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This is a 6 day hands-on workshop in conjuring. The focus is on exploring the tools used when creating engaging performance pieces. There will be loads of exercises in misdirection, dramatic and deceptive structure, as well as in prop making. We will examine magic theories, apply them and discuss them in the context of performances. The course is suitable for those with moderate experience as well as experts. We will work from early morning to late night and you’ll find it both challenging and rewarding.
You can read what former participants thought about the workshop in the Journal and in previous years evaluation survey.

The workshop itself is free of charge, as education is free in Sweden. But there are costs for room + meals.

Required prerequisite knowledge

General knowledge about conjuring techniques and some performing experience. Not for beginners, but everyone from happy hobbyists to FISM-winners and experienced professionals are welcome.

Venue

The venue is “Sigtuna Folkhögskola” (Sigtuna folk highschool), located in the beautiful small village Sigtuna, not far from Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Instructors

Learning objective:

On completion of the workshop, the student should:

• Be able to practice and apply misdirection, dramatic techniques and non-linear methods.
• Be able to confidently work with the brainstorming process in relation to any given theme.
• Be able to cogently discuss, research and experiment with colleagues in both magic and related artistic fields.
• Be able to use small tools to build props.

Schedule

Still under development

Monday
• 8.00 Breakfast for those who arrived on Sunday.
• 9.00 Check-in.
• 9:30 Introduction of the courses.
• 10:30 Diningroom: Fika (coffee & snacks)
• 11:00 Exercise: The Effect as a narrative.
• 11:30 Exercise: Think face.
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Exercise: Subplots.
• 14:00 Exercise: Cancelling.
• 15:00 Fika (coffee & snacks).
• 15:30 Exercise: Crossing the Gaze.
• 17:00 Documentation
• 18:00 Dinner & dessert
• 19:00 Extra event: (To be announced)
• 21:00 Evening Fika
• …In the evenings, there’s also a bar. There’s also a lake nearby for those who want to swim.

Tuesday
• 8.00 Breakfast.
• 9.00 Exercise: Impulse & Direction.
• 10:30 Fika.
• 11:00 Exercise: The gaze for drama.
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Exercise: Structure
• 15:00 Fika.
• 15:30 Exercise: One ahead / One behind
• 17:00 Documentation
• 18:00 Dinner & dessert
• 19:00 Extra event for women: “Towards a mutual body of knowledge”
• …The bar is open.

Wednesday
• 8.00 Breakfast.
• 9.00 Prop making class
• 10:30 Fika.
• 11:00 Prop making class
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Prop making class
• 15:00 Fika.
• 15:30 Prop making class
• 17:00 Documentation
• 18:00 Dinner & dessert
• 19:00 Extra event: (To be announced)
• 21:00 Evening Fika
• …The bar is open.

Thursday
• 8.00 Breakfast.
• 9.00 Exercise: Text & Voice, part 1
• 10:30 Fika.
• 11:00 Exercise: Text & Voice, part 2
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Exercise: Motion vectors.
• 15:00 Fika.
• 15:30 Exercise: Foreshadowing & callbacks.
• 17:00 Documentation
• 17:40 Dinner & dessert
• 19:15 Extra event: Open Stage – You are welcome to perform (See note below).
• 21:00 Evening Fika
• …The bar is open.

Friday
• 8.00 Breakfast.
• 9.00 Exercise: Applying the new knowledge.
• 10:30 Fika.
• 11:00 Exercise: Applications in your own work.
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Exercise: Applications in your own work.
• 15:00 Fika.
• 15:30 Exercise: Applications in your own work.
• 17:00 Documentation
• 18:00 Dinner & dessert
• 19:00 Extra event: Exploring the Act, final presentation
• 21:00 Evening Fika
• …The bar is open.

Saturday
• 8.00 Breakfast.
• 9.00 Performance: Final Presentations.
• 10:30 Fika.
• 11:00 Performance: Final Presentations.
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:00 Discussion (All groups): Bringing it home.
• 14:00 End

Loose guidelines.

The following are just advice, not rules or demands.

In general:
Some exercises will be physical, and will involve being on the floor – especially in Leif’s classes – so make sure you wear clothes that are comfortable and easy to move around in.
Make sure you have pen and notepad/notebook. You will get hundreds of ideas, and any idea not written down will be instantly forgotten.
You will probably want to document some of the work you do, so make sure you have plenty of free memory in your devices so you can film and photograph your ideas. One hour each day is dedicated to Documentation, at 5 PM.
It might also be nice to share one’s notes with the group, via some internet solution; Google Docs, Dropbox…

For the propmaking classes:
It is good if you have clothes that you don’t have to be very careful with, preferably clothes made of natural fibers (cotton, linen…). You will get dirty. Tight fitting clothes are better than loose fitting clothes that can can get caught in things. Closed-toed shoes is preferable. And a hairband to tie your hair back if it is long.

For the exercises in misdirection:
Bring a few coins in a size that is comfortable to you to palm.
Also, bring a few identical small objects that are comfortable to finger palm (maybe small rubber balls, balls from Cups & Balls, small toys, marbles, pebbles from the ground… anything).
And one object that can act as a magic wand (a wand, a drumstick, a large pencil, a stirring stick for drinks… something)

For the exercises in structure and routine construction:
You need to bring 3-5 simple and short tricks that you can perform. It does not need to be good or advanced (it can even be something from a magic set for kids). But they should be different, not too similar. The purpose is to learn how to build the structure of a routine or an act, so the nature and quality of the actual tricks are not important. The simpler the better.

For the final exercise:
(Optional) It is not necessary or essential, but you can bring 1-2 tricks or routines you are already working with. The last exercise is to apply as much as possible of the new knowledge on one of your own routines, but the advice is to pick either something new that is in development, or an old piece that you’re godawfully tired of, rather than something that is in your active repertoire, because most people are hesitant to change something they know works well as it is. The reason we say this is optional, is because we’ve noticed that most tend to pick something they’ve come up with during the week. Yet, it might be good to have something, for peace of mind, if nothing else.

For the creativity exercises:
Bring a small kit of your favorite solutions.
If you like to use magnets and strings to solve magic problems, bring magnets and strings.
If you often solve magic problems by gluing stuff together; bring glue.
If you tend to use black art; bring black material.
…
And if you don’t have any favorite solutions to magic problems, don’t worry; just bring yourself.

Music:
For some of the exercises you will likely want to add music, so load up your devices with a good assortment of music in various moods; upbeat, sad, happy, spooky, dramatic, soft, rhythmic…et cetera.

Open Stage
This is just for fun, but we’ll cap the total length of the show to 90 minutes, to be sure the energy is kept up. Some might want to try out something new that have emerged during exercises, others might want to show off something they enjoy performing. Still others might just want to relax and be entertained. To be in the Open Stage, you sign up on a list during Thursday dinner. First come first served.

Safe space
We have a good track record in creating safe spaces to experiment and be vulnerable in. One component in feeling safe, is to know what to do in case something goes wrong. Please browse our harassment policy guide.

Finally
In the evenings, a make-shift pub will be open and the participants in the Conjuring workshops can socialize with each other. Improvised magic performances and sessions are very welcome.

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