Service Description

A new series of truly characterful classes and our first creative painting class. Using the ‘Aladdin’ character as an Everyman/Everywoman/Everyperson stem-cell figure from which our characters will sprout, we will create our very own characters in these monthly classes. ‘Aladdin’ is our baseline figure and although traditionally male, feel free to flout the rules -the theatre and pantomime regularly do. The TALES series deals with stock characters that are a kind of shorthand for the viewer. These classes are different. The TALES stock types deal with recognised categories; we design characters who don’t easily fit into boxes. We make real, interesting personages and create guises and disguises that beguile. We take the idea of the Guild processions and Tarot archetypes to represent 1000 faces and different strata of society, as if our character is in a play, the game of life, the veiled illusion that is the theatre of the world. There will be time in each class to brainstorm ideas, research, play, draw and paint our character. You can borrow bits from other miniatures you like and graft them onto your figure. You can add accessories related to their interests. You can add hats. You can add fun shoes. You can put things in their pockets... Each character is different and unpredictable, so the cover image above is for a baseline reference only. The tiny character is a little pop-up inspirational mascot jinn sprite. In class we'll use our own ideas, imagination and the internet to flesh out our folk. I conceived this idea by imagining Aladdin in a desert (he goes to the desert in my ALADDIN toy theatre). What if this Aladdin-of-the-sands could stand in for everybody? What if he could be anyone? Starting from scratch - from the desert - we can ‘populate’ our Aladdins with all kinds of roles. There is something exciting about going ex nihilo to anywhere. We are free to form our characters however we like. This is an 11-part series for 2024 (shortened from 1001, or 1000 faces operas). Coming up are healers, wanderers, artists, mystics, thieves… Optional: homework to design alternative archetype characters for each figure discussed in class. There may be a possibility to work on these during Finishing School sessions You will need: A4 paper (any type) Imagination: essential Homework scroll: optional. You can think of this class as paired, in a way, with the Scroll Apprenticeship classes, although this figure-focused one you’ll be actively making yourself