An intensive 4-week course in Devised Theatre and Creative Practice
Created and led by David Glass
Developed and run by Korina Kokkali and Simon Gleave
1st - 27th July 2024
Athens, Greece
David Glass Ensemble Learning and JEUDi present Alchemy of the Extraordinary, a 4-week intensive training in Creative Practice and Devised Theatre.
APPLY HERE FOR A PLACE IN THE COURSE [DEADLINE - JANUARY 31st, 2024]
“David Glass’s Creative Practice is a unique and courageous exploration
of the archetypal experience of being human.”
Peter Brook, International Theatre Director
Designed by modern master David Glass and developed and co-delivered with Korina Kokkali and Simon Gleave, Alchemy of the Extraordinary is an intensive training course in creative practice and devised theatre making. This series of workshops will comprise the five-stage creative practice alongside experiential research into the The Child, The Adolescent, the Elder, as well as exploration of physical work and storytelling.
oyed by theatre companies and educational, social development and corporate organisations around the world (UN, Save the Children, Gecko, 111 Program and many more).
Alchemy course is noted for its rigour, playfulness and impact. Over a 4-week period, 6 days per week and 8 hours per day, David, Simon and Korina will lead participants through a transformative skill-based experience of the Alchemy creative framework. David will be mentoring each artist through pre meetings online, in person during the first and last week and de briefing post course. Simon and Korina, close collaborators of David and teachers of his methodology will lead on its teaching through the weeks 2 and 3.
Participants will come away with the tools to integrate and strengthen what they already do in their own practice, broadening and deepening their ability to devise theatre and develop creative projects from an authentic and provocative place be it in the arts, education, social development or corporate environments.
Alchemy of the Extraordinary is an international project that has run for 3 consecutive years with over 30 participants from more than 12 countries including Europe, US, Canada and Australia. Our aim is to create a network of creatives and a community that continues to grow and inform further than the course itself.
Participants have said of the course:
Cleo Quesne (Actor-Theatre Maker_Alchemy participant 2023): It was very interesting to focus on the specifics, take time to slow down, look at life and de-touch ourselves from our art. This workshop is not about learning skills but interrogating the skills you may already have. As a young person I would recommend it as it is different from school, you are not getting marked and it’s more about opening yourself, which happened to me.
Kay Brattan (Theatre Director & Maker_Alchemy participant 2023: The course was intense in a good way, it was beautifully challenging in a very safe space to feel that I could take risks, I could interrogate myself, my artistry and go to places I felt cut off from my everyday life up to this point. There is a ritual of searching what it means to be a creator and every challenge even the failures and the successes did really push me as an artist and it is something other artists should take in their practice and consider doing in the future. This course is absolutely different from other courses that try to teach you a set way of working of other practitioners' format; in this process even if David was sharing his format with us it’s very much about us taking it onto ourselves.That is really special about it, it is not about becoming a copy of something, but how you find the embodiment of yourself in it and there is an individual approach of what that work is.
Marco Aurelio Di Giorgio (Theatre Practitioner & Researcher_Alchemy participant 2022): As a creative practice, I realise I haven't encountered a structured creative practice before....
Amy Hailwood (Theatre Director & Maker_Alchemy participant 2022): What stands out for me is partly the length of time that allows the group dynamic to form and [...] that we have gone to some really deep places in ourselves and that allowed us to do really interesting creative work together.
Lidjia Burcak (Writer - Filmmaker- Alchemy participant 2021): I completely lost the sense of time somehow, it was quite exhausting to do the workshop in the sense that I was diving really deep into emotions, experiences, everything that makes me, my history, my stories.
Neyire Ashworth (Performer - Musician - Facilitator_Alchemy participant 2021): Finding our voice through going back to the child and the play of that and also the adolescent and the madness of adolescence, really spending time on those places and discovering ourselves, who I am through that. It released me, it reminded me of the performer that I am.
Fees and Accommodation
The fee for the 4-week course is EUR 1,440, with a concession price of EUR 1,140 for students. We will request a deposit of EUR 300 to secure your place, which is non-refundable except in extreme circumstances.
You may also already be thinking about the logistics of taking part in the course. We suggest people looking for accommodation near the Dance Studio (where we are spending most of our time) should look around the areas below: Lycovrissi, Pefki, Maroussi, N. Irakleio, N. Ionia, Kato Kifissia, Metamorphosi. We can connect participants to Airbnb and guest-room options whereby they can rent a single room or shared accommodation well located for the workshop. Participants are welcome to find their own accommodation while in Athens!
“David Glass Ensemble is a creative powerhouse with innovation at its heart. David’s thinking has been woven through the UK’s Art in Business movement, inspiring my work with organisations around the world, and that of countless others.”
David Pearl, Founder Pearl Group