The Theatre of Steven Berkoff
Veering strongly away from Realism, Berkoff takes us to a darkly comic, satirical world that is vivid, heightened and grotesque.
Ideal for:
Introducing texts e.g. Metamorphosis
Studying physical theatre
Launching devising projects
Developing physical confidence in performance
“An excellent workshop that students will really benefit from. Cheryl was clearly knowledgable and experienced. I would have no hesitation to book her again”
“The workshop provided by Cheryl was outstanding. Her specialist knowledge, passion and creativity ignited something in my students that I never could have!”
Level:
KS3 to Degree level
Duration:
Online: 1 hour / 2 hours / 5 x 1 hour series
In person: 2 - 6 hours
Steven Berkoff’s distinctive style of performance has varyingly been pigeon-holed as Expressionist, as Total Theatre, as In Yer Face, but in truth Berkoff’s work combines elements of all of these to form a genre all of its own: Berkovian. The prolific playwright, director and actor draws theatrical inspiration from many sources: Greek, Kabuki, Corporeal Mime, German Expressionist Film, Commedia dell’Arte, Bouffon, Shakespeare and more. These influences resonate through his practice.
Participants will learn:
To stretch their physical and vocal expressive range so that they reach a state of heightened performance that is necessary to realise Berkoff’s distinctive performance style;
How to create exaggerated characterisations, including the expressionist ‘mask’, exploring the Grotesque and how the Levels of Exaggeration can be used to modulate performance from moment to moment;
Expressionist and comic techniques to apply in their own performance and portfolio work
The theory behind the techniques, linking to key practitioners who influenced Berkoff in the development of his theatrical style.
Workshops cover:
A range of mime techniques and how to apply these as key conventions of Berkoff’s style;
Comic techniques connected to the physical grotesque and vulgar comedy, rooted in the theory of the Bouffon clown;
How to physicalise and embody heightened language so that the rich texts create vivid imagery and become intricately connected to the lives of the characters;
Exploration of language in all its musicality, colour and range, from poetry to profanity
How to engage in direct address with the audience, exploring the actor-spectator dynamic, and how to transition between the mask/counter-mask and between character/narrator;
Vocabulary specific to Berkoff’s style and how to verbalise the physical creative process in words; this provides the language for students to then transpose their practical explorations to their analytical written work.
“To express drama in the most vital way imaginable; to perform at the height of one’s powers with all available means. That is, through the spoken word, gesture, mime and music. Sometimes the emphasis on one, sometimes on the other.”
Online or In Person Workshops:
Through demonstration and participation, workshops will explore a range of techniques to allow students to develop a clear understanding of the stylistic features of Steven Berkoff’s theatre. Depending on the duration (rather than the format or platform), workshops can cover all of the areas above and can be tailored to focus on a specific text or aspect of Berkoff’s style. Whether online or in person, a fully engaging, inspiring and participatory workshop will be delivered.
Berkoff’s style of theatre can be applied to many other texts such as Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal , Marlowe’s Dr Faustus or Büchner’s Woyzeck.