About Zen Zen Zo

Zen Zen Zo is a Brisbane-based physical theatre ensemble at the forefront of contemporary performance and training in Australia. Founded in 1992, the company has continually produced edgy, innovative theatre experiences ranging from radical interpretations of classics to original new works. These have been showcased throughout Australia and Asia. Under the guidance of Artistic Directors and founders, Lynne Bradley and Simon Woods, Zen Zen Zo aims for:

“The creation and performance of dynamic and engaging physical theatre experiences which excite, challenge and transform our audiences.”

The company's style has emerged from the ancient Asian dance-theatre traditions, the European avant-garde theatre movement and contemporary pop culture - where sound, light, movement and spectacle communicate meaning and experience. The company spent 2 years in Kyoto, Japan, learning and training in traditional and contemporary Asian dance-theatre collaborating with local Japanese artists resulting in two large-scale bilingual productions, The Cult of Dionysus and Macbeth: As Told by the Weird Sisters. TRAINING CENTRE The company has developed a strong methodology that draws on many traditions in world theatre. The Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Butoh Dance Theatre and The Viewpoints are the core training systems that enable the Zen Zen Zo actors to explore the craft of acting. This has created an actor training system in Australia that has created a new generation of dedicated, virtuosic and holistic actors. The company's weekly actor-training classes, now held in both Brisbane and Melbourne all year round, include Physical Actor Training (the Suzuki Method + Viewpoints), Butoh Dance-Theatre, Meisner, and Youth Physical Theatre Training (for 14-18 year olds). http://www.zenzenzo.com/About/Company-History

THE SUZUKI METHOD OF ACTOR TRAINING

"Theatre in Australia and in the West in general has been based on ideas. We have a long tradition of philosophical questioning of human nature, and a strong written tradition. In Asia, stories are told via dance, the song, the body. I think what Australian artists can learn from this kind of influence concerns a revitalisation of the performers body." (Simon W oods, Utopia 1996)

The Suzuki Method of Actor Training was developed by the Suzuki Company of Toga under the direction of Tadashi Suzuki. This training has been designed to regain the perceptive abilities of the actor's body on stage in order to powerfully enter any theatrical situation. In practical terms, the Suzuki Method is comprised of a variety of exercises that challenge the body's centre of gravity by presenting a series of physical obstacles. This allows the actor to invoke their full creative potential within a given structure. By heightening the actor's awareness of their own physical habits, limitations and energies, the body becomes open to exploring emotion and truth.

Combining principles of traditional Japanese theatre with the risk taking of the modern avant-garde, this rigorous discipline begins with the lower body and feet, resulting in a greater awareness of the entire body, breath and voice. Simon Woods first trained in this method in 1992 and has focused, through practical research, on adapting this training to make it accessible to Australian actors.

JAPANESE BUTOH THEATREOH DANCE THEATRE

Zen Zen Zo's relationship with Butoh began after Lynne Bradley spent five years studying in Japan with several of the founding Butoh masters and companies. Upon her return to Australia in 1992, she became one of the preeminent teachers and performers of Butoh. Butoh is a contemporary avant-garde dance-theatre form that originated in Japan. It was pioneered in the early 1960s by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno and was initiated as a reaction against both traditional Japanese and Western dance styles. It has been described as a dance of the senses, of pure emotional states expressed through the body (instead of through words), of universal imagery, of poetry and metaphor. It combines dance, theatre, improvisation, and ritual, crossing cultural borders in its search for the universal. At its heart, Butoh aims to reveal the unconscious, inner world of the performer, stripped of his/her social mask.

Traditionally performed in white body paint, loincloths and shaved heads, Butoh parades a tableau of distorted and grotesque forms, striving to reach the audience at a gut level. It reveals the neglected underbelly of human behaviour, embodying an appealing ambiguity with multiple and conflicting levels of interpretation. Butoh develops deep focus and physical awareness, a rich imagination, courage, and the ability to express emotions honestly and openly with the entire body. "(Butoh) is a way of life, not an organisation of movements. My art is an art of improvisation. It is dangerous. I try to carry in body all the weight and mystery of life, to follow my memories until I reach my mothers womb." Ohno Kazuo (co-founder of Butoh) "Butoh breaks through all verbal definitions and snatches the audience's sensibilities away to a state of nakedness." Eguchi Osam u The Viewpoints This is an actor training technique developed by renowned American director Anne Bogart, which been utilised by Zen Zen Zo as one of its core training methods since 1998. The Viewpoints focuses on reawakening the actor's instincts through impulse work and play, and exploring the basic elements of performance - the body in time and space - so that the artist can learn to use them articulately when performing and creating new work. The training is all ensemble-based, with each actor learning to respond impulsively and playfully to their fellow performers. It allows them to function together with synergy, intuition and spontaneity, creating courageous theatrical work quickly. The Viewpoints also develops the fundamental performance skills that help the actor/ dancer/ performer achieve a dynamic stage presence.