Writing and Performance Workshop with Roopa Singh
Saturday, December 1, 2012, 10am-12pm
@ the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU
8 Washington Mews (at University Place)
New York, NY
When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. —Audre Lorde
As a writer, what you want to share on stage is one thing, but what you do share on stage can be another matter entirely. This workshop offers tools to walk your vision regardless of the opacity of fear, performance strengthening skills towards serving that vision, and best practices on breathing for the stage.
The workshop starts with a half-hour of simple yoga techniques, including Pranayama breathing from the diaphragm, loosening the jaw through Simhasana (lion’s pose), and a series of heart openers. After warming up, we’ll do a half-hour of writing on the complex relationship between performance and truth in your life, both as a child and as an adult. Participants will spend the last hour sharing writing, offering each other constructive feedback on the sonic and visual aspects of the performances.
In addition to in-class writing, participants are welcome to bring and share a five-minute piece of cherished writing from home. All genres and levels welcome.
Roopa Singh teaches yoga in Brooklyn and works on a few gigs in law, music, and writing. She has taught pre-law and hip-hop politics, has worked in prisons as a poet and a lawyer, and has performed at the Lincoln Center, the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, the San Francisco Queer Arts Festival, APAture: Asian American Arts Festival, and toured the Caribbean with an independent hip-hop crew. Now a decade into a performance path, Singh is completing a mixtape of her songs, slated for release this Spring at SXSW in Austin, and a book of essays on yoga and hip-hop, available in Fall 2013.
Limited spaces available, advance sign-up required. To sign up, send us a brief email with why you would like to attend to litfest@sawcc.org.
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See the full festival line-up here. For any questions or more info, please email litfest@sawcc.org
Creative Commons is cosponsored by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.
Creative Commons is made possible in part with public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities, supported by New York State Council on the Arts and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The festival is also made possible in part by the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.