11.6.2015-11.20.2015We had a total of three workshops, 45 interviews, and multiple other activities scheduled for Rob, throughout a two week time period.
We asked one of our Ambassadors, Evie Coves-Datson, to write about her experience. Take a look at Rob Drummond's blog post about his residency experience on UMS Lobby. |
Gallery
Workshop Offerings
In each workshop the topic of ‘delivering bad news’ will be used as a starting off point for creativity and discussion.
Performance:
This is a pure performance workshop which concentrates on creating work as a team from scratch. In this workshop participants will be given a crash course in the Viewpoints technique, which breaks down performance into different areas of focus, or viewpoints; those to do with time (tempo, duration, repetition) and those to do with space (shape, gesture, architecture, spatial relationship) and teaches them how to work together quickly to create something special.
An exciting, physical, emotional and fun workshop full of practical games and creative experiences. Participants will gain an understanding of performance, a confidence in their own ability to stand up and been seen in front of others and experience of creating their own unique pieces of theatre as a team. Comfortable, loose clothing and sports shoes essential.
Creative Writing:
A less physical and more cerebral workshop, Rob will investigate with the group how stories are told and structured and guide the participants in the writing of their own short dramatic scenes. By breaking down and examining how creative writing works in practice Rob aims to investigate how the ‘scene’ of delivering bad news should be structured to give the least dramatic and most dramatic outcomes.
Starting with a ‘text-book’ example of how a doctor should deliver bad news, Rob and his participants will suggest ways in which the scene could be made more dramatic for the stage - no-one pays to see things going right! What happens when you do or say something wrong? If drama is the absence of incident could the outcome they are looking for in their practice be considered the absence of drama?
By investigating what decisions writers make to create the most horrific, surprising, suspenseful, comedic and dramatic scenes they can think of, we can also work out how to avoid such scenes in reality.
Improv - One on One:
In this workshop participants will learn the techniques of working onstage with an unprepared audience member, one on one. The skills of interviewing someone you have never met before, putting them at ease, getting them to be comfortable enough to share emotional stories will be examined in detail.
Drawing on Rob’s previous work in this field this workshop will be part lecture - where Rob discusses his own experiences - and part practical, where participants will have the chance to interview each other in front of the rest of the group. Fun improv games will be used to examine the relationship between performer and audience member and the workshop will end with a sharing of scenes created during the session.
A laid back, fun and informal workshop - no-one will be forced to do anything they do not wish to do and everyone will be made to feel at ease and welcome. It’s a discussion, not an interrogation. Which is important to remember in both stage improv and practicing medicine.
Performance:
This is a pure performance workshop which concentrates on creating work as a team from scratch. In this workshop participants will be given a crash course in the Viewpoints technique, which breaks down performance into different areas of focus, or viewpoints; those to do with time (tempo, duration, repetition) and those to do with space (shape, gesture, architecture, spatial relationship) and teaches them how to work together quickly to create something special.
An exciting, physical, emotional and fun workshop full of practical games and creative experiences. Participants will gain an understanding of performance, a confidence in their own ability to stand up and been seen in front of others and experience of creating their own unique pieces of theatre as a team. Comfortable, loose clothing and sports shoes essential.
Creative Writing:
A less physical and more cerebral workshop, Rob will investigate with the group how stories are told and structured and guide the participants in the writing of their own short dramatic scenes. By breaking down and examining how creative writing works in practice Rob aims to investigate how the ‘scene’ of delivering bad news should be structured to give the least dramatic and most dramatic outcomes.
Starting with a ‘text-book’ example of how a doctor should deliver bad news, Rob and his participants will suggest ways in which the scene could be made more dramatic for the stage - no-one pays to see things going right! What happens when you do or say something wrong? If drama is the absence of incident could the outcome they are looking for in their practice be considered the absence of drama?
By investigating what decisions writers make to create the most horrific, surprising, suspenseful, comedic and dramatic scenes they can think of, we can also work out how to avoid such scenes in reality.
Improv - One on One:
In this workshop participants will learn the techniques of working onstage with an unprepared audience member, one on one. The skills of interviewing someone you have never met before, putting them at ease, getting them to be comfortable enough to share emotional stories will be examined in detail.
Drawing on Rob’s previous work in this field this workshop will be part lecture - where Rob discusses his own experiences - and part practical, where participants will have the chance to interview each other in front of the rest of the group. Fun improv games will be used to examine the relationship between performer and audience member and the workshop will end with a sharing of scenes created during the session.
A laid back, fun and informal workshop - no-one will be forced to do anything they do not wish to do and everyone will be made to feel at ease and welcome. It’s a discussion, not an interrogation. Which is important to remember in both stage improv and practicing medicine.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about the Medical Arts Program, please contact the Medical Arts Program Assistant at medarts.info@umich.edu