Devised Practices - The Viewing

THE VIEWING

The ultimate goal with most original work is to be seen.  Inevitably, as the work progresses, different audiences will become privy to the work.  The producer will most likely be having constant contact as the work is developed, but there are arguments that suggest that there is great value to audiences of different sizes accessing the work as it is being developed.

It is imperative that viewings are discussed as early as the initial conversations in order to identify three things:

• The director and ensembles sensitivity to viewings, especially in regards to works in process, and
• Identifying when along the timeline viewings are ideal, and seeking out best venues to fulfill this
• Different methods of making the work available to audiences.  This may include live viewings for different public audiences, intimate invite-only experiences, live streaming rehearsals on the internet, carefully edited digital recordings.

Some venues may require a viewing as a condition for residency.  If this is the case, the producer can do much to enhance the value of the viewing.

• Will this venue provide an audience that is invested in the artistic goals and values of the piece?
• Will this organization put you in proximity with other aligned organizations?  What other affiliations does this venue provide?
• At what stage in the process is more visibility valuable to the development of the piece?  Is a small viewing at a small organization in a rural area more ideal than a higher publicized viewing for a larger audience in a major metropolitan city?
• What kind of feedback are you likely to receive from each organization and audience?  When will each type of feedback be valuable to the development process?

Certainly there are an infinite amount of considerations to make when introducing the work to audiences, as the audience’s reactions will influence the piece in an infinitely possible number of ways.  Most importantly, the producer’s awareness of the shifts that take place within the piece is most critical.  As always, these shifts have the possibility of moving away from the original artistic goals, but may also open up new possibilities for the life of the work.  In either scenario, a sensitive, well-informed producer will keep things on track, plotting thoughtful new courses that enhance the work of the artists, all the while creating more meaningful experiences for the audience members.

Devised Practices - Workshop, Writing, and Design

WORKSHOP, WRITING, AND DESIGN

The next “phase” of the theater creation process can be loosely labeled the “workshop” or “rehearsal” period.  Most of the writing and crafting of the piece will happen during this phase.  Despite the structure of rehearsals, most of the writing and design will happen simultaneously.  Due to economic constraints, it is likely that the ensemble will be working in intense developmental periods over a series of short-term residencies.  This could range from a handful of days to a few weeks, and will differ on a case-by-case basis.

 A note on time.  As was discussed earlier with space and place, pay careful consideration to the duration of the workshop and set your goals accordingly.  In addition, availability of ensemble members may vary from rehearsal period to rehearsal period, so pay special attention to base your goals on this availability.  Perhaps the workshop is a period of intense experimentation after which the writer can spend the following few months developing a script.  Perhaps this is a time to test the possibilities of technology and give the designers time to experiment, with actors.  Perhaps it is a time to refine a certain section of the piece that just isn’t quite working out for one reason or another.  Most importantly, this time is still a time of development, and goals should be set in place that reflects this.

 I believe this period of time to be the most critical for the Producer in regards to forming a bond with the director and to really strive toward a true sense of ensemble.  Working within the director’s preferred structure (and do keep a keen eye on the structure and schedule of rehearsals), the producer has an opportunity to engage all members equally, both to support the ensemble’s vision, but to also keep a finely tuned sense on the pacing of the development in regards to the larger artistic goals of the piece (as agreed upon in the first phase).  Is the piece still on track?  Are the artistic goals changing?  If so, how much?  Is the piece still in alignment with grant guidelines and programming commitments (if any)?

 While the nature piece will certainly change with each workshop, it is imperative that the producer understands exactly how each element of the piece is progressing along the way.

 The structure of the written page can help immensely in this process.  Douglas Kearny, poet and librettist, offered me  a myriad of suggestions when developing a script that lends itself to an ensemble-based process, as opposed to a script that dictates a hierarchical development process.  With the development of my own project, I found the script itself quite troubling.  Essentially, I felt that a typical script wasn’t capturing the essence of what I had been developing in workshop, but was functioning more as a roadmap for other artist’s remounting.  This would be fine if that was the intent of the piece, but I more so wanted the script to be a visual extension of the aesthetic of the work on stage.  In essence, the script should be just as confusing, performative and overwhelming as the piece of theater.

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Beginning script for #THESIS2015.  I tend to write out my multimedia scripts like music scores.

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 The solution was to create a script full of indicators, but no clear destination; to evade a “top down” development structure (with the director and writer at the top).  The goal became to develop a script that could not be interpreted solely by one person.  Instead, it would take an entire ensemble to search out (and in some cases invent) the nuances of the script and explore all the different options for translating that onto the stage.  This, however, is in an instance where the director is also the “writer”. Wither different people occupying those two roles, it would be a good idea to think about the form, function, and structure of the script from the onset, as it’s being developed.

 Despite the form of the script, many facets of the design phase will also occur during this workshop stage.  This can be tricky, as each designer will most likely bring their own processes into the rehearsal space, and will have different ways of interfacing with the project as it progresses.  Also, take special note of how important each design element is in the piece.  If video design is an integral part of the ensemble’s product, you may want to make a goal of having the designer present at as many rehearsals as possible.  If the ensemble prefers a more traditional approach to lighting, the lighting designer may only be needed in the final workshops, once the stage business is solidified.  Take this time to be honest about which designers could benefit from each workshop phase, and how the ensemble might benefit from dialogue with designers.

 When making these considerations it is also critical to balance the technical needs and desires of the director an designers with the technical capabilities of the space in question.  Ideally, designers will be added into the process as more specific technical needs can be addressed, and this planning should begin as soon as possible, in an effort to make the best use of everyone’s time.

 Another note on time:  It is wise to allot for appropriate amounts of time technical rehearsals and unfolding design processes throughout the development of the work.  Inevitably changes will be made as “scripts” are derived and workshop spaces change.  Prepare carefully for the designers needs, so not to lose precious time while in a space.

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 “Super Vision’s process of collective creation means that the time-consuming changes must be made on the march.  At one point during rehearsals at St. Anne’s video designer Peter Flaherty asks to change the timing of a video transition.  ‘Just a second,’ he calls.

 “’Someone’s gonna start a lexicon of Builder’s terms,’ says Marianne Weems dryly.  ‘”One Second” mean at least two minutes.’ She might be talking for anyone working with video in theater…Time is always of the essence.  In most ball games, the ball is in play for much less than game time.  So in devising.  We forget this at our peril.”

-  Harvie, Lavender – “Making Contemporary Theater

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“A technical element needs as much detailed examination as any other eleent of the show.  It is common practice to work in a really detailed manner to improveise back-stories or learn a historically accurate period dance – yet pay no attention to the dramaturgy of a technical elements.

“When you have the equipment on the room you can ask, “Why is this man flying?  What is his relation to the people on the ground?  How do you incorporate video into the flying work?  These become puzzles to be solved by the company.  They can only be posed and then answered through exploration – through endless devising tasks, most of which seem to turn up barren earth.  Then a gem appears and the meaning of the process becomes clear” – Catherine Alexander

- Harvie, Lavender – “Making Contemporary Performance”

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• Take special note at the beginning of the process to the interests and background of each designer on board.  Is this the designer’s first time working with the ensemble?  How is the designer fulfilling personal and artistic goals by developing the work?
•  Are the designers on track in supporting the artistic goals of the production? 

The answers to these questions may give insight into levels of investment and how to best approach each designer throughout the workshop process.  Also, be aware of idiosyncratic vocabularies of frequent collaborators, and learn to assess how these language patterns effect development (both aesthetically and in regards to time).

Devised Practices - Testing

TESTING

At this point direct observations can be made regarding content.  In many models of “devised” work, objects become the source (or part of the source) of the theatrical experience.  These could rang anywhere from a poem, painting, song, film, work of fiction, graphic novel, or personal story.  These sources must be tested with the ensemble (however the producer and director define the ensemble) to measure the potency, efficacy a possibilities of the source materials

Of course there’s no manual on what this testing looks like or how this testing is done, and in many cases, this phase looks a lot like a workshop.  However, it doesn’t often feel like a workshop.  This is the stage of the process where the ensemble doesn’t really know what it’s doing.  Pieces of content, choreography, and aesthetic gesture are being tested (usually in some kind of rapid fashion) by the ensemble.  Expectations are low, and process is high.  This can mean chaos for most management professionals, but this is an imperative stage to build trust, listen carefully, and work with the director to begin to gain more detailed specifics about the goals of the piece.

In a sense, this is where we throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.

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"During We Can Only Grow Closer it was such a diverse and unique piece that at times it felt like things were flying by the seat of their pants…This resulted in confusion and questions that were really only cleared by the time the show was on set and in tech for me.  By that point I was able to trace everything back to the beginning and find what the director knew all along, that he would find the piece naturally.  During this kind of process it is neigh impossible to guess the outcome, and the best that anyone can do is to follow along, hold onto your hats and embrace the art.  Trust that the director knows what he is doing, ask questions, pay attention, follow directions and be prepared for anything.  When something is asked of you, whether it's cattle gates, clip lights or moon beams make sure to be on your game. 

 Working on this kind of theater is difficult, especially if you're coming from the background of more traditional work, but it can be all different kinds of rewarding if you allow it to be."

 -Estey DeMerchant, Stage Manager

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This is also be the phase there the ensemble test itself out as an ensemble.  For the beginning stages of my most recent project, we spent the entire first three weeks “getting to know each other.”  While the actors in the ensemble knew specifically about the themes of the piece, it was really a time to explore their movement capabilities and limitations, comfort with choreography, comfort with each other, ability to respond to sound, music, volume, tempo, and general direction.  How did we do this?  Games.

Games can exist in pre-written form, borrowed from monoliths of theater past, or created on the spot.  Expect to see a variety of physical props, sound equipment, index cards, methodology books, improvisation, and choreographic techniques to be used in any and every possible combination in rapid-fire succession on any given day during this period.  This phase is fun, but exhausting, with a flexible structure that can be freeing for some, and confusing for others.  In short, keep your expectations low, your mind open, and be ready for anything.

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This is commonly the period where, because games are played with unexpected outcomes, plenty of feedback is necessary.  While we personally worked in physical contexts on my own project, we frequently (4-5 time per rehearsal) “checked in” to take the temperature of how our bodies were responding to different techniques and where we were moving, both individually, and as an ensemble.  This particular ensemble was incredibly forthcoming with their emotions, and questions and concerns about process, but moved forward with high energy and utmost faith.  As an ensemble, we chose not to record (in any way) our check-in sessions, both for purposes of anonymity, but to also prevent ourselves from getting stuck in any sort of emotional situation, therefore influencing the mood of the forthcoming games.

This required, however, constant check-in with management, the director, and the choreographer to keep constant tabs on what actions, movements, and content really resonated with the ensemble, and to begin building from there.  If the producer of the project can understand the goals of the testing period, and see it’s imperative nature, the producer should be as open to ideas as any other member of the ensemble.  With open eyes, the producer will begin to see the grander gestures of the piece take place, and begin to anticipate the needs of the next phase of the process, workshop.

Devised Practices - Space and Place

SPACE AND PLACE

“In creating a living space or environment within the performance area attention is drawn to the ways in which the place of a building can be turned into a malleable space.  In other words, the fixed ‘place’ of the performance building is transformed into a ‘space’, a continuous moving entity capable of shifting to reflect those inhabiting it.”

- Govan, Nicholson, Normington – “Making a Performance”

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Given that you don’t have the luxury of owning a permanent space, your ensemble will most likely be going through rounds of workshops in acquired space.  These could vary from living room spaces, found warehouses, black box theaters, friend’s garages, and rented storefront property.  While it is true that in many cases, at this point in the creation process, the artistic goals may be somewhat fuzzy, a critical look must be paid to the space itself.  Inevitably, the original rehearsal space will provide limitations that will in some way influence the actors and designers to each other, and set boundaries for technical desires.

In most cases, the long rehearsal process for this kind of work will not happen in the same place from residency to residency.  If a group is working toward a set venue and performance date, it is important for the producer and director to examine the unique dimensions and capabilities of a place, and aim to seek spaces that accommodate the same scale.  Yes, this has obvious benefits to the most accurate design and “load in” periods, but also allows for process-created aesthetic benefits.

In considering shifting from place to space, it is at this point that the producer and director (or ensemble) discuss long-term artistic goals.  What are the ideas about size and scale?  How will media design play into the final performance?  What are the special physical capabilities/limitations of the performers (i.e. areal performers, gymnasts, dancers, etc.).  While many of the specifics of the work will come out of the testing phases and early workshops, clear goals at this point can help locate spaces that can become fertile grounds for more engaging rehearsal processes.

Even for those auteurs serving as both director and producer, it is beneficial to spend a considerable amount of time laying out the ephemeral goals of a piece.  I found it personally helpful to work with another artists outside of the project (in this most recent experience, another producer).  Personally, I find this step frustrating and time consuming, but ultimately essential to the creation of thoughtful work.  I often times know what kind of feelings I want to evoke and what the audience should be challenged with physically and emotionally, but it is sometimes unclear how this all relates to space.

What I ultimately found, is that the space, or more specifically, the critical considerations of space, become the first step, and tool to creating the work:  shaping the limitations, and presenting challenges from the onset.  Actors are able to think clearly about scale and scope from the onset, and, even when rehearsing in other alternative spaces, a sort of psychological tuning occurs that allows them to re-orient themselves, if only in their minds, to the final performance space.

Devised Practices - A Deeper look

Introduction and Definition

Devised theater.  For some these words may conjure images of intense “experimental” physical experiences in poorly lit storefronts and dilapidated black box theaters, with hipster audience members (of past and present) masking confusion with rapturous applause.  However, this isn’t (always) the case.  While devised processes developed in the 1960s as a sort of rebellion against the hierarchical process of traditional theater (with the writer being at the top of the pyramid), new devising processes have become somewhat of a norm in the development of new work, and not just theater.  Film, Installation, and newer mediums such as Live Action Gaming and Immersive Theater use traditional devising processes to achieve final results.

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“…the generic term ‘devising’ describes ‘a mode of work in which no script – neither play-text nor performance score – exists prior to the work’s creation by the company.’

- Govan, Nicholson, Normington – “Making a Perforamnce”

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Truth be told, the term “devised” seems to hold little weight anymore, as each process is as unique and nuanced as the next, and each outcome unexpected and special in its own way.  When initially contacting the people interviewed for this blog, I was often countered with “I don’t consider my work devised”, but through conversation, many were left without a definition of how to define their work, as it sat outside of the traditional production process (a process most commonly linked to the “regional theater” model of producing theater).  New definitions of these processes are popping up everywhere: “New Original Work”, “Original Ensemble Based Theater”, “Non Scripted Processes”, “Movement Centered Works for Stage”.  It is my assumption that the creators or producer/presenters are inventing these terms to better frame the experiences create these terms for the audience - and they succeed in doing so, but these terms don’t do much to solidify process models.

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“…text-led theater inevitably represents the sole vision of his playwright, a way of thinking about mainstream theater that implies that it is still hierarchical in structure and dominated by naturalism.  The vision of devising as alternative, oppositional and democratic recalls its avant-garde and radical histories, abut by the early 1990s…this particular form of idealism was beginning to wane.”

- Govan, Nicholson, Normington – “Making a Perforamnce”

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I personally prefer the term “Original Ensemble Based Work” because it is nonspecific in its form, yet highlights the heightened dialogue amongst the ensemble required to successfully bring the work from its initial stages to a viewing appropriate for audiences.

As a producer and director, I’ve become more and more interested in as sort of “best practices” for the development of my own work.  While my personal aesthetic falls outside the interests and goals of traditional regional theater, it is very much theatrical, and I hope, has an emphatic audience.  The first step to finding this audience, however, is to look at better practices for producing the work.  Not only to streamline costs and find innovative ways of finding audiences, but to also support the aesthetic goals of each piece and nurture the ensemble; to create the most productive working environments and the best possible results.

While developing my latest work, with the crass working title “#THESIS2015”, I wanted to explore other methods of creating original ensemble based work, and to share my findings with the theater community at large.  I wanted to use my rehearsal period as a personal case study, and measure that against what other academics and professionals in the field were saying about the different phases of the creation process, and how to best approach each stage of development.  The list of people with whom I spoke includes and designers.  I also set out to research internationally renowned devising ensembles, to peek into their processes.  Not all of these interviews or research made it into this blog, but I began to see my process much more clearly three things:

•  As a director, how I might better prepare myself for process, and better interface with a producer
•   As a producer, how I might better interface with an ensemble, and director of that ensemble (if one exists
• As a producer, how to better frame these processes for audiences

I came to one major conclusion through this process:  there is no prescribed method for developing original work.  However, there are commonalities in most processes that made themselves clear through the research, including my own workshop process.  It is my hope that the following can better prepare anyone involved in the creation of presentation new ensemble based work for the extensive needs and often long timeline to follow.

Devised Practices Bibliography

Bicât, Tina, and Chris Baldwin. Devised and Collaborative Theatre: A Practical Guide. Marlborough: Crowood, 2002.

Govan, Emma, Helen Nicholson, and Katie Normington. Making a Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practices. London: Routledge, 2007.

Graham, Scott, and Steven Hoggett. The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. London: Routledge, 2009.

Harvie, Jen, and Andy Lavender. Making Contemporary Theatre: International Rehearsal Processes. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.

Oddey, Alison. "Re-thinking the Theatrical Frame: The Opera Director, Video Artist, and Visual Artists." In Re-framing the Theatrical: Interdisciplinary Landscapes for Performance. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Quick, Andrew. The Wooster Group Work Book. New York: Routledge, 2007.