Past Sha’ashua Labs

Funded by Arts Council England


1st May - 12th June 2007
@ Hope Street, Liverpool



Sha’ashua Lab 2:
“Conversation with a stone”


For me, the second lab became a lab of questions. A quest driven by the desire to penetrate more deeply into the nature of the paratheatrical craft. I asked myself...

What does it mean to ‘act on impulse’? Where do our impulses come from? Are they random occurrences - or do they follow (unconscious) patterns? Should we follow them and express them freely - or should we tame them and shape them?

Where are we each on that spectrum of ‘will to grace’?


What renders a performer scenically alive? When are we most present and over-flowing? How do we keep the precarious balance between structured performance work and organic free-flow?

Where are we each on that spectrum of ‘precision to spontaneity’?


Does true creativity arise only when we temporarily cease activity? What is the value of silence in our work? How can we access inner silence? What is the difference between activity and action?

Where are we each on that spectrum of ‘activity to action’?



In this lab we practiced:

w	Stillness in movement: Meditation practice & ecstatic dance

w	Precision in free-flow: Physical scores & authentic movement

w	Connecting to the inner world whilst focusing on the outer world: Props & text

w	Being with self whilst being with others: Performer relationships

Our attempts to render text scenically alive were structured and guided by the poems of Polish writer Wisława Szymborska. We paid particular attention to ‘Conversation with a stone’...

Lab participants: Leor Holtzman, Anna Boratyn, Harry Kingham, Alice Robinson, Karen McLeod.

Sha’ashua Performance Labs are being delivered in partnership with Hope Street Ltd as part of its commitment to developing artists and artforms.