Students explore movement, character development, mask theater, and the illusion of mime with master mask maker and theater artist, Doug Berky. Doug will teach your students how to transform into a character on stage using mask and movement theater techniques. Through physical theater games, students will learn to communicate and cooperate with a group using few words and body language. Doug’s masks are used in productions from Seattle to Stockholm. He has taught in professional Commedia theater schools in California and in Sweden and in schools and university theater departments throughout the United States.
Artist Background
When I introduce students to theater arts, foremost on my mind is to create a safe environment in which each student will be comfortable exploring and playing together with ideas as a group. I strive to create a relationship with the students that fosters trust and openness. I make use of many tools such as circus skills, music, mime, masks and puppets to add imagery and variety and to keep the student audience engaged Doug Berky’s performances are an intricately woven fabric of several classic theatre forms: mime, mask theatre, circus arts, and storytelling. His training includes a B.A. in Drama from Furman University, study at the Dell’Arte School of Mime and Comedy and an apprenticeship with mime artist, Tony Montanaro. Before beginning his solo career in 1983, Doug toured as a performer and mask maker with Two Penny Circus, Montanaro Mime Theatre and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. He has appeared on the award-winning children’s TV series, See-Saw, and four TV specials for Swedish National Television. Doug has been a featured performer and teacher at the Eugene O’Neill Symposium, Commedia School in Denmark, Roanoke College among others.
Search Criteria
- Program Type: Workshop/Residency
- Discipline: Storytelling, Theatre, Visual Arts
- Grade Level: High, Middle
- Accepts bookings in Johnston County
