The Presence Project

Tim Etchells’ Presence Workshop will take place on 15 February 12.30-4.30, in Drama’s newly opened Theatre Studios at Thornlea, University of Exeter.

All our workshops are free and open to a public audience. To reserve an audience place please e-mail: l.m.dowsett@exeter.ac.uk

Photo courtesy Tim Etchells

The workshop will be divided into two parts. In the first Tim will lead a small group of students in a series of practical exercises. Based on simple rules and performance tasks these will provide a starting point for discussion about how we construct our own presence and that of others and how rules, situations, space and language itself function as the frames through and in which we appear.

The second part of the session will be more in the form of lecture-demonstration. Tim will use examples from his own practice and that of other artists to expand on the ideas begun in part one, continuing to focus on the ways that limits, frames around and confusions to presence are a key part of its manifestation.

Forced Entertainment, Exquisite Pain (2005)
Photo Hugo Glendinning, courtesy Forced Entertainment.

Tim is best known for his work as artistic director and writer of the performance ensemble Forced Entertainment, based in Sheffield UK and working together since 1984. He has also created diverse projects of his own in a variety of media including SMS, video and installation.

Forced Entertainment, Exquisite Pain (2005)
Photo Hugo Glendinning, courtesy Forced Entertainment.

He has collaborated with other artists in many disciplines including the photographer Hugo Glendinning, the choreographer Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods and visual artists Vlatka Horvat, Franko B and Asta Groting. Under his direction, Forced Entertainment have toured widely in mainland Europe and beyond and have made projects that span theatre, durational performance, and other media. Recent Forced Entertainment projects include 'Bloody Mess' a darkly comical rocktacular collage, 'First Night', a disastrous vaudeville and 'Who Can Sing A Song To Unfrighten Me?', a performance of 24 hours duration.

Tim has written widely about performance and contemporary culture, and has published three books: 'The Dream Dictionary' (Duckworth 2001); 'Endland Stories', (Pulp Books 1999); and 'Certain Fragments' - a collection of theoretical writing and performance texts (Routledge 1999).

Tim is currently a Creative Research Fellow in the Department of Theatre Studies, Lancaster University.

Full details of the Performing Presence workshop series are available at http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/performing-presence/events.php

Forced Entertainment’s website is at http://www.forcedentertainment.com

Gabriella Giannachi’s notes on Tim Etchells and Forced Entertainment are on the Collaboratory at: http://presence.stanford.edu:3455/Collaboratory/306

See also our previous weblog entry http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/presence/2005/11/tim_etchells_presence_workshop_1.html

Future workshops in the series will be conducted by:

Mike Pearson and Mike Brookes: 8 March
Vayu Naidu: 22 March
Phillip Zarrilli and Klaus Seewald (date tbc)
Fiona Templeton (date tbc)
Bella Merlin: 21st June

More to come….