Siti Workshop

Smashing Times are delighted to host the world-famous SITI Company as part of the 2021 Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival. SITI will present a three-hour virtual online workshop consisting of one hour based on the Suzuki Training Technique, one hour of Viewpoints training followed by a one-hour talk/interview with Ellen Lauren of the SITI company and ending with a virtual Q and A.  As part of the talk presentation Ellen will provide an overview of SITI, who they are and the work they do and will speak about the ongoing work of SITI Company in relation to linking artistic practice to equality, inclusivity, and cultural diversity. It is hoped we will all share experiences, lessons and ways forward.

This session is in two-parts. Part one is a practical based training workshop engagement that requires active physical engagement for training related to the Suzuki technique and Viewpoints. Part two is a talk and Q and A. The session runs for three hours with breaks incorporated.  The workshops moderator is Michael McCabe, Smashing Times and the workshop facilitator and guest speaker is Ellen Lauren of SITI.

What do I need to Prepare for the Workshops?

• Please have water and a towel.
• For Suzuki technique, the recommended proposal is to wear shorts primarily to ensure our facilitator can see alignment between hips, knees and feet. Knee pads are permitted for Suzuki technique, if that’s comfortable for you. Socks and runners are not recommended. Dance shoes are not recommended.
• For Viewpoints, all blacks ideally, or if not possible as neutral a colour in clothing that you can move in comfortably.  We recommend you avoid wearing clothing that has clear LABEL on it, so as neutral as possible please.
• Your personal comfort is the priority with work clothing.
• We kindly request that in attending, you are agreeing not to enable any recording of any part of our 3 hour workshop.

• Mobile phones to be switched off before we enter the virtual space please and to remain off for the duration of our training.
• Please don’t bring notebooks (or pens) in the training space.
• For the Q&A session, pens and notebooks are recommended.

What To Expect

• Physical Play!
• Please note that Suzuki technique is a very, very demanding physical engagement, and we strongly recommend that you are in good aerobic fitness for this workshop.

Prepared Text

Please have the following text prepared and memorised for our workshop, with the asterisk* showing where the breath is taken

*Spirits inhabitThe darkness that lightens, the darkness that darkens,*The quivering tree, the murmuring wood,The water that runs and the water that sleeps:*Spirits much stronger than we,*The breathing of the dead who are not really dead,Of the dead who are not really gone,Of the dead now no more in the earth.

Preparing Your Space

• Please ensure prior to the workshop you modem and computer/laptop are working.
• Please ensure that you have access to Zoom and can adjust your volume and screen to your satisfaction. For the facilitator, it’s most important that when you stand, this is within the frame of your computer screen.
• Ideally, the facilitator to see you at all times on screen.
• As this is a virtual physical workshop, we ask you to make sure you have sufficient space to move in comfortably.

Resource Page

We will send on a resource page for all those participating in advance as a means to help you engage with the introductory work of this workshop.

Brave Space

We will also send a brief working agreement which we title BRAVE SPACE to all participants and we ask you to sign your consent to what we collectively title a BRAVE SPACE.

Contact List

We propose that all artists who participate agree to share their contact details as a means to further support of each other’s work, and more vitally in this context develop a community of like-minded artists interested in theatre training and arts related human rights activities.