Master Classes
Performing arts experience required for Master Classes. Please send your resume or bio to training@questfest.org and wait for a response before going on line to purchase a ticket for admission. Check back often. New Master Classes are added daily.

Pilobolus Too
Master Class
Pilobolus Too
Wednesday, Jan 11 9AM-4PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

Contact tells us something about the performers, the choreographers and the audience. Movement cannot be divided from psychology, or choreography from the creative process. This class is an opportunity for participants to discover, explore, and research their own movement vocabulary and how movement and emotion relate to others on stage, and through collaboration, improvisation and play, create dance and demystify the creative process. Partnering principles, improvisational skills, group collaboration, and the psychology of movement are assimilated and grounded in practice and experiential learning. During the class participants discover the seeds of dance theatre with a focus on non-traditional dance vocabulary, honing and developing the idiosyncrasies of individual physicality. This is a rare opportunity for dancers to try something new, hone their skills, and enjoy movement, and for non-dancers to shed inhibitions and discover their hidden capabilities. Although Pilobolus-like techniques and principles will be taught, the workshop is designed to bring anyone of any skill and experience to the next level while having a lot of fun.
Admission: $125
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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An Introduction to Indian Classical Dance Styles: Kathak & Kathakali
Master Class
Astad Deboo (Rivers)
Friday, Jan 13, 1-4PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

This master class introduces two Indian Classical dance techniques in the Kathak and Kathakali dance styles. The Kathak style focuses on footwork and the Kathakali style concentrates on facial expressions.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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Visual Gestural Communication for Actors
Master Class
Willy Conley (Lost and Clown’d)
Saturday, Jan 14, 1-4PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

This master class covers a concentration on the ability to think in pictures, and to develop expressive and receptive communication skills in gestures. Students will learn to become more comfortable and confident with the body and face as visual communication tools through use of theatre games and visual exercises.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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From Text to Stage
Master Class
Ramesh Meyyappan (The Masque of the Red Death … and This Side Up)  
Sunday, Jan 15, 11AM-2PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

Participants will be given an opportunity to develop their skills in adapting texts and creating a visual performance. They will experience the process of deconstruction -- taking the text back to its bare bones and considering the basic themes, characterizations and narrative structures. Participants then re-tell the narrative making use of a wide range of visual and physical styles from the abstract to the very literal.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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Matrices of Content - Dramaturgy for Visual Theater
Master Class
Mollye and Kelly Maxner (Chimaera Physical Theater)
Wednesday, Jan 18, 7-10PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

Dramaturgy for visual theater is, in part, an art of noticing multi-layered details, of crafting potent questions, and of recognizing integration points within a vast array of elements. This workshop will explore these fascinating aspects of dramaturgy, tuning the mind’s ability to utilize the past and present with an innovative eye. Great for anyone with a desire to delve into the activation of content – in text-based and non-text based, narrative and non-narrative performance theater. Bring notebook and pen. Wear clothing you can move in.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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The Living Image – Directing Visual Theatre
Master Class
Mollye and Kelly Maxner (Chimaera Physical Theater)
Saturday, Jan 21, 1-4PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

This master class will focus on the skills and tools used in creating vivid stage pictures and dynamic transitions. The class will include a physical warm-up to awaken the visual senses and prepare the artistic instincts. The workshop will then progress to include aspects of creative writing, performing, directing and choreographing. We will investigate the challenges of directing a visual theater and the possible innovations in the art form. Bring notebook and pen. Wear clothing you can move in.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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The Lecoq School: The Pedagogy and the Legacy
Master Class
Eric Beatty (Lost and Clown’d)
Saturday, Jan 21, 10AM-12PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

Students will explore how movement can be inspired by colors, text, elements, and materials. We then briefly look at theatre styles that are studied in the second year of The Lecoq School, such as clown, commedia, buffoons, and mask. Participants will share information and stories about performances and workshops of companies whose members have studied at Lecoq.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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Devised Theatre: Dreaming Awake
Master Class
Thomas Casciero
Sunday, Jan 22, 11AM-2PM, Towson University Center for the Arts

Emphasis is on a neo-surrealist approach to the creation of solo and ensemble performance. By following allurements and dreams, tracking coincidence, and allowing images of the unconscious to surface, we are able to follow them until understanding arises. We then discover, devise and develop these themes and images, shaping and crafting them with our own talents, skills and aesthetics.
Admission: $75
Vetting required for admission. Contact: training@questfest.org
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