Wandering Aesthetics, in conjunction with Akropolis Performance Lab, is proud to announce a SPECIAL EVENT of The Open Door: Akron’s Performance Exchange. The eighth of these monthly workshops and first SPECIAL EVENT of its kind will be held on Sunday, November 22nd from 6 PM – 9 PM at Lifesource Yoga located at 300 N. Cleveland-Massillon Rd., Suite 2 in Akron, Ohio. Tuition: $50.00 Enrollment: 4 minimum, 12 maximum This month’s session will be The Awakened Voice: Vocal Empowerment through Song, an introductory workshop with Akropolis Performance Lab, lead by Zhenya Lavy, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Akropolis Performance Lab, with support from other APL Artists. The event is open to the public. For more information or to register visit www.watheatre.com/opendoor <http://www.watheatre.com/opendoor> or email watheatre@gmail.com <mailto:watheatre@gmail.com> About the Open Door: Drawing from the rich artistic traditions within Akron, our mission is to introduce community members to diverse forms of creative expression, building community by crossing boundaries, enriching lives and opening the door to the imagination. The Open Door is a monthly workshop led by a different master teacher each session and highlighting a different area associated with performance. From physical action to voice to dance, anyone can benefit from these skills. No experience necessary!!! About the Session: Akropolis Performance Lab (Seattle, WA) partners with Wandering Aesthetics to offer The Awakened Voice: Vocal Empowerment through Song, an exciting workshop to introduce Northeast Ohio performers to the vocal practices developed and practiced by Artistic Director Zhenya Lavy through 25 years of in-depth investigation of voice work. Together we will work to expand your essential instrument and amplify your trust of the body and its responses. With an emphasis on process over prescription. APL’s methodologies open up a means for tapping into artistic potentiality and move the participant toward a single fundamental objective: Living Impulses shaped by Deliberate Form piloted by an Engaged Mind Drawing on APL’s laboratory practice, as well as the individual practices and the Central & Eastern European artistic heritage of APL’s directors, participants can expect to work primarily with traditional song to awaken their voices and empower their capacity to listen, respond, and connect with others by means of the voice. Searching for the point where the performer transcends technique and experiences song as a simultaneously living and historied force, participants will be introduced to: •exercises in partner and group relation to develop physical sensitivity, communication, and dialogues (rhythm, resonance, sound, impulse, space) •principles of vocal pre-expressivity, especially the organization of vocal behavior through resonance, sound association, articulation, pitch and modulation, consonance and dissonance, mood, vibratory quality, and voice-movement-space relationships •techniques for engaging the vocal imagination through sound-making as a physical process •daily practice strategies for the mental and physical tuning of the body/mind through precision, focus, and discipline The singing will be a cappella and will incorporate both monophonic and polyphonic work. The songs, which originate from a variety of cultures and are sung in a variety of languages, will be taught by ear. Preparation: Participants should bring 1-2 traditional folk songs they know by heart in any language they choose. Come prepared to sweat and to sing durationally, with few pauses. Dress comfortably for movement and bring water. We work in bare feet and stand while working. Some physical activity accompanies the vocal work. Previous vocal training is not required. However, if you are not accustomed to physical, expansive, durational vocal work, we recommend that you spend 1-3 hours humming lightly each day during the week leading up to the workshop. The Awakened Voice: Vocal Empowerment through Song is open to performers of all experience levels who are interested in exploring the essential elements of vocal craft in a dynamic, creative, and supportive environment. We look forward to working with you! About Akropolis Performance Lab: Akropolis Performance Lab is an ensemble-based theatre company founded in Seattle in 2000 by Co-Artistic Directors Joseph and Zhenya Lavy. Working in the artistic lineage of Central and Eastern European masters such as Meyerhold, Vakhtangov, and Grotowski, APL has developed Theatre of Polyphony, its aesthetic signature for ensemble-driven work at the nexus of physical action, song, and text that transcends popular pressures to common relevancy and pulses with the temporal force of artistic permanence. Recent work includes Pomegranate & Ash (2015, On the Boards Open Studio) and Uncle Vanya (2014). Their new original, world premiere production, Ecce Faustus, opens in February 2016. Visit APL online at www.akropolisperformancelab.com <http://www.akropolisperformancelab.com/>.