RISK in Valletta by the Summer University of Performing Arts Icarus Performance Project (Malta) is set to run a risk in their latest performance work within SUPA – the Summer University of Performing Arts organised by the Theatre Studies Programme of the University of Malta and the Koperattiva Kulturali Universitarja.

RISK: El Riesgo de La Reina (The Risk of the Queen) is the second step in the Project’s work on an evolving performance structure based on Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quixote. Based on last year’s performance La Reina (The Queen), RISK explores liminal areas of theatre performance, including an installation-based design, choral work, and structured improvisation.

Directed by Frank Camilleri, RISK promises to be an engaging experience. Apart from the multi-tiered vocality of the songs and texts in RISK, which is the distinguishing feature of Icarus Project presentations, the performance incorporates digital/video projections and an installation-spatial setting in its performative weave.

The spatial setting of RISK is an installation in its own right with a 5m high by 13m wide veil-curtain dividing the MITP theatre in two with actors and audience members located on both sides of the enormous veil. Structured improvisation and choral work are other aspects of RISK which is performed by Nicole Bugeja, Frank Camilleri, Karl Cassar, Aldith Gauci, and Marie Louise Vella.

The performance will be presented on Tuesday 31 July and Wednesday 1 August at MITP theatre in St Christopher Street, Valletta. The performance, which is part of the Malta Arts Festival and SUPA 2007, starts at 21:00 and tickets can be bought online from www.maltaticket.com as well as from Agenda Bookshops, Exotique Outlets, Bookends, and Newskiosk. For more information visit www.icarusproject.info.

Frank Camilleri will also be giving a number of Open Sessions on ‘Voice as Physical Action’ within the third edition of SUPA. The Open Sessions will be held at MITP theatre from Wednesday 08 to Friday 10 August from 09:00-12:00. The sessions are open to anyone interested in working on the voice via actor-training techniques. Vocal and song techniques (such as text articulation, voice energy, rhythm) will be transmitted within the parameters of the work on intentions and physical actions. It is possible to attend/observe only one session. Reservation, which is recommended, can be made against a donation of Lm 5 (€11.65) for a single session or Lm10 (€23.29) for all three sessions. For more information on RISK and on the Open Sessions, write to contact@icarusproject.info or call 79777796.

Frank Camilleri has been involved in theatre since 1989. He has worked with, amongst others, John Schranz, Lechek Raczak, Ingemar Lindh, and Jola Cynkutis. He has performed, delivered workshops and theory courses in Malta and abroad (including Italy, Poland, UK, Greece, Estonia, and Slovenia), since 1994. In 2001 he launched Icarus Performance Project (Malta) whose research in performance processes and actor technique has been presented in Poznan (Poland), Exeter (UK), Moscow (Russia), and Evora (Portugal). He is Senior Lecturer and Academic Coordinator of Theatre Studies at the University of Malta where he specialises in the praxis of theatre-making.