Tool: Devised Theatre Resource
Table of Contents
What is Devised Theatre?
1.
The Collaborative Process
Role of the Director
2.
3.
4.
Points of Departure
3
4
4
Mythical Stories and Fairy Tales
5
Site-specific Performance
6
Oxymoron
7
Images
7
Classics
7
Characters
8
Objects
9
Issues
9
Exploration: Research & Improvisation
9
Research
9
Improvisation
11
Creating Performance
Postscript
2
14
Current, original and unforeseen
14
Scoring
15
Arts-in-Collaboration: Body, Space, Sound, Text, Objects
17
Conclusion
18
Rehearsing
19
20
Cited Resources
20
What is Devised Theatre?
There are many different forms and genres of theatre and it is not easily possible to
categorise them without undermining their uniqueness. However, for the purpose of this
article, I propose the distinction Devised Theatre and Other Theatre. By Other Theatre I
refer both to the Western practice of text-based theatre and the classical Oriental forms of a
strictly codified theatre.
Devised Theatre presents us with one of the most exciting and most terrifying experiences
theatre has to offer. The Thesaurus gives an interesting range of definitions for the word
‘devised’: contrived, cooked up, dreamt up, arranged, planned, plotted, connived, conspired,
willed and bequeathed. These terms adequately describe one or another essential quality or
aspect of devised theatre.
One could say that all theatre is devised. Each and every process of theatre making, no
matter what its genre, involves the plotting, arranging and cooking up of words, actions and
sounds in time and space. In contemporary theatre though, the term Devised Theatre is
reserved for a very specific process of theatre-making, for which I propose the following
definition:
Devised Theatre is a collaborative process of theatre making in which all artists
involved develop – through collective exploration – a specific and well-defined point
of departure (POD) into a performance that is current, original and unforeseen.
This definition is simple, and densely packed; however it describes a very complex process.
In the interest of clarity, let’s break it down into four stages:
1.
The Collaborative Process
2.
Points of Departure (POD)
3.
Exploration: Research and Improvisation
4.
1.
Creating Performance
The Collaborative Process
Devised Theatre is a process of theatre making that is by nature collaborative. This
collaboration is not just simply a matter of artists working together – a characteristic of any
and all theatre. The collaborative nature of the devising process extends right to the heart
of the work: the artistic vision. In Devised Theatre all artists involved (actors, director,
composer, writer, designers, etc.) collectively develop and create the artistic vision of the
production. This marks a distinctly different path of theatre making from the one used in
Other Theatre.
In text-based theatre, the starting point for a production is the script, and the aim of the
process is to realise the vision of the playwright, the director or a combination of them both.
And the principal role of actors, composers, designers and technicians is to serve this vision
to the best of their abilities.
In classical Oriental theatre, the artistic vision of a production is anchored in ancient codes
that have been passed from master to apprentice through centuries of tradition. And, in a
similar way, the prime role of the performers is to serve this vision and tradition with their
craft, not to form or alter it.
In Devised Theatre the work doesn’t start with a predetermined vision; rather the artistic
vision of the project gradually and collaboratively evolves during the creative process. The
artists are equal partners in the development of the artistic vision. Irrespective of their
particular role or discipline, each artist is expected – and given – the opportunity to
contribute equally.
The role of director in Devised Theatre is to guide the communication between artistic
disciplines and the individual artists, and to facilitate the creative input of all. Therefore the
artistic contribution of the director is equal to that of the other collaborators.
Role of the Director
Often people assume that the collaborative nature of Devised Theatre means that there is
no need for a director. They think that those involved in devising a work will take on the role
of outside eye and, with some alchemical magic, the material and ideas will meld and
ferment together nicely and theatrically. As a rule, this is not the case. In my experience, the
role of director is crucial to the effectiveness of the devising process.
The collaborative nature of the devising process, however, requires a style of direction quite
different from those employed in Other Theatre. The role of director in Devised Theatre is
not to come up with artistic solutions for the challenges encountered. Instead, the director
will enable the collaborating artists to find artistic solutions for themselves.
This is done through such strategies as:

Eliminating obstacles in the communication between all artists and all disciplines;

Encouraging the flow of ideas;

Stimulating the artists to go beyond their habitual ways of thinking and acting;

Facilitating the discovery and presentation of original and surprising material;

Guiding the artists’ journeys into the deep dark caverns of unknown territory;

Guarding the coherence and overall rhythm of the piece.
This role is demanding, multi-faceted and, above all, one of service.
2.
Points of Departure
The true essence of any creative journey is to know where you start from and to not know
where you’ll end up. The journey becomes the fulfillment or more precisely: the journey
reveals its destination.
To engage in a process in which the outcome is by definition unknown, is one of the most
thrilling and terrifying experiences theatre has to offer. It requires a willingness to go with the
whims of the wind, to allow unforeseen events and circumstances to influence one’s
direction and outlook. During such a process, fear and trust are often in a dynamic struggle
for control.
Before you can begin the journey, you have to know your starting point. In Devised Theatre
this means, articulating a specific and well-defined Point of Departure (POD), which has to
be agreed upon by all participating artists. A significant proportion of devised work fails to
come to fruition because participants are fearful or hesitant to commit to a specific POD,
always on the lookout for something better, more inspiring, closer to the heart. Searching for
the perfect POD is an endless activity, and prevents the actual devising process from
moving forward.
There are several ways of looking at the POD. It can be a springboard into the unknown: the
better the springboard, the greater the leap. It can be a means to an end, like the rope,
which allows a kite to soar in the wind. It can be like the seed of a giant tree – given the right
environment, care and circumstances, capable of growing into something magnificent.
In Devised Theatre, you can choose – and use – any POD you like, provided it is specific
and well defined. It can be: a story, a location, an image, a poem, a piece of prose, a theme
or issue, a piece of music, an object, a character or collection of characters, a proverb, an
oxymoron, a song, a provocation, film or video images, a story, a certain relationship, a play
or section of a play – the options are endless. In my own devising work, I have used
mythical stories, fairy tales, an oxymoron, poetry, locations and a number of Classics as
Points of Departure.
Mythical Stories and Fairy Tales
Mythical stories and traditional Fairy Tales provide a particularly stimulating and versatile
base to work from. The archetypal characters and relationships, the extreme scope of
dramatic action and the universal themes and issues lead to an abundance of associations
and inspiring material. Mythical stories resonate at a profound level of our cultural and
collective existence. The metaphorical imagery makes it easy to crack the stories open to
reveal original and contemporary perspectives.
The Greeks (1999) – using a classic as the POD. Photography: Bert van Dijk
Site-specific Performance
Site-specific performance is a category of devised theatre where the POD is a location or
site. It can be indoors (derelict factory, church, swimming pool, warehouse, car park, prison,
etc), outdoors (lagoon, park, beach, cave, forest, courtyard, island, etc) or a combination of
both. The audience could be stationary or asked to travel through the various locations.
When using a site as the POD, one of the aims will be to utilize all the features of the
location to their fullest dramatic effect. This means initially observing and identifying the
features, and then exploring and experimenting with all their dramatic possibilities.
A dramatic framework can be added or forced upon the site, or one might gradually, and in
due course, present itself to the participating artists, as a surprise.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a paradoxical emblem: it is an image throbbing with opposite and
contradictory qualities. For example: anchored dolphins or winged turtles. The paradoxical
nature captured in an image, makes the oxymoron a stimulating and inspiring POD.
Images
Paintings, drawings, photographic images, film and video clips and even sculptures can be
a fruitful POD. The extraordinary dramatic possibilities contained in the details of an image
can surprise and delight. It can be worthwhile to put into words the many aspects of an
image: hands that almost meet, a head inclined away, washing tumbling like clouds of
memories, a wedding veil that blinds the groom, etc. By returning time and again to the
image you will come to notice further detail, additional perspectives and new possibilities.
A wonderful exercise in this context is to allow stream-of-consciousness or free association
in relation to your image. You can do this yourself or you can ask, for example, the first
person you come across on the street. Another fruitful approach to is to ask the actors to
identify with the various elements in an image and to express this identification in words or
movement.
Classics
There is no reason why an entire play or a section of a play could not be taken as the POD
in Devised Theatre. In particular the classics have proven to be a rewarding source for
devising. Since the author is long dead, there are no copyright issues, and this opens the
door to an unlimited reworking of the text. The artists involved are free to deconstruct, chop,
paste and re-arrange the text as they see fit.
Spinning Tales (2002) – using a fairy tale as the POD. Photography: Bert van Dijk
The universal truths and the archetypal scale of dramatic events, characters and
relationships in the classics have withstood the pressures of time and fashion. As a result,
they lend themselves remarkably well to inspire current perspectives on the issues at hand.
Many of the world’s successful devising theatre companies work regularly from the base of
the classics, particularly Shakespeare and Greek tragedy.
Characters
A character or collection of characters can also be taken as the POD. This is particularly the
case in clowning, vaudeville and a number of mask-based genres such as commedia
dell’arte.
Objects
It can be hugely challenging and satisfying to create a performance inspired by a specific
object. In student and ensemble exercises, I have worked with performers on the creation of
a piece using just a coat or an old plank washed ashore, a woman’s high heel, a beer crate,
a branch, a wedding gown, a rock, a ring, a gun, a vacuum cleaner, a broom, a wig, a coat,
cardboard boxes, newspapers, a fishing net, etc. It is amazing to see how much drama can
be squeezed out of a single object.
Issues
Some performers like to devise from an issue they feel passionate about. In this case it is
essential to narrow the issue down to a specific topic, speech, newspaper clipping or
incident for it to work effectively as a POD.
3.
Exploration: Research & Improvisation
Once a Point of Departure is established, it is time to thoroughly explore the POD: to look at
it, smell it, taste it, touch it, listen to it, turn it inside out and upside down, pummel it, stroke it,
kick it, mould it, stretch it, dream it, sing it, dance it, talk or write about it, leave it in the
corner for awhile, etc.
The journey of exploration is one of getting to know your POD in all its imaginative, sensual
and intellectual fullness. It is useful to distinguish hereby two separate modes of exploration:
research and improvisation.
Research
Looking at the devising process as the growth of a plant or tree, the POD can be likened to
the seed that contains all the possibilities of the fully-grown plant – either in principle or in a
way that is obscure or codified. In this analogy the stage of research is the root system that
spreads out in search of nutrients (inspiration) from the surrounding earth (environment). It
involves gathering and collecting anything that relates somehow to the POD. During the
research, it is very important to avoid any kind of censorship or judgment. The only criterion
to hold on to is that the material somehow relates to the POD. The collected materials can
be facts, images, associations, sounds, words, ideas, memories, objects, experiences or
sensations. They can be drawn from art, history, mythology, literature or science. You may
find connections in books, films and videos or by browsing the Internet. Material can be
collected through interviews, observations or by conducting experiments. There is no
limitation to the method and scope of the gathering. The result of this stage is an
astonishing mixture of material – fantasies, facts and associations –, which begins to
expose the POD’s hidden mysteries, glimmerings of possibilities, which contain and inspire
original interpretations and perspectives.
In the course of our lives we operate more and more within the boundaries of what we
already know, as we get trapped in the limitations of a habitual way of perceiving, thinking
and acting. We only see what we know or expect to see. This has the effect of obscuring the
infinitely rich tapestry of realities around us. We appear terrified by what we don’t know, and
subsequently are quick to label or name the unknown, perhaps in an attempt to exert power
over it before it overpowers us.
When we are young, with only a limited vocabulary, we approach the world around us with
sensual curiosity. We look at an object, hold it, put it in our mouths and create a way of
knowing it, which uses all our senses. Once we start to use a sophisticated system of
language, however useful as a means of communication, it leads us away from this sensual
way of knowing into a more abstract way of knowing.
The boundless nature of the gathering stage in Devised Theatre involves our mind, body
and imagination and provides us with a complete way of getting to know our POD. This can
evoke a dramatic shift in the quality and perspective of our experience. Devisers often
report that devising invigorates new ways of perceiving that reveal the world in a new light.
This is the hugely transformational potential of Devised Theatre. In practical terms, a lot of
the research is done individually or in pairs, and regular ensemble meetings are convened
to share the material that each has collected. The process of gathering is fundamentally
never-ending; therefore it is vital to set a deadline so you can move onto the next stage.
And the next stage is to select the most useful or inspirational material. This selection
process can be challenging and demanding because many people find it hard, even painful,
to let go of things that seemed at first so useful or interesting. Sometimes they unwittingly let
personal feelings get in the way, which can make selection a personal vendetta instead of a
process that serves the overall project.
Questions, which arise at the start of the selection phase, are:

What is the best procedure for short-listing material?

Which materials to select and which to discard?

Who will make the final decisions?
Start by simply asking yourself: What speaks most? What jumps out? If there is no
agreement here just toss the dice and let chance decide for you. It is not worth spending
time debating or fighting about the selection; ultimately the value of research material is
realised through exploration and work on the studio floor. Keep in mind one of the golden
rules in theatre: less is more. It is far more satisfying to work at a profound level with a
restricted amount of source material than it is to work superficially with lots. It is quality
rather than quantity that counts.
Improvisation
In actor training and rehearsal, improvisation is an extremely powerful tool and serves a
variety of purposes. It can be used to develop a quick response to unforeseen situations, to
find an element of surprise, or to make an audience laugh. At other times it can be used to
investigate the emotional depth of a situation or to explore and create theatrical possibilities.
The overall function of improvisation during the exploration stage of the devising process is:
to probe and realise the POD in time and space.
As an aid to understanding I have simplified the various stages of the devising process as if
they discrete entities. This allows us to dissect and elaborate on their various aspects and
functions, and provides us with practical guidance for designing a timeline to mark each
stage. Without a robust timeline you will get lost in the complexities of the devising process.
However, in practice you will find that the different stages mix, mingle and overlap in ways
that are not at all neat and tidy. For example, the need to research or improvise can occur,
or re-occur for that matter, at any stage in the devising process.
Probing and realising the POD in time or space involves improvisations to 1) sensorially
explore the POD, and 2) convert the research materials into theatrical possibilities.
Finding theatrical possibilities is a craft in its own right, and calls on specific skills and
attitudes from the actors. It effectively means welcoming and exploring every conceivable
possibility: fantastic possibilities, boring possibilities, crazy possibilities, predictable
possibilities, impractical possibilities, delicate possibilities, disgusting possibilities, vibrant
possibilities, twisted possibilities, impossible possibilities, etc. The aim here is not to find
polished ways of staging certain aspects of the work, but rather to come across original and
unforeseen theatrical possibilities. It is important to clarify this with the actors, so that they
are liberated to go where they’ve never gone before, and able to put aside any need to look
good that would otherwise keep them within the limited margins of their known world.
Young and relatively inexperienced companies often make the mistake of moving straight
from the research stage into the staging of the work. The result tends to be predictable and
superficial.
The quality of work in devised theatre is directly related to the amount of waste produced.
The more waste, the higher the quality. The selected possibility harbors elements and
experiences of the rejected possibilities and this adds to its quality.
The devising process has a distinct pattern of expanding and then narrowing its material.
First of all, a range of possible POD’s is explored until one is chosen, then a wide range of
associations and experiences is gathered during the research stage. Subsequently, a
limited portion of material is selected for further exploration, and is then expanded by
improvising to discover theatrical possibilities. In this pattern of expansion and contraction,
time is the factor that will ultimately restrict the expansion of possibilities.
Short-listed research material needs to be converted into stimulating, inspiring and effective
improvisation provocations. This is a highly sophisticated and artistic task, predominantly
the domain of the director. An effective improvisation task has the actor jumping up, eager
to play. Although it is beyond the scope of this section to provide a detailed manual for
improvisation used in the devising process, I want to cover some of the principles involved.
Effective improvisation requires a heightened state of readiness from the actors. A thorough
warm-up of body, voice, mind and imagination is the key to this readiness. However, in itself
readiness is not enough. The actor also needs to be responsive: able to respond creatively
to a wide variety of changing stimuli. In order to come up with the widest range of
possibilities, actors need to possess a wonderful and strange mixture of courage, craziness
and love for the absurd. They need the ability to come up swiftly with responses that are not
governed by habit or conditioning. Judgment, values, pre-conceptions, taste, selfconsciousness, fear, shyness and patterns of thought and behavior get in the way of finding
new and original ways of responding. Chance, failure, accidents and mistakes are the
richest provider of unforeseen and new possibilities, and are a source of inspiration when
the actor overcomes shame and guilt to find the hidden treasures contained in them. Or, as
Joseph Campbell puts it: “Where you stumble, lies your treasure”!
There are a number of proven ways to help the actor go beyond the predictable. One is to
get the predictable out of the way first and fast. Sometimes it is sufficient to offer your actors
an image, a sound, a sentence, an object, and to ask them to come up with a certain
number – say ten or fifteen – of different uses of the offering, in a short time-span. After the
more obvious possibilities have been covered, the performer will break through convention
and come up with the strange, the weird, the bizarre and the unusual. When the
explorations get more complex, the director will need to design more stimulating
provocations, for example imagery that embraces a contradiction in terms or a challenge
that inspires the actors to dig deeper, thereby revealing more obscure possibilities.
Because failure, chance and accidents can provide some of the most surprising and
effective possibilities, it is important that the director stimulates the ensemble’s ability to
observe, tolerate and embrace mistakes and accidents.
When I have worked with a group of actors and non-actors (designers, technicians,
musicians, etc) I have noticed that the non-actors can at times come up with remarkably
fresh ways of improvising for possibilities, and contribute some of the most unusual and
surprising ways of working with a particular task or challenge.
Speed can be an effective tool to get around censorship in the search for new possibilities.
Invite the ensemble to come up with different ways of dealing with a certain challenge or
provocation in quick succession. This fast flow of actions can stir up a host of ideas that can
reveal unexpected treasures. It is all about finding creative and interesting ways to outwit
our mind, which seems set on keeping us trapped within convention and on blocking the
occurrence of new possibilities.
4.
Creating Performance
The journey of exploration – the gathering of material and the improvising for possibilities –
will not reach a definite point of completion. However, there will come a moment when it is
time to focus on the ultimate purpose of the devising process: the creation of a performance
that is current, original and unforeseen. Before we look at some of the issues involved in
constructing a dramatic piece from a basket filled with possibilities, it is useful to
contemplate the main qualities we are aiming for. What do we mean when we say we are
aiming for a performance that is current, original and unforeseen?
Current, original and unforeseen
A performance is current when it comes from and speaks to the heart, mind and soul (or
imagination) of the participants involved in the encounter (spectators and performers). In
other words, it needs to contain sounds, words and actions that evoke and resonate with
images and truths that are real and relevant for us today. This is not to say that all theatre
should be political or transposed in contemporary time and setting. In order to create a
performance that is current we need to condense and highlight the universal essences of
characters and dramatic events. We need to present narrative and theatrical imagery in
ways that transcend the boundaries of time and place.
The originality of a performance relates to its uniqueness. It is not the resurrection or
replication of a performance that had an existence in the past. The collaborative nature of
the devising process will ensure that the eventual performance is original. As the artistic
vision is created collectively, and each member of the ensemble contributes to the
exploration of material and the construction of the piece, the resulting work can only be
original.
The quality of unforeseen is different from the quality of originality. When a performance is
unforeseen, it manages to surprise the audience. In my view, one of the fundamental
responsibilities of all theatre is to create work that delivers in unexpected ways. An audience
wants and needs to be surprised by the next move, the next sound, the next word and the
next image. The art of surprise is a highly crafted and sophisticated one, involving the
setting up of (mostly kinesthetic) expectations in order to break them, often through a
surprising change of rhythm and/or direction. In naturalistic theatre, the art to surprise has
been replaced by a focus on emotional truth.
Scoring
This stage of the creation of a performance involves establishing the performance score: the
totality of physical and vocal actions. With our basket filled with possibilities, how do we
select and notate the elements from the various vocabularies (body, sound, text, space,
light and objects) that will make up the piece as a whole?
There are a number of issues that need to be considered:

How do we establish a dramatic framework?

How do we retain the possibilities discovered in the improvisations and explorations?

How do we select the possibilities that we want to use in the construction of our
performance?

How do we notate the various vocabularies into a performance score?

How can we revisit “old” improvisations whilst at the same time keeping them fresh
and alive?

How do we do we create and develop quality in the scored actions?
Establishing a dramatic framework
One of the challenges, which face theatre devisers is how to balance the need to focus on
the product with trusting that solutions will present themselves in time and are better when
they are not forced. This is a major point of difference between Devised Theatre and Other
Theatre: devisers need to resist the temptation to fix the form or shape of their product for
as long as practically possible. Few people manage this tolerance for uncertainty, and I
have seen many devisers tempted by the urge to establish a dramatic framework before its
time. So, when is too early? It is impossible to tell. All I can say is that experience will teach
you to distinguish whether a choice is right or made out of fear or for the effect of it. The
best way to illustrate how unusual and fantastic solutions can present themselves to you is
by offering an example from my own work as a deviser.
Retaining material
Keeping track of material, conjured up during improvisation, means we are dealing with the
issues of perception and notation. For us to perceive the potential of the possibilities
raised in our explorations and improvisations, we need an outside eye. Each member of the
ensemble not actively involved in a specific improvisation – or any outsider whose
perception may be of value – can take on to this role. It is very important to have someone
take on this role for each and every improvisation or exploration, however the outside eye
function is not the sole prerogative of the director. Those who take on the role of outside
eye need to look for the glimmer of potential, the seed containing the flower rather than the
flower itself. There is no need to throw the flower away if, on the odd occasion, it presents
itself in its full glory, but the focus is on promise not on full delivery. On top of clearly
perceiving potential, it is crucial to translate this perception into words and present articulate
feedback.
The language of theatre for me is similar to the language of dreams. Anybody who has tried
to keep a dream journal knows how hard it is to capture dream images and sensations in
words. There is just so much detail to it. Time, place, mood and perspective change rapidly
and seem to follow their own logic. Images in dreams don’t just present themselves in words,
they are multi-layered and densely packed and filled with symbolism. The best way to
become proficient in the language of images is simply through assiduous practice of
describing images, experiences and sensations. It is beneficial for actors and student-actors
to keep a regular dream diary; to articulate in a journal the description of experiences,
feelings, sensations, moods and atmospheres; and to volunteer as often as possible giving
feedback during rehearsals, improvisations and training sessions, etc.
Many practitioners tend to focus in their feedback first on what doesn’t work. This does not
contribute to the progress and construction of a theatrical work in its early stages. To guide
the process of giving constructive feedback I have developed the following three-step
pathway:
Step 1:
Offer a personal response. How did the improvisation affect you? What
images and associations came up? Where and how did it transport you
beyond your current situation?
Step 2:
Describe what took place: actual use of space, sounds, language,
movements, rhythms, interactions, etc. You may be surprised how simple and
plain descriptions of actuality can in themselves highlight strength and
weaknesses, without a need to add judgment.
Step 3:
Offer suggestions and possibilities. Which elements or aspects held what
promises or possibilities? How can these promises be realised or improved
upon?
Arts-in-Collaboration: Body, Space, Sound, Text, Objects
Devisers face the enormous challenge of developing effective ways to notate their work.
Since they generally use a combination of body, space, sound, text and objects, the simple
scripting of spoken words is not enough. Devisers need a multiple notation system that
represents effectively and in detail all the different vocabularies and their relationship in time
to one another. Most international devising companies currently tend to use the word score
rather than script to describe the notation of their work. Scoring each vocabulary has its
own requirements and challenges:
Body
Etienne Decroux (1985) developed with his Corporeal Mime a very useful way of analyzing
movement by dividing the body in its smallest components (head, neck, chest, waist, pelvis,
weight), and by establishing the fundamental directions of movement: rotation, lateral
inclination and inclination forwards and backwards. Decroux came up with a vocabulary to
describe the dynamic of movement, relating to the amount of force or tension required to
execute any movement.
Space
Choreographers have access to a number of highly sophisticated systems of notating
movement in space, which are too specialised, to be of much use for a devisers score. We
will need instead to develop our own way of mapping movement in space, possibly by
drawing visual patterns and symbols on a floor plan.
Sound
The Canadian music theatre deviser, R. Murray Schafer (1991), has developed an
extraordinary way of scoring music, voice and sound by the combined use of music notation,
words, images and visual representations. For a number of years, I have successfully used
oil pastel drawings for voice composition and notation.
Text
The easiest vocabulary to notate is the vocabulary of text. This is just a matter of scripting
the monologues or dialogues. Currently there are a number of very useful film script
software packages available (such as Final Draft) that can easily be adapted for Devised
and Other Theatre.
Objects
The notation of object animation and manipulation, such as the use of weapons, sticks,
material, puppetry etc. requires a combined use of symbolic figures and abbreviations.
Other Vocabularies
The notation of light states, complex imagery and intricate relationships between the various
elements, could borrow the technique of storyboarding from filmmaking.
Conclusion
The issue of notation in Devised Theatre is underdeveloped territory in desperate need of
further research and experimentation. A practical system of notation must be designed to
facilitate the retention of material from improvisations and explorations, and enable accurate
repetition and reproduction of a complex performance score.
How to select material?
How do we know which possibilities to choose when constructing our performance? Each
devising theatre ensemble employs a different set of values and working principles, and
each ensemble establishes its distinct and singular artistic taste. This combined set of
values, principles and tastes will guide the selection process. In my experience, a fair
amount of patience and trust in the process is also needed. As with the dramatic framework,
appropriate choices tend to present themselves to you when given time. Again, fear and
anxiety can force practitioners into premature choices of material that, in the end, may
neither serve the artistic vision nor add to the dramatic consistency of a performance.
Rehearsing
Once the performance score is established, the next stage in the devising process is
rehearsing the score so that both the form and content of the performance can be repeated
on command and thus shared with an audience. The French word for rehearsal is répétition.
Part of the rehearsal process is the repetition of vocal and physical actions and interactions
so that they become ingrained in the actor’s body. However, the actions are only the form,
the shape the performance takes on.
If we liken a performance to a vessel, you could say that the physical and vocal actions
make up the form of the vessel – the form that contains the content. A vessel is needed to
hold the liquid – the content – and without it the liquid would spill out. A vital aspect of any
performance is its content – the qualities that are invested in the actions. The content is
what ultimately nourishes us.
During the rehearsal process we create a corporeal memory of the form (the actions), to
release the actor’s mind and imagination to concentrate on feeling, intention, imagery and
quality of being.
POSTSCRIPT
We sincerely hope you’ll find this resource useful.
We welcome any feedback you may have on the processes described here. We know from
experience that they work, however if there is anything in here, which is not clear, or if you
like some more input, we will be happy to do what we can to further your understanding and
teaching. You can reach us via email: [email protected] or you can visit our websites:
www.devised-theatre.com and www.toiora.com.
If you would like to us to facilitate a professional development workshop for you and your
school/community, or to devise a project with your students, then we would be delighted to
discuss this with you.
Cited Resources:
Decroux, Etienne. Words on Mime. Claremont (CA): Mime Journal, 19851985. Print.
Murray Schafer, R. Patria and the Theatre of Confluence, 1991. (ISBN 1-895127-11-4)
Spinning Tales. Dir. Bert van Dijk. Devised and performed by third year Toi Whakaari
students, 2002. Performance.
The Greeks. Dir. Bert van Dijk. UCOL Theatre School. Palmerston North, 2000.
Performance.
Van Dijk, Bert. Devised Theatre. Wellington: Printlink, 2011. (ISBN: 978-0-473-19077-4)
Van Dijk, Bert. Towards a New Pacific Theatre. Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing House Ltd,
2011. Print.