Suzanne, writer, poet, and mother, is the author of Losing Kei, editor of several anthologies, among them Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs, and most recently Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering. She will give a presentation at TELL’s Exceptional Parenting Program on Friday, November 13 from 2:30 – 5:00pm.
 Suzanne will discuss the importance of writing about children with special needs and share examples of literature current and past about parenting children with special needs. She will also conduct brief writing exercises, which may be used in journaling, or creative writing for pleasure or publication. ~ S. Kamata

For more information and/or to RSVP, please contact Birgit at tellparentgroup[at]hotmail.com

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1. INTRODUCTION
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Well, the weather has begun turning cool, or as those of us from Canada might say: finally tolerable.

YTG will be pretty quiet over the next two months, preparing for our spring show (as yet untitled) and our AGM (we’re aiming for January).

However, there are still a number of tasks that we need help with.  Check out our new ::VOLUNTEER REGISTRY:: page and sign up today! 


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2. SCENE STUDY CLASS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
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YTG announces a follow-up to our successful Physical Theatre workshops: a new acting workshop running in Tokyo! Develop your acting skills in the same kind of class the pros take!

LOCATION
At OUR SPACE studio (4 minutes walk from Hatagaya station in Tokyo).

DATES & TIMES:
Sundays, 12:00 – 15:00

January 17 to February 28, 2010

FINAL CLASS PRESENTATION (and party) on Friday, March 5, at 17:30

COST
30,000 total for all eight sessions

For Ages: 13 – 18

Acting is more than memorizing lines and delivering facial expressions. To give your best performance, you need to understand what’s going on around you in the play and what’s going on in your own head (and therefore, in your character’s head). Scene Study will teach you how to do that.

You’ll spend the first few weeks doing acting exercises (games, improv, vocal exercises, etc.) and loosening up while also learning the basics of text breakdown, character creation, raising the stakes of a scene, and more. After that, you’ll be given a scene to work on with a partner, which you will present at least twice for the class. The class environment will give you a chance to try out ideas without the pressure of impressing an audience.

By the end of the course, you will have been stretched and challenged as an actor, and you will have learned the techniques of creating a compelling performance without the help of a director… and you will be having more fun doing it then ever before.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and dive into the exciting world of actor training!

Go to our ::WORKSHOP SIGNUP FORM:: to sign up right away!

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Andrew Woolner is the current Artistic Director of The Yokohama Theatre Group, and has directed four plays for them since 2007. He is a former Board member and current volunteer for the Tokyo International Players.

Andrew had several years of acting training and experience prior to earning a BFA in Theatre from York University in Toronto. While working on his degree, he also assistant taught Scene Study to high schoolers at the former Young People’s Theatre in Toronto. From 1998 to 2003 he ran Squeeze-Box Theatre in Toronto. 

In total, Andrew has spent the better part of the last 20 years studying, acting, directing, writing, and producing Theatre. As an actor, he’s played in everything from Henry V (as Henry V) to Diary of Anne Frank (as Peter); from Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick) toGlengarry, Glenn Ross.
As a director, he’s been at the helm of more than a dozen shows and workshops, including TIP’s spring 2009 production of William Shakespeare’s R3, and several productions of his own Amos Takes Hogtown trilogy in Toronto.


Well, that’s the end of another newsletter.  Have a great autumn!

-The Yokohama Theatre Group

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