Documenting the Devising Process

The Early Rehearsal Stages

The book Devised and Collaborative Theatre: A Practical Guide by Tina Bicat and Chris Baldwin has been of great help to me throughout my process. It details the steps taken in any devising process, and the role different professionals, such as the lighting designer or director, play.

In this process, I am taking on the role of director. According to my book, as director I am "responsible for ensuring that the production is conceptionally and aesthetically coherent"(Bicat and Baldwin 12). It is my role to ensure that the group creates the best product possible. In order to do this, I have to assemble what they refer to as a "core team". In a larger scale production, this would include the director, producer, playwright, designer, composer, and movement director (Bicat and Baldwin 15). Because I am using site-specific theatre, I do not need a true set design or musical composition. Instead, I am working with my cast of 5 actors as a core to develop from stimulus to final product. We are the designer, the composer, the costume creator, ETC...

Once I've assembled my core team, which consists of Laetitia, Ashton, Ana Paula, Oliver and Charlie, I can then begin brainstorming the stimulus. In our first rehearsal, this was precisely what we did. Instead of reserving the LPAC to rehearse, we met in an AIS classroom, which was to be the site of our performance. The work I did over the summer with Kabosh in Belfast researching my extended essay was helpful here. From them I learned the importance of gaining inspiration from a physical place. Meeting in the space and rehearsing there is key to site-specific theatre.

Before we began talking about ideas for the show, I felt it was imperative for the cast to warm up and get to know one another. That was a directorial choice on my part, one that I think most directors would make. I gave each of them a handout basically describing site-specific theatre, as well as the concept of collaborative theatre. I wanted to familiarize them with the theoretical underpinnings of my project. We played improv games in rehearsal, as well as focus games such as 'passing the clap'. Although I was already familiar with some theatre games from the ISTA conference in 11th grade as well as participating in upper school productions, I had to do some research to find improv games. One that I found involved having two actors speak to eachother in gibberish while someone in the middle "translated" their words into English. It was a great exercise for thinking on the spot, as well as using the body and the voice to communicate thoughts.

Once the cast was warmed up, we progressed to playing more improv games. Then we began to brainstorm the space, which is the stimulus. I asked them to use free-word association to name words that they thought of sitting in a classroom. Then we discussed issues that arise in the classroom. We studied the objects around us and talked about their meanings. I kept all of these brainstorms to help us in future rehearsals.

I think the true challenge of this process is moving from nothing to something. For that I'm really going to need the help of my "core". My goal is to make something that is a genuine reflection of us, and of our school.