photo: Kip Jones Student responses from Kimberly's workshops and writing courses: "Kimberly Dark is an incredible teacher and a humble leader." "Everyone and everything about the course was imaginative, insightful and unforgettable.!" "I felt like she really appreciated my presence in the room." "I want more, more, more! The entire experience was amazing and unforgettable.!"

Kimberly Dark brings twenty years of teaching and facilitation skill to these themes. Workshop reviews are available at kirklandproductions.com

Adding a workshop to a performance or lecture visit is a cost-effective way to encourage artistic activism and deeper engagement in your community. Topics can also be tailored to your audience.

Workshops

Courage In Creative Writing: Exploring the First Person Narrative
expand | collapse

Writing in the first person (using "I") can feel very vulnerable and self-revealing. This type of writing is sometimes called autobiography, memoir or autoethnography. This workshop explores the power of first person story-telling and participants will practice writing in the first person. Participants will learn the nuances of telling enough of the story - and knowing when to stop! Kimberly will also help participants understand how to use personal stories to write about broader themes. As she often says "Every story is about me, but I am not the subject." Participants will leave the workshop with greater courage and skill at storytelling in the first person and will have started a few different stories for completion at home.

Minding the Artist's Business
expand | collapse

Theatre Departments, Performance Studies Departments and community venues all benefit from this workshop and discussion that illuminates the specifics of marketing performance work. The world needs more art and the mystery surrounding celebrity and making a living as an artist are not helpful! Kimberly uses a variety of websites and print materials to discuss arts marketing and touring and how performance artists in different disciplines fund their work.

Observation and Perception: Tools for Creating Life
Special Offer for campuses through 2012! Book any program and add-on the Observation and Perception Workshop free of charge.
expand | collapse

We all have the ability to observe and perceive - and then we create based on those observations and perceptions. This workshop will benefit anyone with a creative practice - whether it's writing, dancing, painting, or just being present in your community. The workshop will also prompt a more conscious experience of social life. You will practice techniques that help build community, assist in personal and community refocusing and remind us just how powerfully we are creating the world, even as it creates us.

Writing For Performance/Performance Poetry
expand | collapse

During this course, individuals will learn about various forms of writing for performance, including the hugely popular genre of slam poetry. Participants will write AND perform during the workshop; the focus is on writing for listener, rather than the reader. Throughout the day, participants will do "writing practice" on various themes that will yield material for a final brief performance in the afternoon. Participants will learn about the elements of performance story-telling (primarily rhythm, movement, repetition and story-progression). Through fun activities and a supportive setting, even those who have never read their writing aloud will have a positive experience. (Maximum: 20 participants; workshop can be 6 hours in duration including public student performances)

Topics such as these are also explored in Kimberly's performances and lectures.