Workshop & Performance Lab

Sunday May 19th 6-9pm

More information and to register: https://www.rachelaustinrachelaustin.com/performancelab.html

Performance Lab + Workshop is a brand new series dedicated to nurturing innovative, non-traditional, and experimental performance. Our aim is to provide a supportive space where performers can both refine craft and expand their creative toolbox.

Each session will kick off with a 45-60 minute workshop, followed by 90 minutes of captivating works-in-progress presented by 4-7 performers who have reserved their spot in advance.

The Performance Lab + Workshop warmly welcomes performers working in a diverse range of disciplines including performance art, dance, choreography, sound, experimental music, film, drag, performance poetry, and experimental theater. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your unique talents! Be sure to fill in the form to perform by Monday, May 13th.

Our inaugural workshop will be movement-based and presented by ecosomatic practitioner, Victoria Maria. Join us as we explore: “Preparing the Bodymind using Butoh and Ecosomatics.”

In this short session, I offer a series of movement practices drawn largely from the fields of Butoh dance and ecosomatics. I frame the curated practices as a mode of preparation, in which we cultivate: increased physical capacity, readiness to respond to improvisational stimuli, availability to integrate communications from the nonhuman world, openings in channels of awareness and perception, and a dynamically expanded range of creative embodiment possibilities.

As for participation in the evening, it’s a Sliding Scale evening, from $10-$30, whether through Venmo or in cash.

The Performance Lab + Workshop wouldn’t be possible without the support of Rachel Austin, Wild Altar Farmstead, Bonner Odell, Steven’s Home Services, and SolArt Center.

On Felt and Feral Grounds

I have been collaborating with artist Taylor Hanigosky on her upcoming exhibition…. details below!

On Felt and Feral Grounds
interactive works in fiber, sculpture, and performance
Shenandoah Valley Art Center (416 Main St. Waynesboro, Va)
April 18- May 6

Taylor Hanigosky
with Jordan Fust, Victoria Maria Moyer, Shauna Frantz, Jenna, and Anne Hopestill Kappers

Opening reception and live performance on 4/22 from 5-7pm. 

Interactive ecosomatic workshops on 4/28 from 6-7pm and 4/29 from 3-4pm. Open to all ages, donations appreciated.

I will be part of the live performance on 4/22, and I will be facilitating the ecosomatic workshops on 4/28 and 4/29 to guide tactile connection with the exhibition. 

In these ecosomatic workshops, we will slow down our perceptual modes enough to land more wholly in an embodied feeling realm. A series of guided activities will invite participants to touch, feel, respond, play, imagine, and settle in relationship to materials such as stone, sand, and wool. Kinesthetic prompts exploring weight, shape, texture, and temperature gently open up into creative spatial and temporal realms of movement possibility. Landscapes and layers of soft fiber and hard mineral bond our bodies to broader earthly contexts.