Location: PNX140
Abstract:
The Life Statue exercise is a performative training methodology that integrates Jacques Lecoq’s principles of masking, Tadashi Suzuki’s emphasis on stillness, Philippe Gaulier’s ethos of playfulness, and the Viewpoints and Composition strategies of Anne Bogart and Tina Landau. Developed as a foundational tool for first-semester drama students, the exercise cultivates essential acting skills such as physical awareness, concentration, ensemble responsiveness, and storytelling through embodied presence. Equally significant are the transferable life skills it fosters, including self-acceptance, confidence building, vulnerability, and the capacity to take creative risks. Through these combined elements, the Life Statue exercise encourages participants to generate “magic moments” grounded in authenticity and presence.
Originally conceived and refined over seven years in Malaysia, the Life Statue exercise has recently been introduced to the University of Lethbridge. This award-winning practice now seeks recognition within a new institutional and cultural environment, where it can be further investigated, adapted, and potentially established as a core component of early actor training.
To support this objective, the praxis workshop and performance—led by emerging scholar–artist Pat Chan—will test the methodology with six to ten participants, ideally individuals with little or no prior drama experience. Participants will wear flexible black attire and expressionless masks. The workshop comprises a one-hour guided training session, followed by a fifteen-minute public performance and a fifteen-minute discussion period. This sequence provides a focused opportunity to evaluate the method’s pedagogical impact, assess student experience, and examine the broader artistic value of the Life Statue exercise.
Requirements
Little or no prior drama experience required.
Participants required to wear flexible, all-black attire as the exercise involves extensive movements.
Mask will be provided by the instructor.
Exercise session to be conducted in an indoor studio.
Public performance may be conducted in a nearby busy indoor public area (observersare welcomed during the public performance).
Biographies:
Pat Chan: Pat Chan is a scholar–artist whose work integrates physical theatre, performance pedagogy, and cross-cultural training. Initially based in Malaysia, she developed the award-winning Life Statue exercise through seven years of practice-led research on embodiment, presence and ensemble creation. Now at the University of Lethbridge, she extends this method to introduce first-semester drama students to foundational performance principles.