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04042024 at exactly 18:23, we all took a selfie to mark the start of the next set of work on our co-devised ensemble piece, Falling Heads. Our work together in our very special practice place in North Melbourne enriches us. Some new members, some old members who discuss, practice, experiment and make performance, we love sharing the process of theatre with peers, students and the wider theatre community. We look forward to our next conversation in Open Rehearsal June 20 and 24.
04042024 at exactly 18:23, we all took a selfie to mark the start of the next set of work on our co-devised ensemble piece, Falling Heads. Our work together in our very special practice place in North Melbourne enriches us. Some new members, some old members who discuss, practice, experiment and make performance, we love sharing the process of theatre with peers, students and the wider theatre community. We look forward to our next conversation in Open Rehearsal June 20 and 24.
The group with Angelique Zhou in Tokyo, on Matt's phone
Angelique Zhou
Alexandra Clouston
Damon Branecki
Matthew Crosby
Tessa Marie Luminati
Selfies in first name alphabetical just because…
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A retrospective of training, experimentation and performance-making.
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The group that was to become The Thursday Group was founded in 2009. Over the years we have investigated Suzuki Training exericses in concert with other disciplines such as Grotowski, Stanislavski, Chekhov and variations that the group has developed. During the Covid lockdowns in Melbourne in 2020-2021 Thursday Group facilitator Matthew Crosby created a programme of co-devising prompts arising from psychologist Lev Vygotsky's notion that the inner thought is completed in its social expression[1]. What were called 'musing' exercises assisted in developing communication across what was then a new performative online apparatus (Zoom). That practice has led to investigations within the Suzuki Training vocabulary of attending to the intention of verbal and gestural communication.
The group that was to become The Thursday Group was founded in 2009. Over the years we have investigated Suzuki Training exericses in concert with other disciplines such as Grotowski, Stanislavski, Chekhov and variations that the group has developed. During the Covid lockdowns in Melbourne in 2020-2021 Thursday Group facilitator Matthew Crosby created a programme of co-devising prompts arising from psychologist Lev Vygotsky's notion that the inner thought is completed in its social expression[1]. What were called 'musing' exercises assisted in developing communication across what was then a new performative online apparatus (Zoom). That practice has led to investigations within the Suzuki Training vocabulary of attending to the intention of verbal and gestural communication.
Silent Forest, 2019, Matthew Crosby, Rodrigo Calderón, Eidann Glover, Lorna Mcleod and Alana Hoggart. Photo: Oscar Socias
Associate Members: Kathleen Doyle, Lorna McLeod
Many have worked with us since 2009
Glynis Angell, Elise Britton, Rodrigo Calderón, Joshinder Kaur Chaggar, Molly Farquharson, Caitlin George, Eidann Glover, Alana Hoggart, Kate Hunter, Keira Lyon, Tulipa Rodriquez Quin, Gabrielle Quinn, Tamara Saulwick, Oliver Skryzypczynski, Helen Smith, Brendan Snow, Nilees Suhasini, Tanabe Keisuke, Taka Takiguchi, Gareth Trew, Yamasaki Tomoko.
Glynis Angell, Elise Britton, Rodrigo Calderón, Joshinder Kaur Chaggar, Molly Farquharson, Caitlin George, Eidann Glover, Alana Hoggart, Kate Hunter, Keira Lyon, Tulipa Rodriquez Quin, Gabrielle Quinn, Tamara Saulwick, Oliver Skryzypczynski, Helen Smith, Brendan Snow, Nilees Suhasini, Tanabe Keisuke, Taka Takiguchi, Gareth Trew, Yamasaki Tomoko.
Our group has a history of durational and intense training aimed at crossing into next-level performance-making. In speaking to then new collaborator Tessa Marie Luminati in 2020, Kathleen Doyle said:
[…] it was very much a led-by-nobody… just actors trying to keep the craft, just trying to keep themselves fit and ready to perform, and it was like that for about three or four years, wouldn't it be Matt? […] It started to morph into more improvised territory […] and I think it was from there that [we tried to] put all of what we're working on into a show, that is specifically wanting to capitalise on these skills that we had from the training. So, then Matt was inspired by an improvisation he saw with myself and another member [Yoka Jones], and went ahead and wrote that play [Silent Forest…]. I think different people came in and out, so the group has been this constantly fluid thing. It’s hard to know how to contain it, except that we've got that great commonality of using the Suzuki Method of training. […] I don't know, I think we're still trying to find our identity.[2]
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Check the Work page to find out about our slate of projects under development and our past works.
Check the Work page to find out about our slate of projects under development and our past works.
[1] Vygotskiĭ, L. S. Thought and Language. Translated by Eugenia Hanfmann, Gertruda Vakar, and Alex Kozulin. Revised and Expanded edition. The MIT Press, 2012.
[2] 20200325, Transcript Zoom.
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Damon Branecki, Em Kimber, Angelique Zhou. Photo: Matthew Crosby
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Monday Sessions: come join our dialogue on Suzuki Method Actor Training, Grotowski, improvisation and co-devising practice. Mondays, 6-9pm, North Melbourne.
Thanks to all who participated in the 2024 Psychophysical Theatre Intensive. Our investigations will continue in the Monday sessions, next intensive workshop slated for August 2024… stay tuned!
North Melbourne Small Hall
Book here for the Monday Sessions
North Melbourne Small Hall
Book here for the Monday Sessions