Course Info

Different Every Night is a must have for any actor or director. Most serious theatre practitioners can reference it. Building on techniques from Stanislavski, it opens the realms of freedom and spontaneity to the theatrical art form. In it Mike sets out:

- His concepts for a bold vision for what theatre can be
- Detailed methods in preparing a production for rehearsal
- Thorough rehearsal techniques that release an actor’s spontaneity

It also builds a vision for what theatre could be, a theatre that is alive rather than dead, that highlights the actor’s spontaneity, impulse, and deeper imagination. A theatre that does away with notions of fixing, polishing, or reducing, and replaces them with liveness, rigour, discipline & a belief that a production can grow, develop and transform each night.

Term 2 - preparation

For 8 weeks, Mike will take us through everything he does to prepare for the first day of rehearsals, looking at Lorca’s Blood Wedding as the text we prepare together.

• Creating Character Lists

• Indentifying Super Objective, Through Line, Scene Objectives

• Uniting the Play

• Titling the Acts, Scenes and Units of a Play

• Actioning the text

This course is aimed primarily at directors, however, any theatre makers such as actors, writers or producers would greatly benefit from this process.

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Mark Rylance in conversation about working with Mike Alfreds

ABOUT MIKE

Mike Alfreds was born in London and trained as a director at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lived in the USA for eight years during which he worked for MGM Studios in Hollywood, was Artistic Director of Theatre West, Tucson and them of the Cincinnati Playhouse-in-the-Park. For five years he worked in Israel where he became Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Khan Theatre. He has also worked in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, China and Mongolia.

In the UK he was the Founder and Artistic Director of Shared Experience which he ran for thirteen years, He was Artistic Director of Cambridge Theatre Company, later renamed Method & Madness for ten years, and has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal National Theatre where he was an associate director, as well as for several regional repertory theatres. He has staged over two hundred productions, some of which have won awards both abroad and in the UK. He has adapted novels and stories for the stage, devised performances and translated the texts of several of his productions.

He maintains a parallel career as a teacher. He was a Senior Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, on the staff of LAMDA for five years and frequently gives courses on acting, directing, storytelling and dramaturgy. He has written two books, both published by Nick Hern Books and used in most drama schools and theatre departments: Different Every Night which describes his approach to theatre and his rehearsal processes when working on plays and Then What Happens? which describes his techiques when working on adaptations and storytelling.

Times & Dates: MOdule 1

Saturday 10th February

Saturday 17th February

Saturday 24th February

Saturday 2nd Mach

Saturday 9th March

Saturday 16th March

Saturday 23rd March

Saturday 30th March

9am - 11pm each day

Price £200 Full Price or £50 Deposit

If you would like to come, but need to discuss a different price, please email info@lidlesstheatre.com

Full Balance is due by 3rd Februray.

Where Zoom

Module 1:  Concepts: Process vs Result (Sept - Nov 2023)

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Term 2: Preparation (Above

Term 3: Rehearsal (Dates TBC - 2024)

Modules 3 will follow in a similar 8-week format at some point over 2024, and will also cost £200 per module.

You are not committed to attending all the modules, but it would be most beneficial to give you the full exploration with Mike leading everyone through Different Every Night. If you choose not to continue onto subsequent modules, your place will be offered to the reserve list.

Participants will be responsible for sourcing a copy of Different Every Night. Lidless will supply an e-copy of the playtext that will be used during the modules.

Places are limited and once full you will be offered a place on the reserve list.

Mike Alfreds discussing an overview of his process.