You Are
Your Game
Your team can be more effective, more harmonious and more creative.

Arne Zaslove's ensemble-building expertise has been sought out by Cirque du Soleil, teams creating Broadway-bound shows, producers and training programs all over Canada, Europe and the United States.

Arne Zaslove will show you how to achieve your team’s ultimate best in his 2-day workshop – You will learn to:

  • Form better teamwork by establishing chemistry among members.

  • Liberate the imagination, which will inspire creative thinking.

  • Build trust between the team members so they can appreciate and bring out the best in each other.

  • Identify strengths and weaknesses to discover new paths for improvement while helping each individual rise to his or her full potential.

  • Empower & validate each member, to present his or her ideas clearly and effectively.
In this fun, safe environment, participants learn to trust their own abilities and make a more effective contribution to the team effort. Mr. Zaslove will show you, as a manager:
  • How to ‘read’ people & pick a team.

  • How to frame the team so they work well together.

  • How to lead the team, creatively, towards excellence and profitable results.
Leadership skills are important…but when everyone is trying to lead, your team becomes divided. Sometimes ‘followship’ is important too. Your staff members will learn when to trust themselves to take the lead…and when it’s right to lend their support to someone else’s good idea. These skills result in a more efficient and satisfying collaboration.

For information on how we can tailor ‘You Are Your Game’ to your company’s current needs, please contact Arne Zaslove: arne@zaslove.com.

[download PDF here]

(Clients include Microsoft, Audubon Washington, Port of Seattle, Seattle Art Museum, Cultural Entrepreneurs)
"I howled, I laughed, and I was moved. Your skill with the masks, body movement and just wonderful artistic talent was a joy to behold - you exceeded all expectations."
-- M.D. McCauley
archivist/researcher at work on PhD in Environmental Psychology
"It exceeded my expectations. I found out a wealth of information built upon historic, classical performing."
-- Joseph Wiseman
producer

The Mask as a Gateway to the Self

Lecture/Demonstration

It is said that by the time we are 40, we have the face we deserve. Long before that milestone occurs, our faces are forming into the "mask" that expresses our unique character and story. But change is possible at any age.


Peer Gynt

Masks are commonly believed to hide the true face of the individual. It is Arne Zaslove's contention that the face and body reveal rather than conceal the soul and that through the use and exploration of masks we can heal the inner self. In this entertaining and informative lecture-demonstration, the audience can see before their eyes the transformation made possible by the mask.

Every culture in the world has a tradition of wearing masks: in communal celebration, in shamanic healing ceremonies, in theatrical exploration. Only in the West has this living tradition been marginalized, but the lecture will touch on healing archetypes in our popular culture, from Italian commedia dell' arte street performers to Batman and contemporary stand-up comedians.
Time: 45 minutes to 2 hours (can be tailored to meet the needs of the group and its schedule). A theatre or lecture-hall format is best, or large conference room, accommodating groups from 20 to 150.

Requirements: No movement or participation are required, although Mr. Zaslove is available afterwards for questions and observations. The Lecture/Demonstration offers insight, physicality (in Mr. Zaslove's performance of mask and movement scenarios), and visual excitement in his extraordinary collection of international masks.

Workshop

In this experiential workshop, Zaslove explores the natural harmony of movement in the Animal, the Athlete and the Artist, in contrast to the defensive armor that develops in our physicality as we leave childhood and adopt the complex mask of the civilized adult.

Participants experience how the mask reveals our true inner spirits: not only in our faces but also in posture, gait, rhythm and movement patterns. The goal of mask training is to aid the participant in shedding their personal "character armor," in order to rediscover the true self, and to achieve a sense of inner calm, responsiveness and creative freedom.

The workshop features simple physical exercises for ensemble-building and physical alignment, improvisation games for concentration and imagination, and work with neutral and expressive masks (using Zaslove's extensive collection of primitive and theatre masks).

The neutral mask is a profound tool not only for diagnosing character blocks, but ultimately for the achievement of a childlike state of innocence, abandon and freedom. The exercises are based in a tradition of European physical theatre which has no counterpart in North America. The insights and experiences are universal. Donning the mask is a way of crossing the threshold to a deeper experience of the self.
Time: Can be presented in 90-minute format, 3 hours or a full 6-hour day (with lunch break). For groups devoted to more in-depth exploration, a mask and movement intensive can be tailored for the group's interests in either a weekend, 1-week or 2-week format.

Requirements: Up to 20 people at a time can participate, in an open room with enough space to allow movement. This is an experiential workshop, offering simple yoga-based exercises for relaxation and release (loose, comfortable clothing recommended). Participants need not be athletic in order to benefit. The exercises are safe yet profound. The instructor will act as a coach, offering each individual insights into his or her personal "mask" and physical character.

Please note: This is not a workshop in mask-making. Participants will have the opportunity to wear and work with the masks: moving from neutral to emotion to expressive. In addition to the personal insights the individual participants gain, there is great emphasis on ensemble and team-building skills.
The Mask as a Gateway to the Self (lecture/demo and workshop) is relevant and of interest to:
  • therapists and health-care professionals
  • movement and body-work experts
  • performers and teachers of performing arts
  • athletes (individuals or team sports)
  • human resources and personnel directors
  • management team-builders
  • teachers and coaches
  • image consultants
  • spiritual and religious groups
  • organizations focused on community-building
  • individuals seeking personal growth
Presented for Portland International Festival, Jungian Society of Seattle, Family Service of the North Bay, Dante Alighieri Society, Jarvis Conservatory (Baroque Dance Workshop), and many others.
"This work is extremely profound in its exploration of the ego-Self axis. I've seen Arne divine insights into character based on a person's physicality, which would take months of exploration to uncover in therapy."
-- Dr. Frank Dauer
psychotherapist
"This work has completely transformed my game. My concentration has improved and I've learned economy of movement."
-- Harvey Blanks
football player
"We were able to explore by ourselves and learn through doing. As with all good journeys, it opens more doors to explore a promising new voyage."
-- S. Weingarten
high school instructor