Wow.  Who knew getting your ass kicked would be so rewarding?

Two weeks ago, on a slightly cloudy day, TUTA got together for a retreat day.   Sounds relaxing, right?  Yeah, um, okay.  Really, it was an opportunity for the company to get together and have fun, see some Banksy graffiti art, read a play, and do some workshops headed by Assistant Clinical Professor at UIC’s Department of Performing Arts, Sharon Göpfert, TUTA Artistic Director Zeljko Djukic, and new company member (along with Stacie Beth Green, and yours truly), Kirk Anderson.  Ten hours of a mental and physical pounding.  So much for relaxation.

We started the day by working with Sharon.  I think a lot of us, myself included, weren’t entirely prepared for what was in store.  I mean, here we are, eleven in the morning on a Saturday, drinking coffee, slightly bleary eyed.  And here is this woman, totally fit and cut, asking us to sit on the floor.  Sitting on the floor – good.  Buff woman on a Saturday morning – not a good sign.

Soon Sharon has us stretching, bending, pulling plank positions, and within the hour I, and several other folks, were dripping with sweat.  Now, to be fair, I grew up 30 minutes south of the Frozen Tundra (that’s Packer speak for those of you who don’t know) and anytime the temperature gets over 72 degrees, I start to bead up.  My husband calls me a human thermostat.  I was probably sweating within the first 15 minutes of Sharon working with us.

We also did amazing sensory work with partners – several different exercises – almost impossible to explain on the page.  Let’s just say there was a lot of eyes-closed-touching-each-other going on.  Hot, right?  I find these sorts of exercises extremely helpful because it forces you to put your focus on things other than yourself.  And let’s face it:  We actors have a tendency to make things about ourselves a little too often.  But when you focus on your partner, or some stick you’re trying to balance on the palm of your hand, it allows you to get out of your head.

Next we drove to Racine and Peoria to look at some graffiti art by the renowned artist Banksy.  We all grabbed some pavement, unpacked our bagged lunches, ate, and cracked jokes.  Because that’s how we roll.   For more art from Banksy, you can check out his art here.

After lunch, we spent some time with Zeljko working on improvised storytelling.  I don’t want to give too much away, but it may have something to do with TUTA’s spring show.  But that’s all I’m saying.

Kirk lead us through several different exercises related to breath, timing, and their effects on emotional state.  But the best part, after how much we had done in the day, he had us lay on the floor and ran us through an incredibly relaxing, much deserved, Alexander exercise.  All tension just melted away.

To finish the day, we read a new translation of Moliere’s Don Juan – many men in the play, not so many men sitting at the table.  Suffice it to say, there was lots of cross-gendered casting going on.

And that, my friends, is how TUTA retreats.

- Jaimelyn Gray