Acting Retreat in Kerala, India - Elevate Your Craft

Hey, you -- want to join actors from across the world for a truly transformative retreat experience?

Slow down, do less, be more
Acting Retreat India

For actors who wish to bring their acting to the next level in a co-creative trusting environment so that you expand into your greater potential.

Yes, I need this retreat

Imagine...

How would your acting evolve if you were more present?
How would your practice evolve if you were more inspired?
How would your relationship with the other actor evolve if you were more receptive?
How would your relationships on set evolve if you were more resilient?
How would your presence evolve if you were more empowered?

What if you could navigate any circumstance creatively and with deeply empowered presence?

INTRODUCING...

6-day acting retreat led by acting, voice and empowerment coach, Helena Walsh, who has over 30 years experience teaching in the film and theatre industries AND Mallika Prasad who is a multi-award-winning writer, director and performer, who has developed Vachika – and is founder of Actors Ensemble India Forum (AEIF) a practice-led arts research company.

Your acting adventure awaits
August 20th to 25th 2024

The Pamba Heritage Village, Kerala, India

Apply to join

Here's what to expect:

This unique opportunity brings actors together to grow, evolve, challenge and transform
in the tranquil backwaters of Alapuzha (Alleppey) District, Kerala
on the eastern banks of the sacred Pamba River!

This 110 year old wooden mansion is the perfect blend of old world charm and modern comfort. The space allows for a deep engagement with the actors art and craft, while soaking in the serene riverside atmosphere in more contemplative moments. It is an idyllic setting to gather, explore, reflect & deepen your acting process. We will be surrounded by natural beauty and Helena and Mallika’s acting workshop will focus on moving through the spiral of intensity to complexity to simplicity.
Students will work closely with Mallika and Helena in this intimate-group setting of limited participants, receiving focused and personalised feedback.

How Mallika works with you:
Each morning, actors will explore Vachika™, which draws inspiration from the reference to voice as ‘cosmic sound’ in the Nātyashāstra - the classical treatise on Indian aesthetics.
The Body is a Musical Instrument
This involves understanding the body anatomically and imaginatively. We learn the basics of the nervous system, muscular release, breathing, resonance, skeletal alignment and the muscles of support. We learn to map the body along the flow of energy via the imagination of the Chakra system. These lay the foundation for how the vocal instrument functions within the human body.
Learning to Play the Instrument

This is the fun part! We explore what the voice can do, and what happens to expressivity when we alter or ‘play’ with the body, breath and the imagination. We play with the concepts of non-functional energy, body attitudes, the sonic body and the intuitive self. Gradually, we begin to intuit practical application of the concepts and embed self-care, ease and pleasure into our daily practice. Learning to follow 'ikchhā' or the 'flow of desire' leads us naturally to healthy habits that support the voice to communicate intention and feelings with ease.
Word as Mantra and Text as an Arrangement of Sound

Vāchikā specialises in rooting speech work in the body, through sensorial recognition of point of articulation. The spoken word when uttered with sensorial awareness of placement, support and focus becomes compelling, influential and moving! At subtler levels, the physical effects of sound as vibration enter into our perception.

How Helena works with you:

Helena’s unique holistic approach “The Actor’s Practice™” will bring you on a step by step transformative and renewed relationship with your acting.
The Art of Presence:
Daily, there will be work integrating life and art through our six senses, through our “organic intelligence” from our biology to our environment to the group of actors present, to what matters to us individually and collectively about the world we live in. Discovering your alignment with these forces will anchor your work as an artist , actor in a potent, personal and collective creative intelligence. This will invite you to become open to receive the potential for growth & transformation that is already there for you to work & play with in your life & art.
Nervous System Regulation & Integration Work
The work is inspired by Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Organic Intelligence® and Neurosystemics™ and works from the principles of stability, support, pleasure and play. It is a journey into alignment of imagination body and breath, working with the fight / flight / freeze mechanisms that ignite in the actor’s nervous system when working with creative impulse. We will explore the subtle nuances in our rich vulnerability so that the experience of your character is more embodied and alive.
Scene & Character Work
It is a fusion of the relationship of the physiology and biology with the imaginative circumstances of the story. The scene work is about being in and experiencing the story, building a belief in story through specific tools given by Helena to give you an ever evolving deepening of your craft. Encouraging an enjoyable risky leap into the unknown, excited by the danger of trusting something bigger than you to move through you. Stepping into your own potency and in so doing a vibrant empowering expression of the moment.

It's an inspiring, playful, transformative and powerful few days. If this sounds like something that you would really enjoy, then come join us.
Places limited! Don't miss out on your chance to work with one of the most internationally sought after acting, voice and empowerment coaches Helena Walsh.

HERE'S WHAT'S INSIDE:

You're going to

love

these

Delicious Food

Meals are prepared and made with love by Pamba Heritage Resort chef's. All ingredients are handpicked, using seasonal and locally sourced farm-to-table ingredients.

The Accomodation

We will be staying at The Pamba Heritage Resort. An idyllic retreat location led by a dedicated team to support our experience.

Acting Workshops & Excursions

Acting workshops with Helena & Mallika plus a group excursion to a show, or a day on a houseboat - something fun
& plenty R & R.

Join The Acting Retreat India!

Apply now to join ➡

"LIFE CHANGING"

'Helena Walsh’s retreat was glorious and life changing. I love the community of actors she has curated and her teachings are inspiring and healing, on top of helping actors go to places inside ourselves we may never ever have gone to before.
Truly wonderful. I love and miss everyone that I met there.
I will be doing this more in the future. Hopefully at least once a year. It’s a nice way to live too, in a daily practice of being present which only enhances our work as actors'

Rosanna Arquette
Actress | Pulp Fitction (1994)

"HIGHLY RECOMMEND WORKING WITH THIS MASTER CRAFTSWOMAN"

"Helena assisted me in opening up doors to my character’s history & helped to unlock elements to their story. Her work is extraordinary and drives you to build a world around your character through narrative and imagination. Her help and support is like no other. Highly recommend working with this master craftswoman."

LAURENCE O' FUARAIN
ACTOR | THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGN
NETFLIX TV SERIES (2022)

"TEACHES THE WORK ON A VERY DEEP LEVEL"

I am a huge fan of Mallika’s. Let me point out that her work spans private and academic teaching, and performance and writing, as well as lots of organization and innovation. She understands and teaches the work on a very deep level.

CATHERINE FITZMAURICE
VOICE & SPEECH TEACHER, USA
FOUNDER FITZMAURICE VOICEWORK

"ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC EXPERIENCES OF LEARNING"

It was one of the most dynamic experience of learning. I have been working as an actor for around 15 years but what Mallika shared was so radical in a way that it really changed the way I looked at the voice. I would recommend working with Mallika for beginners and as well as people who are deep into their careers.

Abhay Mahajan
TV AND FILM ACTOR, INDIA

And just who will also be teaching you The Acting Retreat India?

Me! I'm Helena Walsh

Voice & Acting Coach | Human Empowerment & Resiliency Organic Intelligence® Consultant.

For over 30 years, I have been transforming personal and collective lives, as a voice, acting coach and empowerment coach in the international arts world. I studied voice through the International Roy Harte Centre in the south of France and trained in Fitzmaurice Voicework® at Central in London. I was appointed to the role of European director of the Fitzmaurice Institute and was the co-director of the Freedom and Focus Fitzmaurice Voicework® Conference in 2016 and 2018 in Dublin and London respectively.

Over the years, I became more and more interested in trauma, PTSD and anxiety, which were coming up a lot during workshops with my clients. After burning out in 2017, I discovered Organic Intelligence®, and since then I have been training and working as a human empowerment and resiliency consultant.

My work in Organic Intelligence® complimented the work I had embodied through Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Roy Hart and my mentor Andrea Ainsworth. I became more curious about how we could create a more organic and holistic approach to the actor's process. So, with my friend and colleague Benjamin Mathes of Crash Acting LA, we co-created a ten-week advanced acting process. This was inspired by the week-long retreats we regularly host in Clonakilty, West Cork, where actors from LA, Ireland and Europe come together for an intensive week of acting and surfing. "The Actor's Practice" is a compassionate and deeply transformative practice which moves both the actors process to a whole new level and changes their lives for the better. This leaves the actor confident, unshakable and inspired to feel more pleasure and curiosity in their life and art.

And who else will also be teaching you The Acting Retreat India?

Me! I'm Mallika Prasad

Actor and Director | Voice and Acting Teacher | Regional Director - South Asia at the Fitzmaurice Institute

Mallika Prasad is a multi-award-winning performer, writer and director. Mallika's journey through performance spans three decades. As an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and the founder of Vāchikā Voicework she offers insights gleaned through years of experience - of being on stage, in front of the camera and from a deep curiosity for the human voice. She is the Regional Director - South Asia at the Fitzmaurice Institute (USA). Mallika has worked within conservatory settings, training young actors working on their craft. In other instances she has enabled professional artists on their creative journeys, and has empowered them with the ability to refine their skills and deepen their practice.

She is an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), India and has an M.A. in Performance Making from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has taught voice and performance at the NSD, NINASM and University of Hyderabad, University of Calicut in India, and at LASALLE, ITI and NAFA in Singapore. She is the Founder/Creative Director of Actors Ensemble India Forum – a practice-led arts research and theatre company. Mallika is an accomplished stage, television and film artiste and has starred in seminal films such as ‘Devi’ Ahilya Bai directed by Nachiket Patwardhan, and Girish Karnad’s Kanooru Heggadathi. She is a veteran performer in Kannada television and more recently has acted in the web-series - Killer Soup for Netflix and Aspirants Season 2 on Amazon Prime.

'A place where I felt free to grow and expand, immersed in an environment filled with human understanding. I'm deeply grateful for the space that these wonderful beings have created'

Sofia Tomasin
Actress

“I just came out of the Art of Acting Retreat with Helena, and I leave with my heart full of love and self discovery, and wishing every human could have the chance to live an experience like this. First of all, at a personal level, Helena´s retreat made me reframe my relationship with acting and completely changed the way I see my career, making me realise it is not a destination but that my artistry is something it IS ALREADY within me and its just a matter of enjoying the journey while staying connected to my inner self & artist, which has been incredibly healing. On the acting side, Helena's techniques have taught me the best acting tool I've ever learnt: my senses and my imagination, which has strengthen my confidence and has created a lot more depth in my acting. Finally, one of the biggest gifts of any of Helena's retreats and programs is the strong sense of community she encourages and creates, the most loving, caring and creative community I know in Ireland. I can't recommend enough to work with her and her team if you get the chance, it will definetly transform you as a person and your career. Thank you all!!!”

Alessandra Heredia
Actress

The night before the retreat I was very nervous. I thought I’d be finding myself way out my depth but it is a testament to Helena’s teaching practises and intuition that my fears were allayed and have continued to diminish since the very first day. I still have my reservations about my acting abilities but she has instilled a little more peace, confidence and self love within my clutherfudged mind, body & soul. In a world full of egos, hate & greed I found Helena, Christina & Rachel to be trusty rays of warm sunshine. Can’t wait to see them again in future.

James Lye
Actor

Do yourself a favor and work with Helena. As an actor, the skills I developed access to are remarkably invaluable, and as a human the peace and ease I found in my Self are transformative and life affirming. From day 1 I felt this overwhelming sense of relief that I’d finally found a practice and community that made me excited about acting and a career as a performer. It’s a community so full of care and support and well earned trust. I left the retreat open hearted and highly sensitized to the beauty of the world around me. And connected with life-long friends. Thank you Helena and everyone involved <3 more in the future for sure!

Julia Mae Abrams
Actress

It’s taken me a long time to try to gather the words to speak to Helena’s brilliance, and I fear I still won’t be able to truly capture it in text - I think every human being should just experience it.
But I can try.

I first worked with Helena in Drama School where she was my voice tutor. We later reconnected in 2021 when I began The Actors Practice. I have stayed in consistent practice with her ever since.

Helenas work is truly one of a kind. Since working with her I have found a much deeper connection to my craft, a more resonant relationship to my emotions and body and an incredible sense of autonomy and safety in how I work

But Helenas work has not just been incredible for my career and craft but also my life as a whole. I have found a more profound sense of wonder and curiosity in my day to day life as well as a heightened gratitude and respect for the natural world around me.

Working with Helena has truly changed my life and I am eternally grateful and privileged to call her a teacher, mentor and friend.

Shane Regan
Actor

I had an incredible time on the Actors Retreat. It was so much more than I ever could have imagined. The environment was so empowering and creative. There was such a supportive atmosphere that gave you confidence to be a little braver and go beyond where you'd been before. I definitely left there changed and more of the person I was created to be.

Miriam Baboram
Actress

Working with Helena was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.. It has transformed my approach to acting, and since working with her I’ve seen huge self-growth - both as an actor and on a personal level. I’m excited to continue working with Helena and to see where her work and support takes me next.

Aine Flanagan
Actress

Helena is a fantastic teacher, the best I have met. Her teaching will change your relationship to how you experience your life, to yourself and your profession. And she surrounds herself with a brilliantly unique, talented and like-hearted team. Could not recommend her and the studio highly enough.

Sean McManus
Actor

The Acting Retreat India

Register now!

This acting retreat will be hosted at Pamba Heritage Villa, where the river's timeless flow meets the perfect blend of old-world charm and modern comfort. Nestled on the eastern bank of the sacred Pamba River, our 110-year-old wooden mansion invites you to witness the gentle water dance by.
Every day in this serene abode is a journey back in time, a chance to reclaim the peace and joy lost in today's fast-paced world. The villa, handed down through generations, offers a unique experience with spacious waterfront homestay guest rooms, caressed by a refreshing breeze from the riverside.
You'll get to stay with Mallika and Helena at The Pamba Heritage Villa. An idyllic retreat location situated on the banks of the Holy River Pamba that offers an abundance of opportunity to gain new perspectives, new impressions, appreciate a different rhythm of time and find greater balance in life.
You get fed delicious and nutritious food prepared for you daily by the Chefs at The Pamba Heritage Village, Kerala, India.
You'll get your daily fix of acting, voice and embodiment practices with two of the world's leading acting coaches, Helena Walsh and Mallika Prasad. Both of whom have decades experience in the film and theatre industries.

Apply now to join!

Let's talk Kerala

The retreat experience

The Indian Experience - Rasa

A central concept of Indian aesthetic

Rasa is the gateway to empathy and is engaged via the practice of Navarasa Sadhana. This practice helps navigate the human experience via a framework of nine bodily states and is a powerful element drawn from traditional Indian actor training. The exploration of these states unfolds via pleasure, as Shringara is the overarching sentiment that allows for a journey into different states, and serves as the referent for a safe return to equilibrium. While typically a spiritual practice, the exploration of subtle breath patterns with Mallika’s guidance has positive effects for the contemporary performer.

The Indian Experience - The Chakra Map

Harnessing performance energy

The Chakra map engages the idea of energy flowing through the body and the practice of harnessing this towards the performative energy needed by the actor. The process is a practical exploration of these conceptual energy generators which leads to greater sensitivity and awareness. The practice of cultivating these energy generators is through embodiment and is made tangible through working with sound, sensation and the imagination.

The Empowered Self: Personal Growth and Development

Nervous System Regulation 1:1's using Organic Intelligence®

During the workshop, Helena will be working with you using Organic Intelligence (OI) which takes a holistic approach to wellness, emphasising the connection between the mind, body, and spirit. Actors can particularly benefit from this approach as they need to be in tune with their emotions and surroundings.

Orientation practice is a crucial aspect of OI that helps individuals become more present and aware of their bodily sensations, especially useful for actors who need to be fully engaged in their surroundings. These sessions help you develop crucial skills, such as adaptability, listening, self-regulation, responsiveness, clarity, social engagement, boundary-setting, well-being, and empowerment.

Empowering the collective

Group Resiliency Circles

Neurosystemics™ Resiliency Circles are a valuable tool for actors as they create a space for collective empowerment. In these circles, individuals are encouraged to support and uplift one another, which strengthens the group as a whole. By building a relational field of acceptance, empathy, trust, and vulnerability, individuals in the circle can find enough trust to share their struggles, hopes, and aspirations. This creates a strong foundation of connection and understanding that can enhance group resiliency.

Giving everyone in the group a voice and the space to speak is a crucial component of Neurosystemics™ Resiliency Circles. This enables individuals to share their perspectives, experiences, and insights, leading to more open communication and a deeper sense of community. By doing so, it can lead to greater diversity, equality, and inclusion in the performing arts culture, as everyone's voices are equally valued and respected.

Creative Flow

Daily voice, acting and embodiment masterclasses

You meet with Helena daily for voice, body, character integration work and nervous system regulation work. The work is inspired by Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Organic Intelligence® and Neurosystemics™ and works from the principles of stability, support, pleasure and play. It is a journey into alignment of imagination body and breath, working with the fight / flight / freeze mechanisms that ignite in the actor’s nervous system when working with creative impulse. We will explore the subtle nuances in our rich vulnerability so that the experience of your character is more embodied and alive.

Outcomes

Together we go further

The actor has worked consistently in practice and process and now recognises their own and another actors' boundaries as an important part of trust, equality and skilled listening.

Trust, acceptance and empathy have been established as the code of ethics within the way the actors communicate with each other.

You will feel a great sense of liberation and freedom of expression and innovation and creativity is flourishing and boundless.

I'm ready to join

I'M IN

Still Got Questions?

What are the logistics?

HOW MUCH IT COSTS?

WHAT IS FITZMAURICE VOICEWORK?

What is Fitzmaurice Voicework®?
The purpose of Fitzmaurice Voicework® is to support people in finding and using their unique voices—in healthy, clear, and creative ways—while developing greater freedom and presence.

Fitzmaurice Voicework® combines adaptations of classical voice training techniques with modifications of yoga, shiatsu, bioenergetics, energy work, and many other disciplines (see primary sources for more information). This integration serves to harmonize the voluntary and involuntary aspects of the nervous system, and the voice.

Through deep and practical explorations of the dynamics between body, breath, voice, imagination, and language, the work develops vibrant voices that communicate intention and feeling without excess effort.

Fitzmaurice Voicework focuses on the whole human voice, and can support speaking for performance, public speaking, singing, voice with movement, vocal rehabilitation, and developing greater presence. Since breath and voice lie at the intersection of the material and the non-material, this work can also assist in creative, intellectual, and spiritual growth. Visit Writings to explore further.

Where is it taught?
Fitzmaurice Voicework® is taught at Yale School of Drama, Harvard University/American Repertory Theatre's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, New York University's Graduate Acting Program (and some NYU undergraduate studios), the University of California-Irvine, and hundreds of other institutions around the world.

Fitzmaurice Voicework® includes:

Destructuring
Destructuring promotes awareness and aliveness in the body, spontaneous and free breathing, and wide-ranging vocal expressivity—using Tremorwork®, a variety of other dynamic exercises, and hands-on work.

Restructuring
Restructuring encourages a healthy economy of effort while speaking or singing—and a deep connection to language and listener—using modified bel canto techniques and the "focus line."

Presence
Presence work develops natural vibrancy and the capacity to be open to the world while still having healthy boundaries. It is rooted in being fluidly aware of internal and external experiences while focusing on what matters in the moment.

Play
Play invites you to bring your whole spirit and curiosity to whatever you're engaging with. Within the context of play, you can explore all applications of Fitzmaurice Voicework.

What is Organic Intelligence®?

What is Neurosystemics?

What is NeuroSystemics

NeuroSystemics is a mindfulness-based and relational method for people's personal and collective development towards greater levels of well-being, resilience, and empowerment in dealing with the challenges of daily life (work, relationships, community, culture). So that we can begin to meet and master life's challenges, which deepens our experience of meaning, aliveness and belonging.

How does NeuroSystemics work

Neuro = nervous system (which organizes the way we process information and experiences)

Systems = the many layers of systems (relational, cultural, societal, ecological) that we live within

NeuroSystemics session = we have a free and unstructured conversation in which we'll talk about whatever is at the foreground of your life's unfolding that day (personally or as a group). As a Neurosystemics practictioner, I will help you explore your here-and-now experience that goes along with the content of our conversation. As we'll begin to explore and expand on -- often unnoticed -- signals that are coming from your body and mind, we find that when these signals are noticed and nurtured by our shared attention, they will begin to bring new insights and resources for meeting and mastering your challenges and goals in life.

What's different about the approach

Working with the whole nervous system (MOSAIC) instead of one channel (like CBT, or emotion-focused, or hypnotherapy with imagery, etc.)
A positive reinforcement and non-pathologizing framework (looking for signs of health and healing instead of disease and disorder)
Going beyond Resiliency (phase 2) towards Prosilience / Coherence (phase 3). Prosilience (and coherence) mean our capacity to grow in many ways. This happens by meeting and mastering life's challenges. We therefore hold the possibility of living a full life, with on-going exploration of our human experience and an ever-increasing curiosity that fuels learning, growth and (spiritual) development.
Leaving behind the excessive reductionism and individualism of traditional therapy. We rather include all systems that we (and our clients) live in and engage with (i.e. Sense, Self, Social, Societal, Soil, Stars, what have you). To do that we offer different practices (self-regulation, 1on1, circles, forums)
We are utilizing the importance of the healing relationship and actively engaging as therapist/facilitator as compared to ‘doing a protocol’.

MY LAST PIECE OF ADVICE

The embodied character is the most intimate expression of the human experience.

To truly offer an authentic, moving human experience in your storytelling requires a nuanced, subtle, flexible and pleasurable connection to your voice. The voice is the most intimate expression of the self and can convey ten thousand intimacies through a freely expressive, present actor.