SUMMER 2025
Storytelling for DAncers
Offered in Partnership with BodyVox Dancer Center
A weekend INTEnsive THAT EXPLORES THE SPACE BETWEEN MOVEMENT AND STORY
Led by Katherine Murphy Lewis & Andrea Parson
WHEN & WHERE
July 12th 13th
10 AM – 4 PM At BodyVox Dance Center
What language lives in our bodies? How does breath inform our stories? What happens when we blend our body, breath and language?
In this 6 week series we will blend the body, breath and language to create dynamic stories that move us. Combining the expertise of local Contemporary Dancer Andrea Parson and From the Ground UP’s Artistic Director Katherine Murphy Lewis, we use the combination of personal narrative and movement through dance and physical theater practices.
Throughout these 6 weeks we will dive deep into the process that will help you fully embody your story. Each participant will get to immerse themselves in the process of creating new work through the lens of the body. With approaches that create a unique pathway that leads to risky, personal new work, engaging the whole body.
** NOTE: This process was developed in the rehearsal room during the creation of Andrea’s new work You Can’t Be Serious, directed and dramaturged by Katherine and written and performed by Andrea. After the world premier in fall of 2023 in partnership with BodyVox, currently on tour.
*Open to individuals of all movement backgrounds and levels.
*Recommended for those interested in applying for our 2026 Artist Residency, if you haven’t already trained with us.
COST $200
Limited Scholarships & Subsidies Available
Email Katherine at katherineftgu@gmail.com to request financial support, make payment or if you have any other questions.
SOLO
CREATING NEW WORK FOR SOLO PERFORMANCE
A week intensive that traverses the early fragile stages of new solo work creation. Taking you from idea to reality. FOSTERING each Artist’s unique voice TO BRING IT fully to life.
Led by Katherine Murphy Lewis
when & where
5131 NE 23rd, Portland OR, 97211
July 21st-25th
11am-4pm
What is the gravitational pull of your work? What story do you keep telling over and over? What makes your story compelling and urgent?
Grounded in the practices from devising, viewpoints, autobiographical theater, moment work and movement/body based storytelling, Katherine brings her unique process of new art creation to the craft of solo performance.
We will explore the craft of solo performance. In this week long intensive Katherine will take you from the ‘idea’ to a fully formed vision.
Solo performance creates the possibility of innovative storytelling, fully utilizing the potential of the performance space. You will create a variety of writing, movement sequences, audio content creation, theatrical moments and visual images, sifting through each piece to discover your voice and unearth your story.
Harnessing the magic of the theatrical space, inviting the unusual, expanding on what is unique to each participants vision, as we push against the boundaries of performance and story.
Katherine’s Bio
Katherine Murphy Lewis has over 10 years of experience directing, dramaturgy, and new work creation. As the founding Artistic Director of From the Ground UP, she has ushered in over 60 new works.
Crafting her own innovative approach to nonprofit leadership and new work creation she has developed a model that puts artists' authentic voices and expressions in the forefront by creating a space for individuals to develop stewardship over their artistry, careers and lives.
Katherine had enjoyed collaborating locally and internationally, including being and in residence with Company of Wolves in Glasgow Scotland, touring Achilles throughout Europe. Locally she co-wrote and co-produced, Tonight Nothing, which premiered at CoHo Production’s summer of 2019. Most recently she produced, dramturged and directed You Can’t Be Serious. Since the world premier in November 2023 You Can’t Be Serious has on to tour regionally and nationally, receiving rave reviews and winning best physical theater at Untied Solo, the largest solo festival in the work in NYC.
*Open to all individuals of any background, no experience necessary.
COST $500
Limited Scholarships & Subsidies Available
Email Katherine at katherineftgu@gmail.com to request financial support, make payment or if you have any other questions.
Making Theater from Interviews
A Hybred intensive that explores how to craft indelible stories that embrace multiple points of view – bringing unheard voices to vibrant theatrical life.
Led by Amanda Gronich
WHEN & WHERE
August/ September 2025
Detailed Schedule CLICK HERE
How do you create unforgettable non-fiction theater? How do you transform real-life true stories into spellbinding theatrical narratives?
In this immersive workshop, taught by Amanda Gronich, one of the original creators of The Laramie Project, and co-author of the 2024 Pulitzer finalist drama, Here There Are Blueberries, we’ll train in diverse techniques that generate powerful non-fiction storytelling.
Through exploring the art of interviewing, story structures and groundbreaking devising methods, we will discover how to craft and hone non-fiction material into thought-provoking, well-plotted theatrical narratives that leave audiences enthralled.
Amanda Gronich bio
Amanda Gronich is an award-winning scriptwriter who has devoted her career to bringing true stories to the stage and screen. A charter member of Tectonic Theater Project, Amanda's most recent play, Here There Are Blueberries, received the 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama. Amanda was also a co-creator of The Laramie Project (later made into a Primetime Emmy-nominated HBO film) and she directed the Toronto production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Over a decade-long career in television, Amanda became a lead series writer for National Geographic and the Supervising Senior Writer at Hoff Productions, where she created top-rated programming for diverse broadcast networks including NatGeo, Discovery Channel, WeTV, Animal Planet, TLC and Science Channel.
Throughout, Amanda committed herself to inspiring new generations of playwrights to create groundbreaking documentary storytelling. While teaching as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York, Amanda developed a unique method for generating interview- and research-based dramas. She is at work founding an investigative theater development institute to expand these techniques. In addition, a book about her original play-devising methods will be released by SIU Press.
*Open to individuals of ALL backgrounds. No experience necessary.
COST $850
REGISTRATION OPENS
May 1st, 2025
Limited Subsidies Available
Email Katherine at katherineftgu@gmail.com to request financial support, make payment or if you have any other questions.