VIEWPOINTS TRAINING BLOCK
🗓 Sundays, 29 June – 6 August 2025
📍 South Melbourne, VIC
We’re thrilled to launch the first of our 2025 training offerings with a six-week Introduction to Viewpoints.
This training is for actors, directors, theatre makers and performance artists who want to work from the ground up: physically, spatially, energetically. For those who believe the body is not just a vessel for ideas, but a generative force in itself. For those ready to sharpen their instincts, listen with their whole body, and train in a way that is as rigorous as it is liberating.
Developed by Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, following the foundational work of Mary Overlie, the Viewpoints is a performance methodology that allows artists to build greater presence, responsiveness and ensemble awareness. It is an approach to both acting and creation, rooted in the belief that answer is in action, and that powerful performance occurs only when the actor is fully aware of themselves, those around them, the space, and the moment.
They offer a framework for:
Developing acute physical awareness and expressivity
Responding with spontaneity and presence
Exploring intention and play
Working collaboratively and collectively
Creating compelling theatrical composition
Training in Viewpoints encourages performers to move with intention, listen with their whole body, and to trust that the answers are already happening in the room. Whether you're devising original work, approaching text, or directing an ensemble, acting on stage or screen the Viewpoints is a deeply empowering tool for performing and performance-making.
🏋️♂️ The Training
This six-week block is highly physical, ensemble-based, and designed to challenge and expand each participant’s practice. While exercises can be modified for different bodies, mobilities and access needs, we are sorry to say that the training space is only accessible via stairs.
Sessions will be held once a week on Sundays from 29 June through 6 August in South Melbourne on Albert Park Lake from 5pm - 8pm.
👥 Your Trainers
This block will be facilitated by long-time collaborators and leading artists of The Danger Ensemble. Both Steven and Chris have been training in and working with the Viewpoints since the late 1990s, and bring over two decades of applied experience to their teaching.
Chris Beckey (they/them) is a theatre maker and educator who has worked throughout Australia since 1992. They teach from a practice-based methodology with extensive experience in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Butoh, Viewpoints, Devised Theatre and Text Analysis. As an educator, Chris has worked with Queensland Theatre, La Boite Theatre, The Danger Ensemble, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, Merrigong Theatre, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Queensland. As a performer, they have appeared in productions with The Danger Ensemble, Queensland Theatre, La Boite Theatre, Fractal Theatre, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, Playbox Theatre (now The Malthouse) and Merrigong Theatre Company. Chris is one of the Associate Artistic Directors of The Danger Ensemble and a founding member of Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre.
Steven Mitchell Wright (he/him) is a director, performer and actor trainer with over 20 years’ experience working across Australia and internationally. He is the Artistic Director of The Danger Ensemble, and teaches from a somatic, practice-based methodology with specialisation in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Viewpoints and Butoh. As an educator, Steven has worked independently and with institutions including Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, Harvard University, Moscow Arts Theatre, The American Repertory Theater, Backbone Youth Arts and JMC. As a theatre maker and director, his work has toured to the UK, Hong Kong, the USA, Canada and Europe.
💸 cost
The full six-week training block is:
$400 – Full-time employed
$350 – Concession, part-time workers, students, and others in need of reduced pricing
We won’t ask for proof of concession—we trust that participants will choose the price point that reflects their circumstances. If you're unsure which category you fall into, choose the rate that feels fair to you and supports both your access and the sustainability of the training.
If cost remains a barrier, please consider applying for one of our scholarship places (see below).
🎓SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
We recognise that access to training is a barrier for many artists due to systemic inequality and financial hardship. At The Danger Ensemble, we believe in a theatre that reflects the full breadth of our communities—not just those who can afford to participate.
As a small step toward addressing these inequities, we’re offering a number of free scholarship places for artists who may experience structural barriers to professional training. These include:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers
Artists from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
Transgender and gender non-conforming performers
Young actors aged 18–22
To apply, contact Steven (info below) with a short paragraph about yourself and why you’re interested in this training.
🎟 Bookings & Contact
To register your interest or book your place click HERE or to the email address below
📩 steven(at)dangerensemble(dot)com