Do you teach IB at your school and want to bring in specialists in world theatre?
Are you in a rural area and want to bring Zen Zen Zo to your community theatre company & school for something unique?
Do you need a re-boot physically and creatively to strengthen or change the direction of your artistic practise?
Full Day Immersive
Workshop
A deep introduction to the physical theatre methods used by ZZZ
High School
Workshops
Theatre form, ensemble training and devising to fit into your program
STOMP
INTENSIVES
Directors Lynne Bradley & Simon Woods teach the material in artist intensives
Youth Production Residencies
Have ZZZ create a professional production in a term's worth of work
Full Day Immersive Workshop
Available New Zealand wide
A 1-2 day workshop option that introduces students to the three core training methodologies that Zen Zen Zo works with: The Viewpoints, The Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Composition & Butoh.
Ideal for introducing Zen Zen Zo’s unique physical theatre training to students or company members in depth with a full day intensive. This course is particularly worthwhile for ensemble building as a class/company, key performance building and establishing rituals that encourage performers to work hard and be fully present.
$650 per day (Max. 35 students)
Are you outside of Christchurch but want to bring Zen Zen Zo to your area?
NOTE: This year's stomp intensive information will be updated as it is finalised.
Do the full day immersive workshop, the theatre form assessment package or book a shorter 90 minute workshop.
Theatre Form Assessment Package
$1500 workshop & resources (max. 35 students)
For teachers looking to use physical theatre as a theatre form assessment for 1.4, 2.1, or 3.4
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Two day workshop with pre-teaching materials
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Assessment task template to adapt for your assessment
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Follow up exercises and resources
Due to the cumulative and intensive nature of the work, students are able to progress quickly and efficiently to embody and understand physical theatre as a form.
90 Minute In-Schools Workshops - $15 per student
Physical Theatre Training
A series of exciting and challenging exercises which introduce the key performance skills of Energy, Focus, Physical and Ensemble Awareness .This is a must-do introduction to the wonderful world of physical theatre and will lay a perfect foundation for strong, dynamic performance work.
Creating Physical Theatre
Creation Bootcamp
Workshopping existing material generated by your class in a 5-round devising bootcamp, the students will be introduced to a “recipe for success” that will work to create dynamic physical theatre- every time! This workshop is perfect for giving formative tasks that little extra push prior to assessment.
The Viewpoints
The Viewpoints is an extremely fun and dynamic training method that focuses on connecting the ensemble by awakening the students’ instincts through impulse work and play. It also provides a brilliant shared language from which to work when discussing & creating theatre. Zen Zen Zo were the first practitioners to bring the Viewpoints from the USA to Australia (in 1998), so learn from the original experts in this field!
Japanese Theatre: Noh & Butoh
A powerful introduction to heritage non-Western dramatic styles, this workshop explores the history and abstract movement styles from the Japanese Theatre, including Noh & Butoh. This workshop covers image work, mask work and character work.
Contemporary Performance
Zen Zen Zo’s work has always been at the cutting edge of both Physical Theatre AND Contemporary Performance. This workshop introduces 3 fabulous exercises that unpack Contemporary Performance and the Open Work by exploring the post-modern conventions of Collaboration, Juxtaposition, Fragmentation of Time & Space, and Hybridization.
Greek Theatre
Greek Theatre is big, bold, extreme and perfectly suited to physical theatre! This workshop will explore how to physically interpret classic Greek texts through choral movement & speaking, creating a heightened stage language, and a 4-step process for staging dynamic scenes using the physical and vocal Viewpoints.
Shakespearean Characters
Physical theatre as a style lends itself to bringing Shakespeare alive. This workshop will upack 3 clear methods for creating dynamic, heightened Shakespearean characters- using animals, image scores and the Viewpoints as the starting point.
Staging Shakespeare
Brecht & Epic Workshop
This workshop looks at some of the central ideas in Brecht’s Epic Theatre including the Verfremdungseffekt. The aim is to make Brecht interesting and accessible, with the students drawing on all the techniques introduced (including Transformation, Gestus, Montage and the Breaking of the 4th Wall) to create their own short piece of Epic Theatre by the end of the workshop.
Suzuki Method of Actor Training
This unique actor-training method draws from Japanese Martial Arts traditions and evelops extraordinary energy, incredible focus and absolute commitment to performance allowing the students to discover the elusive concept of stage presence and develop their “inner warrior”.
Youth Production Residencies
Providing Secondary School Students with a Professional Theatre Experience!
Since 2005 Zen Zen Zo has directed 60 productions in schools in Brisbane, Melbourne and Hong Kong through the Youth Production Residency program. This unique and exciting program provides a highly experienced Zen Zen Zo Director and an Assistant Teaching-Artist to direct and manage a full-scale physical theatre production.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for your students to experience the challenges and rewards of creating and staging a professional theatre production adapted from a script of your choice. Each project will be specifically catered to your desired outcomes, including assessment requirements.
The Zen Zen Zo Teaching-Artists will train the students in Zen Zen Zo's specialty areas, teach them how to devise their own work, and develop and manage all the creative aspects of a one-hour production to facilitate a truly memorable and professional experience for all involved.
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Price: $4000
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Max. 25 students
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80-100 hours rehearsal time is required
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Weekly rehearsals need to include either one full weekend day OR 1-2 after school sessions per week.
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Additional sessions (min 90mins) can take place in class time.
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Set, costumes and lighting to be provided by the school.

In New Zealand Zen Zen Zo physical theatre training is lead by Alys Hill. A qualified and registered dance and performing arts teacher, Alys spent 10 years training regularly with the Australian Zen Zen Zo company.
Alys is now based in Christchurch where she runs the weekly Actor's Dojo classes at the Arts Centre. However Alys also frequently travels around New Zealand to run Zen Zen Zo workshops and residencies for high schools, professional theatre companies and more.
ALYS HILL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ZEN ZEN ZO NZ
B.ED (PERFORMING ARTS), REG. TEACHER & JOLT DANCE TUTOR