In this journal, I intent to reflect upon my previous experiences with devising theatre along with researching professional companies who create original work of their own.
Experience 1 - Devising Theatre June Term
In this class, I was able to work with a group in creating a piece about the digital divide, which is the "gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet, and those who do not." The project began with everyone in the group introducing ideas such as songs, videos, book and personal items that they might want to expand upon. Through reflecting about the topics that were discussed, the group narrowed down topics that we would want to make a piece about. With that, we researched more and discusses what we wanted to specifically focus on. There was always the teacher who helped guide the process and encouraged us to initiate research.
Finally, we all decided that we wanted to do a piece with the topic of the digital divide. First of all, we created characters who may be influenced with the digital divide such as students and teachers. With the help of our teacher, we were able to place to characters within the setting of a Model UN Conference. The majority of the plot was based on how they would improvise with their character and the setting. As the stage manager and scribe, I worked by taking note on their improvisation and creating a script around that. After some additional editing that continued even on the day of the performance, we successfully created an original piece of theatre entitled "Who Are Your Really?"
Experience 2 - Theatre Studies Elective
For my sophomore year, I helped create a piece of theater as the first project for my Theatre Studies elective. We were required to pick a theme and choose to represent it through the act of a song, dance, monologue or a pantomime. My group took upon the idea of 'Life and Death', and we chose to use pantomime, music and poetry to convey that concept.
Our production illustrated a girl's journey from the beginning to her life to the very end. We decided to pantomime little moments that encapsulated a moment in her life, along with some background music that fit the current scene. Then the performance ended with a short poem alluding to death, tying in together with the last scene of the person's life, which was a funeral.
The overall process was simple, as we created a story arc and then improvised the movements that we did onstage. I was happy about the dynamic I had with my group in where we were equals, thus we were all able to contribute and share our ideas freely which I believe worked well with the project.
Professional Theatre Companies
The Paper Birds
The Paper Birds is a devising group in the UK that focuses on political and social messages. They want to encourage change, slowly through self reflection.
Our mission is to be quiet rebels, amplifying the voices of everyday people. We inspire change through the theatre we create.
Their works are based on real people, real experiences and by creating something that will be on stage, they hope to give a voice to the people that are misunderstood and do not have a voice.
The company was founded in 2003 by 6 women who worked together at Bretton Hall, Leeds University. Thus, to this day the company is run by women, with occasional collaboration with male artists.The Paper Birds never begin from a script, rather they focus on how to illuminate the topic they chose. They use the terminology "Umbrella Theme" in reference to their overarching topic, that will guide them in finding materials. Another term they use is "Strand", which is an element that build upon one another to create deeper understanding of the theme. Each character of the production can have 4-5 strands, which will serve as their personal intentions and journey. Their projects are known to incorporate Verbatim theatre, which is reminiscent to a documentary that can be seen on TV. Along that, their works are a combination of questionnaire answers, lines from books or films, and anything that may come to mind. Their process normally takes up to 6-12 weeks, and they claim that around 2/3 of the way through is when they start seeing a concrete story arc. With this, they reflect upon what they currently have and ask themselves, "what's missing?" And with a little additions and collaboration, they create new materials for their piece until they are satisfied.
Third Angel
Third Angel is a theatre company that creates work that incorporates a variety of mediums, such as live art, installation, film, video art, documentary, photography and design. They make contemporary theatre that engages the audience through their honesty and frankness. An interesting element to their theatre is the location in which they perform. They use the environment to explore and experiment, places that they have performed at are: theatres, galleries, cinemas, office blocks, car parks, swimming baths, on the internet and TV, in school halls, a damp cellar in Leicester and a public toilet in Bristol.
To delve deeper on their devising process, I chose a specific project which was entitled "What I Heard About the World". Which is a collaboration with mala voadora which is a Portuguese theatre company. The story focuses on the idea of describing the world and questioning reality.
A world that seems to get bigger by the day. How on earth can you know all the places you’ve been, let alone the places you haven’t?
The project was born from an idea in 2007, during a conversation with a member of Third Angel and mala voadora. As they went to have coffee with a collaboration in mind, they discussed materials they found interesting and found that the stories were all common, as they were all fakes, replacements, stand-ins, substitutions. By the end, they talk about the accuracy of the map and imagined those stories within a fake map of the world. In 2010, they came back to this project and researched on stories they can use by retelling and renaming. The play is based on the process itself, it includes conversations about the stories collected and the cataloguing process.
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