After several years of speculation, we are very pleased to announce that the Nomadic Academy of Fools has opened its (roaming) doors to people wishing to study Fooling Technique in more depth than has been available up until now. Directed and led by Jonathan, the Academy focuses on a core group of individuals, and travel 10 locations throughout the UK and further afield.
After a highly successful first year, applications are now being invited for the year beginning September 2008. For information, download this pack. to apply, please download and complete this form.
*Please note that auditions will now be on the 21st and 22nd of June, and a new final date for applications is June 14th*
Click here to find out about our current group of Fools!
NAF is a travelling centre of creativity with a unique approach to developing an invigorating and concentrated course that explores the relationship between the performer and the audience for people who have already developed a body of professional work in which they have regular contact with the audience and who are interested in developing and crafting this relationship.
The Academy is run by the Jonathan Kay, who draws from a tremendous range of skills and experience, but more importantly with an unparalleled enthusiasm, passion and commitment to the value of this work and its impact on the performer’s work.
Mission Statement
NAF selects fools on the basis that they already have developed a professional body of work in which they regularly come into contact with the audience and who appear open and eager to develop their work through seeing what is possible through the experience they have had of Jonathan Kay’s fooling technique.
NAF recognises the financial difficulty faced by many working artists, has been created to provide training on a part-time basis over a year period. This enables fools to undertake paid employment during the periods outside of the training, thus offering flexibility of training to meet their individual needs.
NAF expects the fools to commit energy, commitment and desire to learn in an environment where the life force is the openness of the individual. From the outset, each fool will be part of a community whose purpose is to ‘open the door’ to the realisation of everyone’s ability to fool, to their ultimate creativity and their consciousness of being present in the moment.
NAF’s goal is to create an environment in which each fool can fully develop and realise the full potential of their own creativity; an environment in which they will be fully nurtured, with emphasis on developing the inner resources necessary to meet the challenges of working with the audience.
Nomadic Academy of Fools 2007-2008
Joe Champion - Daniel Clark - Maxwell Golden - Bruce Knight - Koogie Smith - Jenna Monroe - Sue Pearson - Sean Scullion
Maxwell Golden
Max's myspace page
back to top
Bruce Knight
video coming soon....
back to top
Spoken Word workshops
Still sitting in the audience….?
Well here is your chance to get up and have a go.
Sue Pearson is a Stand-up Poet working in the south of England. She has 8 years experience in leading adult workshops and is currently teaching writing and performance skills. In this workshop she will be helping you to build confidence by looking at:
Starting points for writing poetry and flash fiction, developing a theme, linking a set, warm up, focus, expressive voice work
…and how to have fun on stage!
For details of up coming workshops or to arrange one contact Sue on 01273 552051
La Pute Poete
La Pute Poete is a prostitute.
She is French. She is sensual, straight talking and saucy… and she is a poet.
La Pute Poete has been pleasing and pummelling the minds and bodies of audiences since the multi award winning Poetry Brothel at Brighton festival ’07: one house, two private rooms, five minutes alone with the poet of your choice. She will be only too pleased to come for you too.
Contact Sue Pearson on 01273 552051 for details.
back to top
Jenna Monroe
Jenna's Myspace page
jennamonroe.com
Jenna Monroe was born in Michigan and raised in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of north-eastern California. Of Cornish, Irish, English and Native American descent, she was raised in miners’ shacks and mountain cabins. The raw beauty and reality of Jenna’s surroundings and circumstances, together with her father’s work in the local state prison, had a lasting influence on her. As did the Native Americans, living as a marginalized shadow population just beyond the town limits on the ‘rancheria’ (reservation). Yet, from an early age, Jenna listened to folk songs and opera with her mother and it was this music that offered an alternative reality to her often brutal social and physical environment.
Jenna first learned piano and then fell in love with singing after hearing the Nevada Opera Company. Graduating a year early, she was offered a full scholarship to study piano at the Ghent Conservatory of Music in Belgium. Continuing her study at the Indiana School of Music, Jenna was offered a choral scholarship to train with the director of the Nevada Opera Company. While completing her degree at University of Nevada, Jenna sang in the Nevada Opera Chorus as well as performing minor roles.She also sang as a soloist with the Reno Chamber Orchestra and played with both the Reno Symphony and the Nevada Ballet Orchestra as an orchestral pianist. After graduating, she was offered a full academic scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in music theatre at Arizona State University.
But Jenna packed her bags after only one term of her M.A. and came to the UK to join her sister, an officer in the Air Force. Working for seven years as a liturgical musician, she continued to train privately in London, completing an eight-month opera course with I Commediante. During this time she gave recitals, did concert work and toured with London Opera Players. She also departed from her classical repertoire for the first time, singing a series of concerts that included show tunes. This proved a turning point as Jenna began exploring jazz, avant-garde shamanic improvisation, folk and blues-related music.
Jenna’s interests further broadened to include the healing power of music and the voice. Always with the voice as the central focus and motivational force, she has completed non-traditional movement studies, a foundation training in Buddhist-based core process psychotherapy, Reiki, and a post-graduate qualification as a music therapist from University of Bristol. Also with a training as a Steiner teacher, Jenna has practised yoga and movement with leading practitioners. Now she is a freelance workshop facilitator and teaches singing both privately and with performing arts students.. Having trained for four years with leading sound healer/music therapist, Peter Wright (exploring the psycho-spiritual application of the voice), she has also delivered voice and movement workshops to adults living with backgrounds of extreme abuse, trauma and neglect in an NHS therapeutic community.
Jenna’s Native American roots imbued her with a deep love and respect for the Earth and she was active in the Newbury Anti-Bypass Campaign, co-organising and coordinating the music and singing for the Multi-Faith Act of Witness to peacefully protest the destruction of ten thousand trees. Jenna is also an exponent of shamanic improvisation, in both performance and recording, and was commissioned twice by Dance House East to create the music for avant-garde dance.
In 1999, Jenna formed an eclectic roots-fusion ensemble Aanii performing music from all over the world. Since then she has recorded a collection of slave songs accompanying herself in unique and arresting arrangements. In performance, she combines them with jazz standards, ballads, and shamanic improvisation and continues to move and inspire her growing audience.
“Her vocal technique underpins the beauty of her delivery, but it is the soulful quality of her repertoire and willingness to sing with her whole being that brings her work to life in a unique way. This is someone who has lived and suffered, but turns life experience into an artistic offering for others to be changed by.”
Stroud News & Journal
back to top
Daniel Clark
Dans' myspace page
Daniel Clark comes from a family of profesional writers and poets. From an early age he gravitated towards storytelling and writing, inspired by myths and legends from around the world, as well as the short stories of writers such as H.G Wells and Roald Dahl. By the age of 14 he was gigging and fronting bands, and since 1998 he has been working with pairing stories and music together. He has a diploma'>
As a musician he has been on various albums including Lou Rhodes' 2006 mercury prize nominated album-'Beloved One'- which he toured Europe and U.K promoting. He is one of two founder members of The Magic Number- a 6 piece gipsy dixie swing band, which tours regularly, and he is the founding member of The Hat- an innovative 4 piece band that mix storytelling with contemporary live music scores. As the Hat he has played and performed extensively around the country- including sell out UK tours with bands such as The Mystery Jets, Michelle Shocked and The Bees. The band have recently signed to Rob Da Banks label- Sunday Best.
He has composed soundtracks for both F.Z productions- for their 'we could be heroes' show he worked with band The Hat ; and as musical director for 3 monkeys productions-'The quarter' show, which saw him in residence alongside violinist Michael Simmonds (Alice Russell, Bonobo) at prestigious french creation centre- Atelier 231 last year.
He regularly performs solo both as a musician and storyteller, and he also regularly works with young people, running workshops in performance, storytelling, music and lyric composition and vocal improvisation. His recent show- The Things People Do To Fall In Love (directed by Company FZ's Flick Ferdinando) was debuted in the spiegeltent's bosco theatre at this years Edinburgh Festival to rave reviews.
THE SCOTSMAN- ' Undoubtedly a consummate performer. This subtle, honest well-observed piece is sure to touch the heart of even the coldest audience member.'
FRESH AIR- 'Storyteller and musician Daniel Clark shows how perfectly both these roles can combine in a performance that is charming, humorous and rather touching really'
BBC- 'One of the most innovative storytellers of his generation'
back to top
Joe Champion
Details coming soon...
back to top
Koogie Smith
Matrons Of the Arts
back to top
Sean Scullion
Seani Fool, (aka Sean Scullion) is the shamanic fool of the group. Using Jonathan Kay's unique Fooling technique to explore the inner world, Seani Fool's performances are a deep yet ridiculous look within ourselves at our idiosyncrasies (ie our perversions), our habits (our obsessions) and our relationship with the world at large (yikes!).
With a background that spans the worlds of Witchcraft, Rebel Clowning, BDSM, and fine Australian Cuisine, Seani's performances and workshops are unique forays into the impossible, the ridiculous and the kinky! He's also written a book!
visit www.paganarchy.net/blogs/sean.php to see what Seani has been up to
or
www.paganarchy.net/liber.php to read his book 'Liber Malorum - Children Of The Apple' out now on PagAnarchy Press.
back to top
