Transpositions: the neutral mask, the body, and the projection of imagined space

October 10.-12., 2025, Maribor

About the workshop

A skilled actor can change the audience. They have the ability to change themselves into someone else and to change the stage into somewhere else. With this ability to transpose (to take things from one position and place them in another), the performer can trasnport the audience to an imaginative space, in which difficult emotions can be processed safely, at a distance, much like children playing house.

The neutral mask trains this ability to transpose, to create transpositions. It asks the performer to clear their body of background noises, to transform themselves into a blank page, on which imaginative spaces can be drawn. It seeks to answer the question, “How can this actor, on this indoor stage, give the audience the impression that they are all outside, standing in front of the sea, watching a boat sail away?”

Based in the tradition of Lecoq actor training, this introductory workshop will explore body language, consensus, mirror neurons, and the participant's awareness of their performative presence.

Production: Društvo ZIZ
Co-organizer: Globus Hystericus

Practicalities
Dates
10. october: 18h-21h
11. october: 10h-17h
12. october: 10h-17h

Tuition
The workshop fee is based on a sliding scale.
When registering, please indicate the amount you choose to pay.
Workshop fee: 80–120 EUR

Register by October 1, 2025 at: info@ziz.si

Justin Durel (USA/SLO) is an independent theatre maker who has worked as a writer, director, and performer on numerous theatre projects across Europe and North America. Since completing a three-year program at the international physical theatre school Helikos in Florence in 2013, under the mentorship of Giovanni Fusetti, he has been developing his own pedagogical approach. Rooted in the legacy of Jacques Lecoq, his work explores theatre and performance through the lens of physical theatre, with a strong focus on finding balance between technique and play. He teaches regularly in both Europe and North America.

Alenka Marinič (SLO) holds a degree in philosophy and history and is an independent artist working in the field of performing arts. She is a founding member of the Narobov collective. As an actress and co-creator, she has worked across television (Štafeta mladosti, Podstrešje, Kaj dogaja – TV Slovenija), radio (Radio Študent, Radio Gaga – Radio Slovenija), film (Nič novega nič pretresljivega, Videno), and in collaboration with various directors and artists. In addition, she teaches theatre improvisation, clowning, and physical theatre both in Slovenia (ŠUGLA, Pripovedovalski Variete, Goli oder, Zavod Bob) and abroad (Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, the USA, among others). She is also active in various clowning projects (Rdeči noski, Za Crknt). In 2013, she completed the three-year physical theatre training program at the international Helikos school in Florence.

ZIZ festival is a production of Društvo ZIZ.
Coproducers: Narodni dom Maribor - Vetrinjski dvor
Co-organizers: Globus Hystericus, MKC Maribor, Pekarna Magdalenske mreže Maribor, Moment, Teater Magdalena
The festival is supported by the city of Maribor and the European Union.