Devised Theatre

This book is written for all companies, student and professional, who are interested in non-text-based theatre and shines a practical light on the passionate business of the devising process. It includes suggestions and advice on getting started and developing trust and communication within the devising company; how to research and use the results to stimulate ideas and discussion in the rehearsal period; encouraging, channelling, and developing ideas in the rehearsal room; discovering and incorporating the unexpected in rehearsal; backstage and design work, with sample checklists; raising money and organizing budgets; and how to stop talking, start playing, and develop the performance for an audience.

Devising Theatre is a practical handbook that combines a critical analysis of contemporary devised theatre practice with descriptions of selected companies, and suggestions for any group devising theatre from scratch. It is the first book to propose a general theory of devised theatre. After identifying the unique nature of this type of performance, the author examines how devised theatre is perceived by professional practitioners, and provides an historical overview illustrating how it has evolved since the 1960s. Alison Oddey examines the particular working practices and products of a number of professional companies, including a Reminiscence theatre for the elderly and a theatre-in-education group, and offers ideas and exercises for exploration and experimentation.

Ensemble devising can be a daunting prospect for many actors: it requires a level of imagination, commitment and risk-taking not always seen in conventional theatre. In this handy volume, Davis Robinson uses his wealth of knowledge and expertise, garnered over thirty years of devising, to teach you the ins and outs of ensemble theatre making. A Practical Guide to Ensemble Devising leads you through the process of collaborative theatre, from warm-ups and generating ideas to editing and polishing a performance. It features a comprehensive series of exercises throughout, which will allow you to build the foundational skills required for a range of productive ensemble work. By discussing the work of a number of internationally acclaimed practitioners, Robinson encourages you to develop your own unique style of performance. Lively and accessible, this book is invaluable for anyone interested in developing their devising skills.

Much of the theatre we make starts with a script and a story given to us by someone else. But what happens when we're required to start from scratch? How do we begin to make theatre using our own ideas, our own perspective, our own stories? A Beginner's Guide to Devising Theatre, written by the artistic directors of the award-winning young people's performance company Junction 25 and is aimed at those new to devising or wanting to further develop their skills. It explores creative ways to create original theatre from a contemporary stimulus. It offers a structure within which to approach the creative process, including ideas on finding a starting point, generating material, composition and design; it offers practical ideas for use in rehearsal; and it presents grounding in terminology that will support a confident and informed approach to production. The book features contributions from some of the young performers who have been a part of Junction 25's work to date, as well as key artists and companies that work professionally in devised theatre, including case studies from Quarantine, the Team, Mammalian Diving Reflex, Nic Green and Ontroerend Goed. The work of Junction 25 is used to illustrate the concepts and ideas set out in the book. Ideal for any student faced with the challenge of creating work from scratch, A Beginner's Guide to Devising Theatre offers constructive guidance, which supports the requirements of students taking Drama and Theatre Studies courses. The book includes a foreword by theatre critic Lyn Gardner.

Our imagination is boundless. When creating a piece of theatre, we don't need to limit ourselves to those situations we encounter in real life. Our characters can exist in dreams and other surreal places; we can even travel through time. As humans we crave stories that will take us away from our ordinary world and physical theatre is the perfect form to meet this need."Your Handy Companion to Devising and Physical Theatre" is particularly useful for those studying for a post-16 drama qualification and for teachers who encourage their students to be as theatrical as possible when creating their own work. The book includes:An advocacy chapter on the joys of physical theatre and ensemble work.A simple outline on structuring the devising process.Exercises for building the ensemble, creating characters, developing the story and using theatrical devices.This second edition includes advice on working towards a post-16 qualification and how to use 'Five Plays to Play With' in the classroom.

'This is a close companion to Frantic Assembly's practice and one that is written with an open and engaging, even disarming, tone ... A rich, rewarding and compelling text.' Stuart Andrews, University of Surrey

As Frantic Assembly move into their twentieth year of producing innovative and adventurous theatre, this new edition of their well-loved book demystifies the process of devising theatre in an unusually candid way. Artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett offer an intimate and invaluable insight into their evolution and success, in the hope that sharing their experiences of devising theatre will encourage and inspire students and fellow practitioners.The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is a uniquely personal account of the history and practice of this remarkable company, and includes: practical exercises; essays on devising, writing and choreography; suggestions for scene development; a 16-page colour section, and illustrations throughout; a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances. This is an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the working processes of Frantic Assembly, whose playful, intelligent and dynamic productions continue to be acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.

A Director Prepares is a thought-provoking examination of the challenges of making theatre. In it, Anne Bogart speaks candidly and with wisdom of the courage required to create 'art with great presence'. Each chapter tackles one of the seven major areas Bogart has identified as both potential partner and potential obstacle to art-making. They are Violence; Memory; Terror; Eroticism; Stereotype; Embarrassment; and Resistance. Each one can be used to generate extraordinary creative energy, if we know how to use it. A Director Prepares offers every practitioner an extraordinary insight into the creative process. It is a handbook, Bible and manifesto, all in one. No other book on the art of theatre comes even close to offering this much understanding, experience and inspiration.

Collective creation - the practice of collaboratively devising works of performance - rose to prominence not simply as a performance making method, but as an institutional model. By examining theatre practices in Europe and North America, this book explores collective creation's roots in the theatrical experiments of the early twentieth century.

Pioneering participatory, social change-oriented media, the program had a national and international impact on documentary film-making, yet this is the first comprehensive history and analysis of its work. The volume's contributors study dozens of films produced by the program, their themes, aesthetics, and politics, and evaluate their legacy and the program's place in Canadian, Québécois, and world cinema. An informative and nuanced look at a cinematic movement, Challenge for Change reemphasizes not just the importance of the NFB and its programs but also the role documentaries can play in improving the world.

This edited volume situates its contemporary practice in the tradition which emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance examines collective and devised theatre practices internationally and demonstrates the prevalence, breadth, and significance of modern collective creation.

This fifth edition of the classic Modern Canadian Plays sets out an even broader range of plays than previous editions. The plays in the first volume date from 1967 to 1991, and outline an indigenous Canadian drama emerging from its colonial roots to celebrate a rising nationalism. But more to the point, the plays in this edition carry with them a distinct flavour of adventurousness in a juxtaposition that is strikingly, even wildly, various--plays that can only be said to cohere around the difficulty of amorphous notions such as social justice, cultural belonging and the existence of a collective past. Modern Canadian Plays continues to stand as the standard anthology for Canadian drama--for good reason. The plays in Volume One include: The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, George Ryga (1967) Les Belles Soeurs, Michel Tremblay (1968) Leaving Home, David French (1972) Sticks and Stones (The Donnellys, Part One), James Reaney (1973) Zastrozzi, George F. Walker (1977) Billy Bishop Goes to War, John Gray with Eric Peterson (1978) Balconville, David Fennario (1979) Blood Relations, Sharon Pollock (1980) Drag Queens on Trial, Sky Gilbert (1985) Bordertown Café, Kelly Rebar (1987) Toronto, Mississippi, Joan MacLeod (1987) Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Ann-Marie MacDonald (1988) Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, Tomson Highway (1989) Lion in the Streets, Judith Thompson (1990) Life Without Instruction, Sally Clark (1991)

A resource book, packed with 101 lively drama games for use in any classroom or workshop setting, suitable for players of all ages. These games explore a wide range of core drama skills: energy, focus, teamwork, trust, character, storytelling, imagination, and improvisation, as well as warming up and cooling down exercises.

Critical Perspectives on Canadian Theatre in English sets out to make the best critical and scholarly work in the field readily available. The series publishes the work of scholars and critics who have traced the coming-into-prominence of a vibrant theatrical community in English Canada.

Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject. Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written collaboratively with practitioners and members from the academic community and is divided into three sections: 1. Introduction and an approach to training ensembles 2. Practitioner case studies and analysis of specific practical approaches to training ensembles (or individuals in an ensemble context) 3. Succinct perspectives from practitioners reflecting on a range of questions including: What is an ensemble?; the place of ensemble in the contemporary theatre landscape; and training issues.

Games for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and best selling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal's revolutionary Method, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyonenbsp;- actors and non-actors alike! This thoroughly updated and substantially revised second edition includes: two new essays by Boal on major recent projects in Brazil Boal's description of his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company anbsp;revised introduction and translator's preface anbsp;collection of photographs taken during Boal's workshops, commissioned for this edition new reflections on Forum Theatre.

'Keith Johnstone''s involvement with the theatre began when George Devine and Tony Richardson, artistic directors of the Royal Court Theatre, commissioned a play from him. This was the year of Look Back in Anger in 1956. A few years later he was himself Associate Artistic Director, in particular helping to run the writers'' group. The techniques and exercises evolved there to foster spontaneity and narrative skills were developed further in the actors'' studio, then in demonstrations to schools and colleges and ultimately in the founding of a company of performers called The Theatre Machine. Divided into four sections, Status, Spontaneity, Narrative Skills and Masks and Trance, arranged more or less in the order a group might approach them, the book sets out the specific techniques and exercises which Johnstone has himself found most useful and most stimulating. The result is a fascinating exploration of the nature of spontaneous creativity.

Here is the thoroughly revised third edition of the bible of improvisational theater. Viola Spolin's improvisational techniques changed the very nature and practice of modern theater. The first two editions of Improvisation for the Theater sold more than 100,000 copies and inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theater, television, film. These techniques have also influenced the fields of education, mental health, social work, and psychology.

Paper Wheat is a play by the 25th Street Theatre Centre about the hard lives of early Saskatchewan settlers and the foundation of the wheat pools and the Co-op movement on the Canadian Prairies. The most successful stage show in Saskatchewan history, Paper Wheat opened in Sintaluta, Saskatchewan on May 18, 1977 and subsequently played to full houses across the province and nation.

See Part 4: Creativity in the Domains

Explaining Creativity is an accessible introduction to the latest scientific research on creativity. The book summarizes and integrates a broad range of research in psychology and related scientific fields. In the last 40 years, psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists have devoted increased attention to creativity; we now know more about creativity than at any point in history. IExplaining Creativity/I considers not only arts like painting and writing, but also science, stage performance, business innovation, and creativity in everyday life. Sawyer's approach is interdisciplinary. In addition to examining psychological studies on creativity, he draws on anthropologists' research on creativity in non-Western cultures, sociologists' research on the situations, contexts, and networks of creative activity, and cognitive neuroscientists' studies of the brain. He moves beyond the individual to consider the social and cultural contexts of creativity, including the role of collaboration in the creative process.

Newly adapted for the Anglophone reader, this is an excellent translation of Hans-Thies Lehmann's groundbreaking study of the new theatre forms that have developed since the late 1960s, which has become a key reference point in international discussions of contemporary theatre. In looking at the developments since the late 1960s, Lehmann considers them in relation to dramatic theory and theatre history, as an inventive response to the emergence of new technologies, and as an historical shift from a text-based culture to a new media age of image and sound. Engaging with theoreticians of 'drama' from Aristotle and Brecht, to Barthesnbsp;and Schechner, the book analyzes the work of recent experimental theatre practitioners such as Robert Wilson, Tadeusz Kantor, Heiner Müller, the Wooster Group, Needcompany and Societas Raffaello Sanzio. Illustrated by a wealth of practical examples, and with an introduction by Karen Jürs-Munby providing useful theoretical and artistic contexts for the book, Postdramatic Theatre is an historical survey expertly combined with a unique theoretical approach which guides the reader through this new theatre landscape.

Potent and empowering voice exercises by the master teachers who devised them! One of the constants that any actor, director or theatre teacher needs is a strong vocal warmup. This valuable, first-of-its-kind resource contains 75 exercises for both solo and group work, contributed by some of the best professionals in the world. There is a brief description of the history and purpose of each exercise followed by the exercise itself. The Voice & Speech Workout comes with a training audio that will be especially helpful to the student or theatre professional working alone. Here master teachers run through each exercise in real time (leaving enough time for response). Among the contributors are such important voice teachers as: Frankie Armstrong, Mary Corrigan, Marian Hampton and Dorothy Runk Mennen. The exercises are divided into nine different areas: Getting to Know Your Voice; Stretching, Centering, Releasing, Aligning; Breathing and Supporting; Making Sound (Resonance and Articulation); Exploring Pitch; Projecting and Calling; Integrating Voice, Breath and Text; Integrating Voice and Movement; Exploring Character Voices and Dialects.

As early as Plato, theorists acknowledged the power of theatre as a way of teaching young minds. Similarly, starting with Plato, philosophers occasionally adopted an anti-theatrical stance, worried by the "dangers" theatre posed to society. The relationships between learning and theatre have never been seen as straightforward, obvious, or without contradictions. This volume investigates the complexity of the intersection of theatre and learning, addressing both the theoretical and practical aspects of it.

Jérôme Bel’s Disabled Theater, a dance piece featuring eleven actors with cognitive disabilities from Zurich’s Theater Hora, has polarized audiences worldwide. Some have celebrated the performance as an outstanding exploration of presence and representation; others have criticized it as a contemporary freak show. This impassioned reception provokes important questions about the role of people with cognitive disabilities within theater and dance—and within society writ large. Using Disabled Theater as the basis for a broad, interdisciplinary discussion of performance and disability, this volume explores the intersections of politics and aesthetics, inclusion and exclusion, and identity and empowerment. Can the stage serve as a place of emancipation for people with disabilities? To what extent are performers with disabilities able to challenge and subvert the rules of society? What would a performance look like without an ideology of ability? The book includes contributions by Jérôme Bel, Kai van Eikels, Kati Kroß, André Lepecki, Lars Nowak, Yvonne Rainer, Gerald Siegmund, Yvonne Schmidt, Sandra Umathum, Scott Wallin, Benjamin Wihstutz, and the actors of Theater Hora.

U.K. theater company Frantic Assembly has emerged as one of the boldest and brightest stars in the international drama firmament. Building shows from the ground up-called devising, a form of improvisational, collaborative theater-is at the heart of the highly acclaimed troupe. This program provides insight into the devising process, from first thoughts to first night. Part celebration, part explanation of Frantic Assembly's approach to production, it offers in-depth interviews and practical demonstrations that will inspire students as they begin their own devising journey.

One founder describes the genesis of the company and the qualities of devised theatre which initially attracted him and his partner.