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Jessica is currently working on a commission by Infinity Foundation, researching how Indian philosophy and spiritual traditions have shaped and continue to shape theatre and dance practice in Europe and America.
Jessica is also working as Arts Officer for the ‘arts on prescription’ project Creative Alternatives.
5th - 9th January 2008: Jessica attended the World Congress of Psychology and Spirituality in New Delhi, India, and performed fragments of her emerging solo piece ‘Conversations with a thousand fish’.
1st - 3rd November 07: Jessica traveled to Berlin to participate in ‘Traces of the Avant-Garde: Theatrum alchemicum’, a conference which explored the connections between theatrical experimentation and alchemy.
19th to 23rd October 07: Jessica organised a master class with Gey Pin Ang for artists from across the North West of England. The class was hosted by Pyramid Arts Centre, Warrington.
17th July to 16th August 07: Jessica visited the US, to continue her PhD research with TAI Resources and to perform in The Invisible Forest, a film by Berkeley based director Antero Alli.
2nd to 8th July 07: Jessica co-facilitated Sha’ashua Lab 3, the first residential lab which took place on the island of Islay, Scotland. Six days of theatre training in a beautiful barn in delightfully remote and rugged surroundings!
18th to 30th June 07: Jessica participated in workshops with former members of Grotowski’s Teatr Laboratorium, Rena Mirecka and Zygmunt Molik. The workshops were hosted by the British Grotowski Project.
1st May to 12th June 07: Jessica facilitated Sha’ashua Lab 2 at Hope Street, Liverpool, which explored how text may be brought alive through authentic movement and voice work.
13th to 23rd April 07: Jessica traveled to Italy to participate in an intensive workshop with Gey Pin Ang, which explored the notions of ‘flow’ and personal connection in theatrical practice. Gey Pin is a former member of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera.
Following her work with Gey Pin, Jessica visited the Grotowski Centre in Wroclaw, Poland, to research Grotowski’s Paratheatre and Theatre of Sources. She also participated in a workshop in Kalarippayattu, a martial art which originates from the Southern Indian state of Kerala. A strong influence of Kalarippayattu can be seen in the Kathakali dance-drama which in turn shaped the working practices of theatre directors, such as Eugenio Barba, Peter Brook, Phillip Zarrilli, and Jerzy Grotowski.
25th March 07: Jessica facilitated a master class in authentic performance at the Lowry, Manchester, exploring movement as a source for heightened awareness and authenticity.