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Forest, Fire & BuddyA 3-Day Retreat · TISTO's Greatest Hits
Forest, Fire & BuddyA 3-Day Retreat · TISTO's Greatest Hits
The Situation
There's passive rest — beach, Netflix, sleep in. It works. And then there's the kind of rest that actually resets something deeper: the habit of watching yourself, the tension you stopped noticing, the distance from your own body that's become the default.
When the situation changes, we often hesitate, overthink, or freeze.
You might recognize yourself here:
• living mostly in the head — analyzing, editing, watching yourself
• emotional tightness — feelings held back, performed, or managed
• low-energy flatline: functional but not alive
• fear of judgment — performing even when no one asked
• difficulty being present — even when trying to meditate
• adaptability under pressure — freeze or collapse
The Practices
The switching off happens through: the practice, the people, the nature, and the distance. All four are essential. None of them work as well without the others.
What shifts you will feel:
• more time in the body. Less automatic self-monitoring
• emotional freedom— the ability to feel and show without the usual filter
• real energy — the kind that comes from genuine contact with people and experience
• permission to be unfinished, uncertain, in-process — and to find that's actually fine
• presence that arrives through the body, not through effort
• more seconds between stimulus and reaction. A slightly wider window.
What to expect
The retreat unfolds over four practice sessions
Room check-in
Welcome dinner
Opening, 1 hour
Bonfire
Landing. First contact with the group and the body. Exercises chosen to interrupt the city mind — not to explain the weekend, but to begin it. Sensory presence. Noticing. The first layer of self-monitoring made visible.
Morning walk
Breakfast
Creativity & Improvisation, 2.5 hours
Lunch
The longest session. The core of TISTO's methodological depth. Imagination, spontaneity, physical freedom, overcoming the fear of being seen mid-process. Improvisation in pairs and groups.
Outdoors where possible — on the grass, in the forest clearing — moving indoors for exercises that need more space or structure.
Contact & Presence, 3 hours total
Dinner
Bonfire
Two parts, dinner in between. Deep listening, close contact, presence with another person — followed by a shorter evening to integrate what the day opened. The exercises people keep thinking about long after.
Morning walk
Breakfast
Play & Closing Circle , 1.5 hour
Checkout
The loosest session — and often the most powerful. After two days, the defenses are down. Play becomes real play. The closing circle holds everything that shifted across the weekend: what changed, what you noticed, what you take back to the city.
What you’ll experience
Embodied Adaptability
Spontaneous Creativity
Deep Listening & Authentic Communication
Confidence in Action
Close Contact & Attention Practices
Inside the room
Retreat practices instructors
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Igor Kliuchnyk
Actor. Theater director. Founder of TISTO Studio. 11+ years leading sessions across Ukraine, Europe, and the US.
Igor Kliuchnyk
Co-founder of TISTO · Actor · Theater Director
Co-founder of Beautiful Flowers Theatre and NAFTA Theatre. Co-founder and director of Parade Fest International Theater Festival. TEDx speaker on transformation through play.
15+ years working at the intersection of theater, education, and leadership. Founded TISTO School in Ukraine — 1,000+ graduates, 20+ programs, 21 corporate clients including EPAM, GlobalLogic, and SoftServe. Led teams of 200+ people using theater-based methods.
Since 2022 — co-founder of Rescue Now humanitarian foundation (450,000+ people assisted, partnerships with UNICEF, USAID, UN).
Information& Details
2 nights, all meals, full program, all materials
Held: English / Ukrainian
What to bring: Comfortable clothing and an open mind
Location: coming soon
Payment: Full payment at registration
Cancellation: Full refund before July 1
Experience Level: Open to All (No prior experience required)
Group size: 12–18 participants
RetreatSchedule
Friday:
Arrive 2:00 PM
Room Check-in 4:00 PM
Welcome dinner 6:30 PM
Opening Session 8:00–9:00 PM
Bonfire 9:00 PM
Saturday:
Morning Session 10:00 AM–12:30 PM
Afternoon Session 4:00–6:00 PM
Evening Session 7:30–8:30 PM
Bonfire 9:00 PM
Sunday:
Closing Session 10:00–11:30 AM
Checkout 12:30 PM