Three Modes of Movement: A Three-Part Physical Theatre Workshop Series

WORKSHOP DETAILS

Workshop 1: The Architecture of Movement – Inspired by Rudolf Laban Explore effort, dynamics, and spatial awareness to deepen movement intention and expression. 

Workshop 2: The Poetics of Emotion – Inspired by Pina Bausch Engage with memory, gesture, and emotional embodiment to create authentic movement phrases. 

Workshop 3: The Language of Play – Inspired by Jacques Lecoq. Discover rhythm, improvisation, and ensemble work as tools for physical storytelling. 

The last part of the final session will be dedicated to integrating the insights and tools gathered throughout the workshop. Each participant will have the opportunity to share a short presentation of the work they have developed. This informal sharing will be held exclusively for fellow participants in a supportive and reflective environment. 

Through theoretical foundation, embodiment, and creative exploration, participants gain practical tools to bridge movement, emotion, and presence.

FACILITATORS

Kayla van der Merwe is a South African artist. She graduated with her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Stellenbosch University in drama and theatre studies, specializing in physical theatre for her postgraduate. Kayla has since directed, created, and performed in many theatre productions, for independent theatres and theatre festivals in South Africa. Since graduating, Kayla has adopted the role of teacher and facilitator too. She completed an internship at Stellenbosch University, teaching 1st-year students movement. She also taught drama classes at a Montessori school for children between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Kayla is currently a junior lecturer at AFDA, the School of the Creative Economy, which is a tertiary institution located in Observatory, Cape Town. 

Kayla has performed in theatre productions with puppetry, movement, singing, and shadow work. Her skillset also extends into voice artistry. She has voiced radio dramas and dubbed Turkish telenovelas. At the center of all of this, Kayla’s heart is directed toward young adults. She hopes to create environments where they sharpen their agency, feel empowered, play without shame, lead with curiosity, and grow their craft. She wishes to do the same. To remain teachable and accountable in how she creates, engages, and develops productions, workshops, and teaching sessions. She hopes to learn from different people’s schools of thinking and to diversify her skillset to craft impactful work. 

Kirsten Schouw is a South African artist who studied at Stellenbosch University, completing a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies and an honors degree in physical theatre. Her training serves as a foundation in her embodied performance, interdisciplinary creation, and research-driven practice, which continue to shape her artistic and facilitating approaches. 

Her work spans writing, movement, performance, facilitation, voice artistry, and directing, and she approaches each process with curiosity, care, and intention. Kirsten values preparation as a pathway to create freedom, allowing her to adapt intuitively to collaborators, challenges, and changing environments across both structure and experimental spaces. She is deeply invested in communities and institutions committed to nurturing and upskilling young performers, particularly those that prioritize technical skill, creative voice, and personal agency as one. For Kirsten, teaching and learning exist in a constant dialogue, with mentorship understood as a reciprocal process. 

For Kirsten, performance is a purposeful act of storytelling, one that educates, provokes reflection, and invites questioning. Through her artistic, educational, and research work, she strives to contribute meaningfully to inclusive and care-driven physical theatre practices, both locally and internationally.