TRANSFORMING LIFE EXPERIENCE THROUGH PERFORMANCE

Have you ever wanted to (re-) write your life story or share a significant life

experience in a creative way? Have you felt the stirrings of an inner diva longing to

unbridle her tongue? Perhaps you secretly desired to let your inner monster run amok.

Do you need space for tenderness? Would you like to make a ritual of release?

Framed by Ladyfinger investigations of divas, lamenters, lullaby-makers and monsters, this fully catered live-in

retreat explores the potential for personal and cultural transformation in the making of live performance.

Life experience speaks in new and surprising ways when we dare to encounter with curiosity and humour:

• the painful, the pleasurable,

• the odd, the silly,

• the mundane, the simple,

• the sacred and the profane.

Drawing on processes used to create one-woman shows and ensemble productions, and on Ladyfinger’s

research into the voice of the of the sirens, this retreat will include:

• processes for opening to your own creative impulses,

• writing and physical explorations (in-door and in nature),

• perceptual practices, breath awareness and vocal strategies,

• storytelling with word, image and sound,

• meditation and ritual.

Be prepared to surprise and entertain – first yourself and then others – as we seek new perspectives on our

ordinary and extraordinary experiences. Discover how personal story interacts with the stories of our culture.

Participants will work towards small solo and/or group performances, which will be shared on the final day

of the retreat. Open to all ages and levels of experience.

This live-in laborator y style retreat will be held

at High Spirits, 297 Sister Tree Creek Road, Kin Kin.

High Spirits Retreat is set in the lush rolling hills of the Sunshine Coast

Hinterland, 1.5 hours north of Brisbane. Accommodation is simple but

comfortable with four participants per room. Each room has its own

bathroom. Meals will be served in the main house, a Queenslander set

high with wrap-around verandahs and stunning views. Indoor activities

will take place in the hall. Outdoor activities will take place on the

property or nearby walks. There is a saltwater swimming pool and a

sauna – why not choose to de-tox while you stay? The menu will be

fresh, delicious and vegetarian. Tea and coffee will be available but as

High Spirits is a health retreat there will be no alcohol.

Dawn Albinger trained as an actor at Victorian College of Arts and has worked as

performance practitioner for over twenty years, creating numerous solos and ensemble

works. She has taught drama, theatre and contemporary performance at Griffith and

Edith Cowan Universities, and gender studies at the Australian Catholic University.

Dawn also co-facilitates the annual Spirit of Woman Retreats run by Mettes Institute.

She has co-founded the performance group Sacred COW, as well as the women in theatre

network Magdalena Australia. She was artistic director of the inaugural 2003 International

Magdalena Australia Festival, Theatre-Women-Travelling. Dawn has undertaken doctoral

studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, investigating the Diva icon

and its usefulness to feminist theatre praxis.

For more information and to secure your place please contact

Dawn on 0405 013 122 or d.albinger@gmail.com

Ladyfinger is a Queensland-based contemporary performance company founded on divas, lamenters,

lullaby makers and monsters, and privileging the female voice. Co-directed by Dawn Albinger and

Julie Robson, the company devises new performance, manages creative productions and events,

and innovates arts-led research and education.

Full Price:

$1190

Early-bird

(pay by June 15):

$990