PORTUGAL

7-Day Acting Retreat

Join us in Vieira de Leiria for an incredible 7-day journey exploring your craft. This week-long workshop is a part of a larger acting retreat. 

DATE

29th April – 6th May 2024

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TIME

All Day

LOCATION

Vieira de Leiria, Portugal

2hr bus ride from Lisbon

PRICE

£350 GBP

Includes accommodation and food

THE RETREAT

Embark on a week-long acting retreat like no other that offers a unique blend of artistic exploration, intensive learning, and self-discovery.

Each morning, begin your day with a collective meditation session aimed at grounding, focusing, and centering yourself for a day of profound learning and growth.

Under the expert guidance of Master Instructor Sarah Victoria, your morning sessions will delve into the depths of the Perdekamp Emotional Method in intermediate-level classes designed to broaden your emotional range and deepen your craft. Explore the physical and emotional nuances of your performances, and uncover new layers of authenticity in your acting.

After spending the morning unlocking your instrument, you will move into the afternoon sessions with retreat host Max Harrison, focusing on the Meisner technique. Discover the power of truthful acting as you engage in dynamic exercises and scene work, honing your ability to listen, respond, and inhabit your characters with honesty and depth.

Beyond the workshops, enjoy the nurturing community environment as you live alongside like-minded artists. Meals will be prepared and shared communally, and shared accommodation is available at the retreat location.

This reatreat is an incredible opportunity to delve into a week of artistic exploration, personal growth and creative rejuventation in the heart of Portugal’s countryside.

THE PEM WORKSHOP

In this workshop, you will take your foundational knowledge of PEM and work more deeply with the body and the 6 basic emotions. Learn to organically transition through the emotions, create complex emotional mixtures and explore text to open up a whole new world of creative possibilities. You will also be introduced to PEM’s unique, physical approach to authentic character work.

  • Open up your instrument and expand your emotional range
  • Learn to use the 6 basic emotions to create complex emotional mixtures (e.g. shame, jealousy, guilt, courage, etc.)
  • Learn to artfully transition between emotions to create depth, intrigue and nuance
  • Apply emotion into authentic text work
  • PEM’s unique, physical approach to character work

Please bring a monologue to work on in these classes.

If you have not experienced PEM before, we require that you participate in our online PEM Introductory Workshop in March prior to the retreat. Click here for more information. 

THE PEM WORKSHOP

In this workshop, you will take your foundational knowledge of PEM and work more deeply with the body and the 6 basic emotions. Learn to organically transition through the emotions, create complex emotional mixtures and explore text to open up a whole new world of creative possibilities. You will also be introduced to PEM’s unique, physical approach to authentic character work.

  • Open up your instrument and expand your emotional range
  • Learn to use the 6 basic emotions to create complex emotional mixtures (e.g. shame, jealousy, guilt, courage, etc.)
  • Learn to artfully transition between emotions to create depth, intrigue and nuance
  • Apply emotion into authentic text work
  • PEM’s unique, physical approach to character work

Please bring a monologue to work on in these classes.

If you have not experienced PEM before, we require that you participate in our online PEM Introductory Workshop in March prior to the retreat. Click here for more information. 

ABOUT PEM

PEMis a groundbreaking acting method that provides actors with a direct, effortless and safe access to authentic emotions on a purely physical basis, without using personal experiences or emotional memory. Addressing unconscious trigger centers in the nervous system, PEM(Perdekamp Emotional Method) was created by German director and playwright Stephan Perdekamp to provide actors with a reliable craft and to take care of their well-being. PEMis taught at prestigious acting studios and universities internationally and is becoming reputed as an essential part of the actor’s toolbox.

PEMis also a comprehensive acting method, where all disciplines of acting training (body work, breathing, voice, speech, character work, emotional work, scene work, improvisation, acrobatics, dance, singing, stunt) are taught based on the same technical principles.

There are currently two PEMCentres across the globe, one in Hamburg, Germany and another in Australia with Kalliso. Classes are available online for actors in any location, and we hold international workshop tours each year.

YOUR WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

Sarah Victoria, Master Instructor

SARAH VICTORIA

PEM Master Instructor

Sarah Victoria is an actress, PEM Master Instructor and Director of Kalliso and PEM International. She has been a certified PEM Instructor since 2004 and trained directly with Stephan Perdekamp. She wrote her master’s thesis about PEM in 2004 and has been teaching for over 19 years. Sarah is on the board of directors of the PEM Center Hamburg as well as an actor in the PEM Ensemble Hamburg and the PEM International Ensemble.

Sarah has led PEM workshops all over the globe, as well as teaching masterclasses at major drama universities including at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia, at Babes-Bolyai-University in Romania and many more internationally.

MAX HARRISON

Meisner Teacher & Retreat Host

Max Harrison is a freelance theatre director and Co-Artistic Director of Lidless Theatre. His work has spanned seven years and ranges from devised shows to new writing and revivals. After training as an actor at LAMDA he was mentored by Mike Alfreds and recently assisted him on Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep (Southwark Playhouse). He is interested in process orientated rehearsals that centre around the actor’s creativity and imagination. His plays have been nominated for 3 Best Lead Performer OFFIES and a Best Ensemble OFFIE.

Sarah Victoria, Master Instructor

MAX HARRISON

Meisner Teacher & Retreat Host

Max Harrison is a freelance theatre director and Co-Artistic Director of Lidless Theatre. His work has spanned seven years and ranges from devised shows to new writing and revivals. After training as an actor at LAMDA he was mentored by Mike Alfreds and recently assisted him on Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep (Southwark Playhouse). He is interested in process orientated rehearsals that centre around the actor’s creativity and imagination. His plays have been nominated for 3 Best Lead Performer OFFIES and a Best Ensemble OFFIE.

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A WEEK OF ACTING

Experience this incredible opportunity to immerse yourself in a week of artistic exploration and self-discovery. Elevate your craft, expand your emotional range, and work with fellow artists in the heart of the Portuguese countryside. Secure your spot today!

If you’re interested, please send an expression of interest to [email protected] and we will get back to you with further details. 

DATE

29th April – 6th May 2024

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TIME

All Day

LOCATION

Vieira de Leiria, Portugal

2hr bus ride from Lisbon

PRICE

£350 GBP

Includes accommodation and food

Jess Bush, Australian actress, model, and visual artist

Mike Alfreds

International Theatre Director, Author of ‘Different Every Night’

“Ideally, PEM should be part of every training curriculum.

The level of acting would go up 100%.”

CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE WORKSHOP? WORK WITH US ONLINE.

30MIN 1:1 TRYOUT SESSION (ONLINE)

A group of people moving and expressing emotion in a studio

2HR FREE TEASER CLASS (ONLINE)

PEM BASICS TERM CLASSES (ONLINE)