Mark Phoenix - Improviser, Actor and Teacher
After taking a degree in Astrophysics and hitchhiking around the world for 2 years, Mark decided to take life more seriously, so became an actor. His credits include V for Vendetta, The Bank Job, Robin Hood (BBC), The Windsors, Upstart Crow, Eastenders, Prime Suspect and work in such theatres as The Young Vic, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leicester Haymarket and Theatre Clwyd.
Mark discovered his talent for improvisation and the Meisner technique around 1990. He added teaching to his accomplishments around 2000. It was during this time he combined improvisation with Meisner. He has been developing this work since then, challenging himself to find new solutions to each problem discovered in performance, to compete with the well written play.
Meisner described acting as “Living truthfully in imaginary circumstances”. Mark has added “Improvisation can develop the imaginary circumstances by living truthfully.” Mark has taught this work along with other acting classes for 20+ years. He formed Third Person theatre company to perform this style of dramatic improvisation. Mark has also become a keen Argentinian Tango dancer, winning 4 medals, as top U.K. dancer.
Mark discovered his talent for improvisation and the Meisner technique around 1990. He added teaching to his accomplishments around 2000. It was during this time he combined improvisation with Meisner. He has been developing this work since then, challenging himself to find new solutions to each problem discovered in performance, to compete with the well written play.
Meisner described acting as “Living truthfully in imaginary circumstances”. Mark has added “Improvisation can develop the imaginary circumstances by living truthfully.” Mark has taught this work along with other acting classes for 20+ years. He formed Third Person theatre company to perform this style of dramatic improvisation. Mark has also become a keen Argentinian Tango dancer, winning 4 medals, as top U.K. dancer.
Improvising a play using Meisner technique
|
Who: Mark Phoenix
What: Improvising a play using Meisner technique Where: LJMU - Joe H Makin Drama Centre (Next door to Unity Theatre) When: Sunday the 27th of April – 1pm-3pm Tickets: £22.50 – 
|
Dramatic, emotionally truthful and subtle improvisation technique developed by Mark over 20 years from the Meisner technique. Meisner described acting as “Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances”. Mark has developed this towards improvisation by adding, “develop the imaginary circumstances by living truthfully”. Workshop participants will learn Meisner s basic repetition exercises and then learn how to apply the technique to improvisation.
The work focuses heavily on understanding what an audience sees, treating them as an intelligent being that is well versed in theatre conventions, and used to cinematic subtlety of performance. Participants will develop an understanding of the wider concept of “Listening “. Real props will aid realistic acting. Silences will play a major role, with students understanding full rather than empty silences. In a 3 hour class participants will play scenes in pairs, developing an understanding of theme and protagonist. They will learn how to construct the first 5 scenes of an improvised play by building character and relationships and exploring themes, knowing that the plot of a play mostly happens after the beginning 5 scenes, and that audience emotional attention is stronger than the intellectual. The work will be demanding, revealing and fun. |