What happens when we allow movement, instinct, and spontaneity to guide the creative process? This presentation explores the connections between Auguste Rodin’s approach to the human form and the role of improvisation in the evolution of modern theatre.
In both sculpture and performance, artists use observation, gestures, and experimentation to discover what is possible. Actors improvise to explore characters, relationships, and scenes, while visual artists work through gesture drawings, clay studies, and other spontaneous forms of expression. Rodin’s fascination with movement and the expressive potential of the body offers a compelling lens through which to consider these shared creative practices.
Through examples from theatre and visual art, this presentation examines how improvisation allows artists to move beyond the expected, respond to the moment, and discover new forms of expression. Along the way, we will consider what these creative practices can teach us about observation, connection, and seeing the world with greater openness.
About the Speaker:
Benjamin Sota is an Associate Professor of Physical Theatre, Movement, and Circus at Coastal Carolina University. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Ben is the Founding Artistic Director of Zany Umbrella Circus, a physical theatre company founded in 2002 that has toured all fifty states and internationally to more than thirty different countries. He has directed and produced over forty shows, with presenting organizations including the National Council on Foundations, the National Storytelling Convention, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Al Hussein Amphitheater in Amman, Jordan, Mass MoCA, SummerStage in Central Park, Hager Fikir Theatre in Addis Ababa, ‘Iolani Palace in Honolulu, the White House, and the Corcoran Gallery. He recently completed a project with the Kazakh National Academy of Arts that was performed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and at the Prague Quadrennial.