The Neutral Mask | 17 - 19 March

Register here: https://forms.gle/h5cuabUMnqwkQRti6

March 17-19, 2023 

Friday 5:00pm - 9pm 

Saturday and Sunday 10:00am - 6:00pm 

A three days intensive exploring your essential presence and clarity of action on stage.

There  are three masks: the one we think we are, the one we really are, and  the one we have in common. - Jacques Lecoq (1921 - 1999)

What happens when you put on a mask that is “neutral”, that has no character at all?

A  neutral mask is never neutral when it sits on the face of the player.  Since it does not contain a dramatic facial expression, it acts like a  magnifying glass for the inherent dramatic expression that is present in  your own body. By enabling you to identify your own unique movement  characteristics, it invites you to quiet the “noise” in your body and  clarify your gestures in time and space. Enter the silence of the  neutral mask.

In  this workshop we will use neutral masks as a pedagogical tool for  becoming aware of movement habits and blocks in the drive towards more  clarity of movement and presence on stage.

We will be using hand-crafted, leather masks developed by three generations of the Sartori family in Padova, Italy.

This 3 day neutral mask workshop will focus on: 

● Creating a world on stage 

● Projecting space 

● Making clear, powerful gestures 

● Creating silence 

● Becoming aware of our own habits of movement

Peter  Sweet has been working as a performer, teacher and director of physical  theater and contemporary circus since 2000. His shows: BOOM! (directed  by Matteo Destro), Swinging High (directed by Giovanni Fusetti) and Meet  Pete Sweet (Clown developed with Avner "The Eccentric" Eisenberg) have  toured in over 20 countries. Peter served as the director of performance  in the circus department at Die Etage Berlin for 4 years. He is a  thesis advisor and coach at Fonty’s Netherlands masters program in  choreography and has been a guest teacher at the Stockholm University of  Dance and Circus, Zurich University of the Arts and the Bayerische  Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich.

Peter  studied physical theatre at the Helikos International School of Theatre  Creation in Florence, contemporary and classical dance at the Salzburg  Experimental Academy of Dance in Salzburg and circus at Ecole du Cirque  Zofy in Sion (CH). He is a certified teacher of both the Alexander  Technique and Wutao, a French movement art based on breath and  undulation. 

Peter is currently based in Berlin (DE), where he directs  professional companies, teaches workshops and creates new works of  inspired madness. In his free time he reads, flies kites, dances in the  kitchen, and watches Muppet show re-runs.

This workshop uses a sliding scale system between $215 - $375 (USD).

If you have questions please send an email to Peter Sweet: info@petersweet.com