SHAKESPEARE & LECOQ: SERIOUSLY FUNNY with Ed Woodall (7.05.22)

Ed will be running the 4 week TRAGICALLY COMIC back to back with the 4 week course COMICALLY TRAGIC. Why not join both of them and get a reduction of £30 off! Bringing the overall cost down from £260 to £230. Email [email protected] if you’d like to do this.

This course has a very small number of places. Book now to secure your spot.

About Ed: 

Ed is an actor, director and teacher.

After having studied with Jaques Lecoq in Paris, Ed helped to run the theatre company, Partis-Pris, acted in Hollywood movies, Shakespeare with the RSC, in TV drama, and helped to devise many shows with the likes of Complicité, Improbable and Kneehigh.

Along the way, Ed won a Timeout Live award for directing Een Hond Begraven, and inspired a generation of drama school students with productions and movement at E15, Rose Bruford and Oxford School of Drama.

Ed now divides his time between teaching Feldenkrais Method, writing and exploring movement.

We are so delighted that Ed has been a part of Training Ground since the very beginning. With courses in Shakespeare, Lecoq, Mask work and Feldenkrais, see below some testimonials from participants on his previous courses.

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"Having been awarded a bursary for the Lecoq and Shakespeare course I was able to take the opportunity to really work on my own practice and understanding of how Lecoq and physical theatre techniques can open up Shakespeare. Ed's collaborative and exploratory teaching methods allowed us to push our own thinking and take ownership of how we practically applied the theoretical aspects we were learning. I came into the process with a good understanding of the theory but had not acted in a long time and by the end of the course I was sharing performances with the rest of the company confidently, and using the techniques we learned acting became enjoyable again. From the workshop I felt that I reignited a passion for both Shakespeare and Lecoq that I look forward to using in my teaching in the future. The workshop opportunities that Wildcard are offering are so diverse and I hope to undertake another soon as it was a breath of creative fresh air after the year that was."

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"Ed created a perfect space and environment for exploration and provoke us all on the journey of how to work with the Bard, how to have no fear and bring the works to life through Le Coq techniques.. and stimulating the imagination on a path of discovery but above all for me .. a path of liberation and freedom which is ultimately for me where the “actor” can explore meaning and begin to paint the pictures for the audience to engage with."

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"Ed is down to earth and open which made everyone feel that whatever we experienced through the work was valid and useful!"

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"Ed's workshop on Shakespeare and Lecoq was the perfect space to play, explore and discover new avenues of investigation that I will be able to apply to all my acting work. I felt free to trust myself and what I could bring to the space, as well as challenged enough to step outside my comfort zone to find exciting and fun ways to rise to the challenge of Shakespeare. I cannot recommend working with Ed and Wildcard highly enough; I left feeling invigorated and inspired."

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"Working with Ed is a true joy and privilege, his knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject immediately puts you at ease. And as he guides you through the processes of discovery, what you find really matters to him and often informs the next exercise. This creates a seamless flow from one point to the next, which makes the whole class seem like one long unfolding exploration. At the end of every session I would be left with new thoughts, ideas, techniques to help in my own work. And my body would feel released and unlocked. Ed creates a feeling of fun and openness in a group setting, which made it feel like we were more of a company working towards a collective goal than individuals. You would learn so much from other peoples experience of the work also. By the end of the course, I felt more confident in approaching Shakespeare, with many more tools to tackle his speech and character."

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"I came to Ed's workshop with zero experience of mask or Lecoq, just an urge to expand my physical palette and get out of my head when approaching Shakespeare. In only five days, I left with a really exciting new tool kit for getting into Shakespeare body-first, and lots of ideas fizzing in my head for how I was going to tackle Juliet. Ed is an artistic wizard! A phenomenal teacher! Every task and idea was made super clear, the space was democratic and every voice valued. So many of his pearls of wisdom still pop up in my head time and time again. All the sessions were illuminating, not only about Lecoq and Shakespeare but also about theatre itself, about why and what it is to make art. Our last session we explored mask. Never had so much fun literally making a fool of myself! The whole thing was a genuinely transformative experience which enabled all of us to leave the self-consciousness/fears you normally get with Shakespeare at the door, and step forward into something completely unknown but totally awesome together. Can't wait to do it again."

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 Thanks for an amazing day yesterday - I am stiff in a good way.”
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"Just loved it! Feeling completely ‘oiled’ today and happy to be alive!"
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"It was wonderful. No aches just a state of calm and determination."
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'Ed is an excellent teacher and his thoughts and sharings were an inspiration. …."
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"It was a pleasure and I enjoyed quite a lot more than I expected. So thank you for that.”
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'Thanks so much for a wonderful workshop. I have had a brilliant time.'
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“What I liked about the workshop was the breadth of the teaching. Ed is a magician. Left feeling grounded, at ease and rejuvenated which continued into the following days. Movement is power.”

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'It was particularly special to practice in a communal space again. The energy of the room was really strong and the group bonded as the day progressed. There was a lot of laughter and it was lovely to be able to exchange ideas of what feeling grounded meant to us all.”
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After quite a physical day of 3 different Feldenkrais classes, I had one fo the most solid night’s sleep I’ve had in months and woke the next day feeling rested and very positive.’

Bursaries:

At Wildcard we believe everyone should have the chance to be creative. We want all our courses to be as open and inclusive as possible to anyone that wants to take part. We are aware that the cost of workshops and regular training is a key barrier in our industry for many people.

With this in mind, we are pleased to be able to offer 2 free places on each course.

If you are interested, please fill in this form where you can tell us a bit about yourself and let us know which course you are interested in:

Apply for a bursary: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMZPdEzRhWXxhfPEco-bue81dE76VWytjVUIu9u0xytD495A/viewform?usp=sf_link

Bursary places will be offered out no later than 2 weeks before the course begins.

For further enquiries about this workshop please email [email protected]