Workshops
Here at the Beware the Bull we are passionate about the workshops we offer. All our workshops are delivered by Andy Godfrey. Over the last eighteen years he has delivered workshops across the UK and abroad in schools and Universities. He has worked part-time as a Drama teacher in some of the best schools in the UK helping young people achieve the best possible results. He is also an award winning theatre maker who's work has been supported by the Arts Council to tour the UK and abroad.
So you can rest assured that any workshop you book from us will be professional, creative and will reinforce the learning outcomes in an enjoyable way.
Bellow is a basic outline of what we offer for more information please contact us. Each of these workshops can be 90 mins £200, four hours £300 or a full day £400. All workshop fees are plus travel.
Feedback for past workshops
‘This was a stunning success. The first time we have attempted this venture-some 60 students involved and they loved it. Dr Brian Stone -Ridgewood School Doncaster
‘ This is the best afternoon we have had here in 7 years, it was great to see all these young boys laughing.’
‘I have recommended you to every head I have met.’ Gill Dunton- Head of the Park Educational Support Centre.
Mask & Puppets
Introduction to Basel/ Full Face Masks
Basel masks force participants to use their bodies to create characters and tell stories. This workshop introduces the use of masks and the basic techniques involved. It is a fun active workshop that uses props music and hats to bring the masks to life.
Commedia Masks
An introduction to the classic characters of the Commedia the use of Lazzi and exploring how the characters work in performance. The use of 'grammelot' and finding a voice for each character. Stagecraft and exploring scenarios. In these sessions we use our high quality deluxe Commedia masks but we also bring examples of leather masks to help explore the history of Commedia. These sessions can be linked to a text like 'A servant of Two Masters'
‘Mask Emporium’s Commedia workshop was the perfect mix of entertaining and informative. All the students were involved in purposeful, engaging activities and the results were often hilarious and always insightful. This, plus the ability to try on the iconic masks of the art form, really helped bring to life a classic element of European theatre history. I would highly recommend Mask Emporium to all those teaching both Commedia and ‘A Servant of Two Masters’ as an ideal way to bring these characters to life.’
Jordan Blaxhill -St Albans School
Half Masks
These masks allow to explore characters using voice and they are very well suited to comedy. They can be used for improvisation. They can also be used to explore more serious texts like 'Woyzeck'
'Andy Godfrey of the Mask Emporium is an experienced drama teacher and workshop leader, demonstrating a down-to-earth approach to using his handmade masks'
'Andy used imaginative coaching that was difficult to resist!' Andrew Golightly- Teaching Drama
Masks and Mask Making
Making a mask can be a rewarding experience but also a time consuming one so all our mask making workshops need to be at least a full day or two four hour sessions over a couple of days.The masks can be made on a table top vacuum former, or depending on the age of the participants we can use thermo- plastics that have very similar properties to paper-mache. Paper-mache can also be used to create larger masks. Please contact us if you have ideas for a mask making session.
Puppetry
We can run sessions with our workshop puppets that teach all the basic skills of Bunraku puppetry, we can use brown paper puppets to get used to manipulating an object, before moving on to more advanced puppets. These workshops can also be linked to a text or be suited to a production. We can run a whole module on puppetry for degree level.
Puppet Construction
We can create very simple 'Junk' puppets right up to performance grade puppets. This workshop can be very fun for younger participants as they can really let their imaginations run wild. These sessions can be tailored to the needs of the learners for example we could explore the use of mechanisms.
Physical Theatre & Devising
Basic Physical Theatre
An introduction in to physical theatre for students/performers who have had little or no experience of it, All work is based around introducing skills and developing confidence. The workshop teaches the building blocks that can be used to create more complex work.
Advanced Physical Theatre
This workshop deals with more complex techniques, helping students/performers push their physical theatre skills and knowledge. The session will use more jumps and lifts to create more stiking visual theatre.
The Devising Process
Different methods of approaching material for performance, from simple approaches working as an ensemble, to creating and shaping material. This session is perfect for exam work
'hauntingly beautiful' Marigold Hughs Total Theatre for the Total Theatre nominated production 'Shadows' Devised and Directed by Andy Godfrey