December 1 to 4, 2025
9:30 am to 12:30 pm (Mon-Thu)
Can beauty blossom with age? Let’s explore that together! My workshop uses improvisation, movement, and writing to imagine beautiful ways to grow old.
Full week: $80 (taxes included)
Drop-in: $28 (available one month prior)
Language of instruction: Frenglish (Mix of English and French)
Questions can be asked in English and French.
This workshop is accessible to individuals who require mask-wearing. Mask-wearing may be requested of everyone for the entire duration of the workshop.
Jacqueline Van de Geer © Fotograf Jürgen Fritz
CATEGORY
OBJECTIVE
Can old age bear witness to beauty? What would it look like, and how would we experience it, if every stage of life, especially old age, could serve as a model? My workshop invites participants to explore this theme in a playful and performative way. We will use instant improvisation, authentic movement, and automatic writing to create imaginary worlds in which to grow old. We will reflect on our expectations about aging and work with stories about grandparents.
We will also explore imagining old age through role play, observing the signs of aging on our bodies and faces, and working with personal and collective memories. We will discuss, share, and creatively reflect together, inspired by our personal and collective memories. I enjoy working with diverse groups such as teenagers, students, seniors, women, and queer people. If the group wishes, we may propose a short performance.
CONTENT
Each session, we start with a check-in with each other. A soft warm-up will follow. We will playfully work with a variety of skills and exercises: authentic movement, internal monologue, object manipulation, improvisation, instant performance, collages, automatic writing, reading, creation and guided explorations. I offer instant improvisation, authentic movement and automatic writing as tools to create imaginary worlds to grow old in. We will interview each other about our expectations towards aging and will work with stories about grandparents. Other offerings are: Imagining old age by role-playing. Observing the signs of aging of our body and face. Working with personal memories and collective memories. Each day, we will as well close the session with a short feedback and gratitude circle.
| Workshop Pace | Workshop Features |
| Adaptable to the group’s needs | Physical contact between participants Exercises are adaptable Subgroup exercises |
BIOGRAPHY
Originally from the Netherlands, Jacqueline van de Geer crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 to live and work in Montreal. She completed a Bachelor’s in Visual Art and a Bachelor’s in Performance Art in the Netherlands. Her artistic practice draws inspiration from universal themes such as heritage, family, democracy, warring and the politics of exclusion. History often is closer to our present world than we realize, and it is interesting to her to research and reveal those connections between the past and the present that are uncovered and somewhat hidden. She merges a variety of skills: movement, monologue, object manipulation, improvisation, performance, video, collages, photography, automatic writing, and audience participation. It is important to her to surprise herself in her process and to share this exciting feeling of ‘the un- expected’ with her participants. Creating intimacy, garnering trust and at times revealing the unsettling are critical to her performance practice.
This workshop is supported by the Conseil de la formation continue arts et culture de Montréal (CFC) in collaboration with Studio 303. The CFC’s continuing education activities are supported by the Intervention-Compétences program, thanks to the financial participation of the Quebec government.
