Blaue Frau has a vast and thorough experience of facilitating workshops on methodology, politics, and working structures in theatre and performing arts. We are happy to share our knowledge with everyone who wants to work with performing arts or learn about working in a non-hierarchical way.
Here are examples of workshops that we have offered on a regular basis to different schools, festivals, etc.
We encourage you to contact us if you want to book a workshop / course with us. We are also willing to discuss the contents of the possible workshops.
We are teaching in English or Swedish
Blaue Frau Drag king -workshop
Joanna Wingren and Sonja Ahlfors started their journey in performance arts and acting with the Nordic drag king -group Subfrau. Subfrau was founded after 8 women originating from 4 different Nordic countries took part in a drag king workshop by the drag king legend Diana Torr in 2000. Subfrau examined gender and theatre’s hierarchies and traditions in their work.
Blaue Frau drag king workshop offers a hands-on workshop on how to create your own drag king character. The workshop starts from the outside (clothes, beard, body language) and works itself inwards (emotions, background, traumas). Once the participants look and behave like men, we start to build up the character’s personality by doing exercises where you are helped to form your drag character and make him seem like flesh and blood. The participants are allowed to dwell in the stereotypes of manhood and masculinity until they feel ready to develop the character into a more varied personality.
Duration: Minimum 1 day (8h) or as long as you want it to be.
Blaue Frau method -course / workshop (PT1)
Traditional working methods in the field of performing arts are based on hierarchical structures with an external gaze that defines what happens ”on stage”.
Blaue Frau offers a workshop that takes a critical look at how these outdated structures are still alive and well in the performing arts. The starting point for the workshop is the construction and deconstruction of power structures within the group. We use tools from intersectional power analysis, feminist theory, and deconstruction to achieve this goal.
During the workshop we investigate the following questions: How can we create new working methods without reproducing those that already exist? How can we create a safe space where
everyone understands their own position? How can we create a space where art is made based on agreed terms instead of invasive patterns, a directing plan, or result driven ideologies? How can we create suitable ground for a parallel universe to happen, where new, surprising and original work can be created?
The objective of the course is to make hierarchies visible in creative processes, to give tools to reformulate the conditions for creating in a safe/brave space, and to provide tools to work non-hierarchically.
This workshop can be combined with the Devising – workshop, but it can also be done separately.
Duration: Minimum 2 working days (10-12 hours) to a maximum 2 weeks.
Blaue Frau – Devising – course / workshop (PT2)
In this course we focus on ways of creating artistic material through different devising methods. The material is created both individually and in groups and the aim is to discuss and try out different methods of how we can create artistic material together without a leader, as a collective..
This course can aim towards a production but it can also be a workshop of a method.
The devising course cannot be done separately, it is a part two of the Blaue Frau method workshop.
Duration: Minimum 2 working days (10-12 hours) to an entire rehearsal period.
Feedback from participants:
“This gave me tools to take care of my own well-being. I also think it’s good to be reminded of your own privileged position in this world.“
“Everyone should have this course. A real eye-opener when it comes to working creatively in groups.“
“Thank you for a good week with a lot of new perspectives and ideas. This should be on everybody’s curriculum!“