Embodiment and Performance is a weekend of activity that considers physical performance and the development of character in body and voice. Actor Gretchen Egolf and artist Adam Chodzko visit Dartington to reflect on their experience of performance and explore the ideas of Michael Chekhov, the acclaimed actor and teacher who worked at Dartington in the 1930s.

Follow the links below to book tickets and find out more about the three events in this special weekend programme.

Chekhov developed his unique form of actor training at Dartington – privileging the visual imagination, psychophysical exercises and ensemble, collective creation. The Chekhov Theatre company was founded in the building which now houses the Barn Cinema.

Gretchen Egolf is an actor, director, teacher, and co-director of The Chekhov Collective UK, a network of artists who are inspired by, and working with, the ideas of Michael Chekhov.

Adam Chodzko is an acclaimed contemporary artist who uses a wide range of media, including video, installation, photography, drawing and performance.

PROGRAMME

Performance workshop | Saturday 12 October, 10am – 4pm Gretchen will lead a workshop exploring Michael Chekhov’s embodied performance practice in relation to cross-disciplinary arts practice. The workshop is open to everyone – to those with experience of performance as actors, dancers and artists, and to those who are new to physical performance. Read more and book a place here.

Artist talk | Saturday 12 October, 7pm Gretchen and Adam will talk together at the studios about their experience of performance, and their respective approaches to embodiment, characterisation and voice. This artist talk is a free event, inviting donations on admission. The evening will include a presentation in the studios of material from the Dartington Hall Estate archives – documentation of the Michael Chekhov Company rehearsing and performing at Dartington between 1936 and 1939. Read more here.

Cinema screening | Sunday 13 October, 11am Adam and Gretchen will introduce a screening of the feature film Alps in the Barn Cinema. Alps is an absurdist, darkly funny exploration of mourning and performance by Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Oscar-nominated films Dogtooth (2009), The Lobster (2015) and The Favourite (2018). This screening has been organised in partnership with the Barn, a cinema whose building housed the Chekhov Theatre Studio in the 1930s. Read more and follow links to book a Barn Cinema ticket here.

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Live events are recorded whenever possible and shared online. Visit our LINKS page to listen to an audio recording of Adam Chodzko and Gretchen Egolf’s artist talk, where you’ll also find more about the story of the Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington.

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Aller Park, Park Road, Dartington Hall Estate TQ9 6EL

For more information about visiting the estate, directions and maps, visit the Dartington website here.

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Image: The Michael Chekhov Studio, ‘lightness exercises’, 1936 © Fritz Henle Estate / Dartington Hall Trust