WHAT ARE WE EXPLORING?
The atmosphere we adventure into together is rich with inspiration and the possibility of discovery. How do we enter it from a place of unknowing and fully trust in ourselves to shed our personalities and play in what we’ve found? What mysteries can we uncover through Michael Chekhov’s exploratory, improvisational processes to apply to our own acting work? How do we apply them? This seven-week session is shaped by the hearts and wills of those in the space. Come prepared to breathe, to move, and to allow your creative self into the atmospheric unknown where inspiration and growth reside. Familiarity with the Chekhov work is beneficial, but not necessary. This offering is an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself to the Chekhov work or deepen your understanding of the work as a practitioner.

WHEN DO WE EXPLORE?
Sundays: February 23, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5
6:30-8:45pm
Seven meetings, 15.75 hours of exploration
Classes build off of each other. Do try to avoid absences and honor the investment you are making in your art and the ensemble we’re cultivating.

WHERE DO WE EXPLORE?
Art On Madison
14203 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107

WHERE DO I PARK?
Free street parking is available on Madison and nearby side streets.

WHO IS THIS FOR?
This exploration is for a maximum of 8 performer-artists, ages 18 and up, interested in expanding their imaginative capabilities and embodying that imagination with ease and a sense of play. Familiarity with the Chekhov work is beneficial, but not necessary. This offering is an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself to the Chekhov work or deepen your understanding of the work as a practitioner.

THAT’S ME! WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
Memorize 2-3 minutes of text you’ve never worked with before that you enjoy exploring. This could be from a play, a film, a poem, a song, or your own work. Avoid making choices with the text. The more text you have, the more fruitful your explorations will be. Wear clothing and shoes you are comfortable moving in since we discover experientially with full-bodied movement. Bring a water bottle, notebook, and a writing instrument.

TELL ME ABOUT MICHAEL CHEKHOV CENTER CLEVELAND!
Michael Chekhov Center Cleveland is committed to the art of the actor through explorations of the psychophysical processes illuminated by Michael Chekhov. Through educational offerings for artists and performances within the community, we explore what it means when the actor is the theatre.

HOW IS THE CHEKHOV TECHNIQUE APPROACHED?
The Michael Chekhov Technique is a holistic, psychophysical approach to performance that synthesizes the actor’s body and psychology. You discover how the magic of your movement, in tandem with your imagination and feeling life, has the ability to enliven the spaces within yourself and the spaces around you. Solo and ensemble explorations in concentration, movement, atmosphere, and gesture increase your flexibility, honesty, joy, and ease as a performing artist. You learn to free your body as a conduit for the soul of your character. Your Creative Individuality is supported and nourished, and your artistic work becomes more inspired.

WHO LEADS THE SESSIONS?
Ray Caspio creates beautifully grotesque characters whose comedic allure invites you into their queer realities where they unpack American culture and scrutinize the multifaceted manners in which we relate to each other. Ray’s work recognizes the immediacy and impermanence of performance by embracing theatre as a living event. Those in the space matter. The work becomes as alive as we are: consciously existing in that moment when we all gather to play. Ray is a performance artist, teaching artist, and the Founder of Michael Chekhov Center Cleveland. They have created pieces spanning theatre, cabaret, installation, web, and personal storytelling, and served as performer-creator in numerous devised works, originating over 30 roles. Ray’s creations have been performed at BorderLight International Theatre + Fringe Festival, Playhouse Square, Cleveland Public Theatre, Theater Ninjas (Associate Artistic Director 2012-2015), and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Caspio appeared on Best of Theatre lists for Cleveland Scene (2014 & 2017) and WCPN/NPR’s The Sound of Applause (2014, for the conception and performance of the immersive cabaret exploration of gender, sexuality, and marriage equality, TingleTangle). Caspio has taught for Playhouse Square, Disney Musicals-in-Schools, Cleveland Play House Theatre Academy, MetroHealth Arts in Medicine, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. They are trained in Bouffon, Eccentric Performance, the Alba Method, and Improv & Sketch Writing (Second City Chicago). Ray studies with master teachers of the Michael Chekhov technique at the Michael Chekhov School, Hudson, NY, and the international faculty of MICHA, the Michael Chekhov Association. Caspio founded Michael Chekhov Center Cleveland after a decade exploring the technique to share their understanding of Chekhov’s principles with Northeast Ohio artists. Ray received a 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship.