Theatre Technique Workshop

Date: March 21 -25, 2008
Time:14 pm. to 18pm.
Venue: Caochangdi Workstation
Organization: CCD Workstation/Living Dance Studio
Support:DOEN Foundation、CultureXpress Foundation

Workshop theatre technique Beijing march 2008
Day 1: Friday
Getting to know each other, and what the expectation are of doing this workshop
Plan, goals of the workshop
We look at a short play of fifteen minutes, writing down what we think of it and ideas for light and sound
We look at some short pieces of video and will discuss them

Day 2: Saturday
Light theory: about light, art, color and equipment and extra’s
Working with different fixtures, looking at light directions and combinations
(in small groups)

Meet the (uhum) ‘artist’
Day 3: Sunday
Sound theory: about sound, frequencies and equipment
Working with sound equipment (in small groups)
Color theory
Working with colors, and color mixing

Day 4: Monday
Designing theory: different kinds of stages, scenery and light, video and light, building a light design
Making a sound and light design (in small groups)

Day 5: Tuesday
Showing the light and sound designs to each other
Discussing it and perhaps changing them or changing the surrounding (scenery)

Short bio
Edwin van Steenbergen
I was born 35 years ago in the Netherlands in a working class family. I have two younger brothers. Till my 20th year I lived in a village from where I moved to Rotterdam, the second biggest city of Holland. I’ve lived there since then, the last six years together with my girlfriend.
I was clever enough to finish high school, and went to study for social worker. I left school after one year. In those years I started doing lots of work as a volunteer for a small film theatre, for the labor union and in a youth centre.
After my short study as a social worker, I had to do my service to society as an alternative for military service. Then I got acquainted with working in a small theatre (like CCD) as a technician and very quickly also as a designer. I really started to love theatre. After one year I finished my service and the theatre hired me as a technician and designer for the next two years.
I tried to start studying again, this time History at the University of Amsterdam, but unfortunately I had to quit my study again after one year because of the continuous work in the theatre. During those years I also started doing some freelance work as technician and designer for small projects.
After three years in that small theatre I started working as a technician in the mayor city theatre of Rotterdam and kept on doing freelance theatre work as well. I stayed there for two years but I found the work too much technique, too little art. For me the beauty of theatre technique lies not in the technique itself, but in the art you can make with it.
Since then I’ve been doing technique and making light designs for all kinds of small theatre and dance companies and some festivals in Holland. For example Hotel Modern, De Appel, Act festival, Parade theater festival, Bonheur, Gato Bizar, 2moveDC, Vollemaan, Alba, etc.
This is my twelfth year in theatre now. I’m still learning with every new project and with that my love for theatre is still growing.