators, but also to participate in the dialogue and reflection that will be generated after the staging of the show created in the workshop.

Documentation and registration
- Students will be given a guide on how to catalog the materials used in order to be able to make use of them at any time and, fundamentally, so that these results and conclusions can be shared by institutions and communities that carry out subsequent research on the same subject.