Workshop on Stage

How did you sleep last night? What are you going through while sleeping?

Artist Michikazu Matsune has a performance practice that starts with personal stories, building its narration on the sharp edge of reality. In this workshop, we will share and exchange stories around our every-night practice of sleeping. Exploring “small talk” as a method to reflect on our individual and collective experiences, we will deal with the topics featured in the performance Soft Collapse (Insomnia for Beginners). Through guided conversations, simple performative tasks, and attentive listening, participants are invited to approach sleep not as a medical or technical problem, but as a lived, social, and imaginative space. The workshop creates a low-pressure environment in which “small talk” becomes a tool for connection, observation, and shared presence.

No prior experience in performance is required. Participants are encouraged to bring curiosity rather than expertise, and to engage in ways that feel comfortable to them. The shared act of talking about sleep opens up questions of vulnerability, productivity, care, and rest – both personal and political – allowing everyday language to gently shift into a performative encounter.