Workshops

All of Avner’s trainings will be online for the foreseeable future.

See Schedule below for upcoming workshops.

Eccentric Principles Online Workshop

See Schedule below for upcoming online workshops.

The workshops meet online using Zoom for six weekly 2-hour sessions.

Each of the six sessions has four components:

1. A presentation by Avner based on the Eccentric Principles
2. Exercises, either in the group or with a partner in a breakout room
3. An assignment to prepare a short, 1-2 minute, video on a theme to be viewed by the group at the next session
4. A viewing of last week’s videos with notes and comments by Avner

Each session will be recorded and will be available for review for one week.

If you are thinking of registering for one of these workshops, please look at a few of my videos on YouTube. All of the principles are derived from my performing work and you can get a sense of my approach.

Our online workshops, organized by theater schools, festivals, and former students, have had participants from 36 countries.

Interested, not Interesting

Based on the Eccentric Principles, Eccentric Performing for theater professionals is a physical approach to acting and comedy.

The workshop addresses two areas: creating rapport with the audience in the first two seconds you are on stage, and problem solving as a method of creating material for performance. After this introduction, we will explore ways of creating material and finding character. The focus is on activating the internal emotional state of the audience and helping the actor to always be interested rather than interesting.

Avner is one of the world’s leading teachers of physical comedy. He is on the permanent faculty of the Celebration Barn Theater, Maine’s International School for the Performing Arts. He has taught Eccentric Performing and Clown workshops in the US, Switzerland, France, Germany, Finland, Spain, Mexico, and Japan. Avner graduated from École Jacques Lecoq in Paris. You may even recognize him as the Jewel from the movie, The Jewel of the Nile. Avner has been performing his one-man show, Exceptions to Gravity, for over 30 years.

This intriguing workshop will give participants a firm grounding in physical comedy techniques. For the working professional this is a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at old habits and hone advanced skills.

The workshop addresses two areas: creating rapport with the audience in the first two seconds you are on stage, and problem solving as a method of creating material for performance.

Schedule