Performance Retreat
TRANSFORMING LIFE EXPERIENCE
THROUGH PERFORMANCE
Performance Retreat led by Dr Dawn Albinger from Ladyfinger
August 14 – 18, 2013
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