The Urge of Being
11 days creative expedition on the sailing boat LAFRI
Two journeys
June 13th - 23th, 2025
September 8th - 18th, 2025
Northern Aegena Sea, Greece
International creative expedition and workshop by
Daniela Marcozzi /Marcozzi Contemporary Theater
in collaboration with LAFRIonArt&Beyond,
a sailing and art project created by the skipper and artist Nikolas Piperas.
The Urge of Being is a creative expedition and workshop on the sailing boat LAFRI.
It is a sea voyage open to performing artists and artists of all genres, creatives and researchers. The expedition includes an initial dry-land workshop, 10 days of sailing in the Aegean Sea on the sailing boat LAFRI and a final workshop and site-specific performance to our final destination.
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Why do we do this expedition?
In the last years, I have launched many projects, residencies and site-specific performances on the sea, on boats, and in contact with grey whales in Baja California, Mexico.
Motivated by the vivid and inexplicable sense of recognition and sense of belonging that I - and many people - feel when we are at the sea, I began bringing my artistic practice closer and closer to the sea and her creatures.
What happens to the creative processes when we take it away from the studio or from the theater - away from a purely anthropocentric setting - and we bring it in touch with the sea?
What happens when we expose ourselves and our creative processes to the immensity of the sea?
IN 2025
WE ORGANIZE TWO EXPEDITIONS
IN 2025 WE PLANNED TWO EXPEDITIONS
FIRST EXPEDITION:
June 13th - 23th (11 overnights)
From Volos to Eresos (Lesvos)
Embarkation port: Volos
Sailing within the North Aegean Sea
Disembarkation site: Eresos (Lesvos)
SECOND EXPEDITION:
September 8th - 18th (11 overnights)
From Mytilene (Lesvos) to Korthi (Andros)
Embarkation port: Mythilene
Sailing within the North Aegean Sea
Disembarkation site: Korthi (Andros)
PHASES OF THE EXPEDITION-WORKSHOP
The Urge of Being has four phases:
1. Preparation online
2. initial dryland workshop
3. navigation and workshop
4. final workshop and site-specific presentation
1. PREPARATION ONLINE
Before embarking we'll get to know each other through phone calls and through a group video call. In this occasion we'll give logistic information, we'll share theoretical content about the basis of the creative expedition.
2. INITIAL DRY-LAND WORKSHOP
A work-flow and research process which intertwines physical theater, vocal training, movement research, body and vocal composition and dramaturgy.We'll practise the Plastique Sequence and Body-voice training that derive from J. Grotowski's training and research, that have been transmitted to Daniela Marcozzi by Peter Rose, former student of Grotowski.
The workshop puts the performers' organism in the condition of continuously adjusting its homeostasis in order to position itself in the present moment and space and quickly react to the given situation.Performers to consciously generate their own urgency by working with the body's internal impulses. More can be found here.
3. NAVIGATION AND WORKSHOP
We’ll embark on a one week expedition in the Cyclades archipelago. During this period several daily activities will be proposed to articulate the experience that we are having on the boat through artistic means.
In tune with the rhythms and navigational demands of sailing on the open sea, we will carry out an exercise routine during the week of the expedition.
- Tuning exercises: meditation and breathing, and martial arts warm-up sequences aimed at tuning our proprioception, connecting with the surroundings.
- Embodiment exercises: we will explore the undulatory component of movement, gesture and action. The undulatory nature of voice, the union of body and voice.
- Creative writing exercises for the creation of texts that will either directly be part of the performance or inspire it.
- Sensory exercises
According to the navigation needs and to the characteristic of the sites we are, we'll train on the boat, on shores, in the water, in caves, close to archeological sites, etc.
Sailing, communal life and supporting the daily tasks on the boat (maintenance, cooking, cleaning) will be active parts of the research.
4. FINAL DRYLAND WORKSHOP AND SITE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
In this final workshop, our artistic explorations will be put together into a dramaturgy that can include different artistic languages depending on the group members.
The material we created during the week of sailing, such as texts, videos, movement sequences, physical vocal improvisations, personal and group reflections, will go into a fluid dramaturgy that is open to eventual interaction and dialogue with the audience.
FREE TIME ~ INDIVIDUAL TIME ~ COMMUNAL TIME
Free time is of course part of the experience! Each of us, together or indipendently can explore the sites, swim, relax, stay the sea as wished.
We'll decide together, day by day, how the time is organized, according to our energetic status, the weather, and the needs of the navigation.
DETAILS FIRST EXPEDITION
June 13th - 23th, 2025
Volos - Eresos (Lesbos)
- 13.06 Volos
Meeting in the morning in the port of Volos
Initial workshop + food shopping
We sleep in the port of Volos aboard of LAFRI
- 14.06 - 20.06
Navigation North Aegean heading to Eresos (Lesvos)
- 21.06
In the morning we disembark from LAFRI and we settle a tend camp in the bay of Eresos. We sleep two nights in the bay, in the tends.
(There might be the possibility to sleep or use LAFRI, you'll talk about it directly with the captain about this.)
Final site-specific workshop in Eresos
- 22.06: site-specific performance in Eresos
- 23.06: end of the project
COSTS FIRST EXPEDITION
The Urge of Being lasts 11 days
Dates : 13.06 - 23.06.2025
Total costs
Single cabin: 1293€
Shared cabin: 1133€
The costs includes: boat expenses, fuel, water, food on board, port fees, accommodation.
The costs doesn’t include: drinks, cleaning, cooking, helping the skipper with sailing the boat.
DETAILS SECOND EXPEDITION
September 8th - 18th, 2025
Mythilene (Lesvos) - Korthi (Andros)
- 08.09 Mythilene
Meeting in the morning in the port of Mythilene
Initial workshop + food shopping
We sleep in the port of Mythilene aboard of LAFRI
- 09.09 - 15.09
Navigation North Aegean heading to Korthi (Andros)
- 15.09 - 17.09
We sleep two nights in the port of Korthi, aboard of LAFRI
Final site-specific workshop in Korthi
- 17.09: site-specific performance in Korthi
- 18.09: end of the project
COSTS SECOND EXPEDITION
The Urge of Being lasts 11 days
Dates : 08.09 - 18.09.2025
Total costs
Single cabin: 1433€
Shared cabin: 1273€
The costs includes: boat expenses, fuel, water, food on board, port fees, accommodation.
The costs doesn’t include: drinks, cleaning, cooking, helping the skipper with sailing the boat.
TECHNICAL INFO AND REGISTRATION
The workshop has a limited number of participants:
4 to 6 participants +skipper, +workshop facilitator.
If you have any questions, please contact Daniela Marcozzi at daniela.marcozzi@gmail.com or by phone or whatsapp: +39 351 886 7010
To register to the workshop, please fill up the online application at this LINK.
... see you on board!
head graphic: Nicole Shakarishvili
photos: Rosalba Limonciello, Nikolas Piperas, Ilaria Di Maio, Daniela Marcozzi (Expedition 2024)