Provoking a Primal Connection... Masterclass with Soo Jung Hwang and Kevin Crawford

About the Workshop

We will begin with a vocal warm-up, followed by a series of physical and vocal exercises inspired by the concept and dynamics of the Greek Chorus. Through heightened perception, receptivity, and responsiveness to impulse, participants will explore a primal and embodied relationship to the voice, activating both sound and movement as tools for imagination and expression.

Each participant will recall and select an intense dream or nightmare, or bring a short poem, song, or text that they have memorized and feel a strong connection to.

I. Partner Mirroring

We will begin by opening and preparing the voice and body through exercises that develop articulation, vocal range, flexibility, and physical awareness. Working in pairs, participants will then explore mutual communication and heightened attention, gradually developing a fluid “dance” of mirrored movement and sound. The exercises cultivate a shared sense of timing, listening, and responsiveness, allowing physical and vocal impulses to emerge organically between partners.

II. The Greek Chorus

Building on the established relationship between voice and movement, one participant becomes the protagonist, working with their chosen text, song, or dream. The remaining participants form the chorus, guided by a chorus leader who provokes, supports, and challenges the protagonist through vocal and physical impulses.

The chorus becomes an active and responsive force, amplifying, disrupting, echoing, and transforming the protagonist’s material. In this dynamic exchange, spoken word becomes a catalyst for movement, sound, and spontaneous composition, leading the group into a shared space of dynamic improvisation.

About the Teachers

Soo Jung Hwang (performer/storyteller, teaching artist, dreamwork facilitator) is from Seoul, South Korea. She holds a B.A. in music composition from Kyung Hee University and an M.A. in library and information science from Ewha Women’s University, and has worked as a music/theatre teacher, eco-activist, and traditional music librarian.

In 2005, she began a two-year course of study in dreamwork at The Academy of Myth and Dreams in Seoul, which led her to Italy, where she completed an MFA in physical theatre at Accademia dell'Arte. For the past seven years she has trained as a voice teacher for the Roy Hart Center, performing and teaching among Italy, Germany, France, and Korea, and leads dreamwork sessions incorporating voice and family constellation work. She is a founding member of Panta Rhei, a theatre company in Athens, Greece, and teaches voice and dreamwork there and for the Georgia State University Summer Abroad program.

Since 2013, she has trained and performed in experimental, physical, and classical theatre, film, and commercial work, including 風 FENG 茶 CHÀ (APK, Düsseldorf, 2020) and, in Seoul since 2024, roles in Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS and TITUS ANDRONICUS, Williams' A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Turrini's ALPINE GLOW, and a musical adaptation of Chekhov's THE CHERRY ORCHARD.

Kevin Crawford is a founding member of the Roy Hart Theatre company. He toured extensively with the company for over twenty years, and acted as a “gerant” of the troupe for a four-year period before moving to Ireland in 1993, where he was a member of faculty at the School of Drama, Trinity College. In Ireland he collaborated with a large number of theatre, dance and musical groups,as well as regularly contributing to programs at University College Dublin and University College Cork. He has been a guest facilitator at the Abbey (National Theatre of Ireland), The International Workshop Festival(London), The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art, (Ireland), and CIRA, (Strasbourg). In 2001 he was awarded an MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

On his return to France in 2002 Kevin was appointed Lecturer at the Université d’Artois before joining the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy as a founding member of faculty. From 2009-2016 he directed the MFA in Physical Theatre at the Accademia. Directorial credits include “Wolf’s Bride “ for Kuopio City Theatre (Finland), “The Bacchae” and “Oedipus” for the Samuel Beckett Centre (Dublin) and “Bartholomew Fair” for the Baker Theatre (Muhlenberg College, United States). He wrote and recently performed “Montee” in collaboration with

Caroline Boersma, Cellist, with performances in the US, Italy and France.