What is Devised Theater?

What is devised theater?
When you signed up for this class what did you picture?

Devised Theatre: Day 1
Or the reason I really hate the word ‘devised’
because it doesn’t mean anything.
Seriously.

In 2010 Arena Stage organized a weekend
of panels and discussions as part of the
American Voices New Play Institute that
culminated in a final report that you can
find easily online. It was called:
Theater OUTSIDE the Box:
Devised Work
(cheeky emphasis mine)

Question:
Why do the following things
belong in the same category?

A dreamy and intimate puppet show with magic and no words created
by two actors without a director performed on a traditional stage

A traveling bus tour of the Bronx with no performers other than a mostly
out of sight tour guide that is experienced through headphones and
windows whose sole creative credits are two directors and a writer

An exploration of a famous transvestite inspired by her actual
interviews and written by a single writer, performed by a single
actor with a single director at the helm.
(A script BTW that goes on to perform at some of the biggest regional theaters in the country)

A massive choose your own adventure installation about our
relationship to money using 40 actors in a warehouse containing
12 performance spaces, headphone vignettes and 3 large scale
musical numbers by a company that’s also done…

A performance of a Shakespeare play with a traditional director
hierarchy, performed as written by the Bard with an ensemble cast
in a traditional theater

Answer:
Beyond the fact that they are all
called works of “theater” they aren’t
very alike at all

Answer:
Except for the fact that the people
who made them were invited as
experts to this panel on “devising”

This is why I hate the word
“devised” when it’s applied as if
it signifies something we can
immediately identify when
watching a performance

Especially when for some it’s
become tacitly linked in
people’s minds with “weird” or
“experimental” just for the sake
of rebelling against “traditional”
theater

Or when it’s assumed that the
skills employed by playwrights,
directors, actors, etc in a
Broadway or LORT-style
production aren’t used by a
“devising” one and vice versa

“Standard” Theater
vs
“Devised” Theater
is a false binary people

Especially if you consider that our
current “standard” model has only
been the standard one for the last
five or so decades
(coinciding with the rise of the American
Regional Theater movement and related
advocacy groups like TCG and the League
of Resident Theatres)

Especially if you consider that our
current “standard” model has only
been the standard one for the last
five or so decades
out of theater’s
2,500 year history

From that report:
“The term “devised” theater has proven slippery and hard to
define. Although the participants in the convening – a cross
section of the field that included large ensemble leaders,
puppeteers, duos, interview-based groups, individuals, and
many others – covered a wide variety of the diverse work
done in this field, all acknowledged the implausibility of
classifying themselves as a specific ‘group.’ Although many
of these artists have united for the sake of drawing attention
to their work, there is, in fact, only one fundamental truth
they could all agree on…
“The term “devised” theater has proven slippery and hard to
define. Although the participants in the convening – a cross
section of the field that included large ensemble leaders,
puppeteers, duos, interview-based groups, individuals, and
many others – covered a wide variety of the diverse work
done in this field, all acknowledged the implausibility of
classifying themselves as a specific ‘group.’ Although many
of these artists have united for the sake of drawing attention
to their work, there is, in fact, only one fundamental truth
they could all agree on…

“There is no cookie cutter process
for creating devised work.”

Devising is not a style of
performance.

Devising is not the absence
of a director or the
presence of a collective.

Devising is not a particular
aesthetic.

Devising is also not a lack of a
script, removal of a
playwright, or a particular
approach to text.

You can take a devised
approach and create a very
“traditional” looking out put.

You can make a super weird
and avant-garde style
performance using all kinds of
“traditional” techniques.

Devising is simply an
approach to playmaking

One that says there are lots of
choices in terms of performance
content, rehearsal methodology,
and the aesthetics and form of
presentation

Devisers make those choices
uniquely to each process in
order to best accentuate the
experience we want the
audience to have in a play

Devising isn’t on opposite sides of a
spectrum from the LORT standard
playwright centered auteur director
driven four week rehearsal process…
Devising IS the spectrum!
And the LORT standard is on it.
…woah…

Devising is an openness to the
potential worth of all the possible
methods, forms and styles of
theater that can be imagined

With valuation of the “right”
choices dependent on the
individual piece and what will
best serve its content

Options when devising
Shakespeare
Kabuki
Regional
Theater
Model
Including the regional theater model!
Site
specific
work
Dance/Move
ment
Audience
interaction
Realism
Non-linear
narrative
Clown
Promenade-
style traveling
shows

If you actually look at the process
in which they made their works,
you could easily make a case that

Devisers aren’t “against”
anything: scripts, traditional
rehearsal process, whatever

We just aren’t automatically “for”
them either

When I sat down to create a definition
for “devised” play it was this:
A work of theater that begins from
the assumption that there is no
singular process for its creation or
preferable form for its outcome.

What matters most is the message
or feeling you want to convey.

Swim Pony Performing Arts
• Loud, strange and never seen before on earth!
Swim Pony is committed to the creation of unique live performances that are
joyful and defy tradition in order to bring contemporary audiences beyond
their experiences of the every-day.
Swim Pony is committed to the creation of unique live performances that are
joyful and defy tradition in order to bring contemporary audiences beyond
their experiences of the every-day.
For me…
• It matters that it’s live
• It’s you something you can’t see in your regular life
These personal interests plus the content of the particular
piece I’m pursuing result in wildly different outcomes
• Mission (aka the message):

A far more traditional process but performed in a VERY particular space with a non-linear
narrative approach to storytelling and found object music all employed to convey a sense of
tactile roughness, the weight of imprisonment and the distance between ourselves and history

A three year research process with two lead artists involving over 40 artists who rotated in and
out of the work on Shakespeare and Roy Hart approaches to voice with writing by a playwright,
myself and the ensemble that resulted in a very “normal” looking play on a stage in a theater

A co-production between a director based company and a comedy ensemble in which we
performed in actual science lecture halls in order to increase the sense of “reality” for the
audience so they would buy into their role and the “horror” effects used at the end of the play

And a piece about the massive, incomprehensible size and complexity of space
with audience and performers moving through 20,000 sq ft

Seeing one of 128 different possible options for viewing the show, and any one
person only able to see about a quarter of the show’s content in a single viewing

Including spaces that were entirely empty of “performers” and “performance” in order to
achieve the sense of loneliness and the infinitesimal size of humans in relationship to it

So how do you do it?
• However you want!
• All your choices should answer the question:
what best serves the story I want to convey or the
experience I want to share?
• A lot of the time the “standard” process dictates
a lot of these choices as a matter of course, some
of which really serve your work and some of
which might not
• As a deviser you’re always on the look out to find
things that are changeable and could be made
better with a different choice.

• Things that can change: the rehearsal process and
it’s timeline, who is in charge, where content is
generated from, the places you can perform in,
the way you deal with the audience (and they
with you), the kinds of collaborators that are in
the room…
• Anything you can identify as potential variables
could be, in theory, up for grabs
• Generally I divide those variables in two rough
and untidy categories I’ve stolen from game
design: elements and mechanics

Elements
• Elements are all the things that go into a
performance and it’s process
• They are like the pieces of a game: the board,
the players, the field, etc
• It might help to step back and think about a
person who knows nothing about how a play
works and is coming into a theatrical
experience for the first time
• What do we encounter as audience?

Elements
• The space in which the performance takes place
and the objects contained within that space
– This encompasses the stage, set, props, puppets which
are categories that delineate formal differentiation
between aspects of this larger concept, though it’s
worth pointing out that such divisions are imposed
categories and a spectrum between them exists

The Ballad of Joe Hill (2013)
Where exactly do we
draw the line between
the “theater building”
and the “set”?

Elements
• The space in which the performance takes place and
the objects contained within that space
– This encompasses the stage, set, props, puppets which are
categories that delineate formal differentiation between
aspects of this larger concept, though it’s worth pointing
out that such divisions are imposed categories and a
spectrum between them exists
– And any technical objects like speakers, lighting
instruments and seating as well as areas that are “non-
performative” like a lobby, dressing rooms or backstage
spaces that may or may not be seen by the audience
– Maybe even the space around the theater building
– Again this lines can get fuzzy

The “preshow” bar at Sleep No More

Elements
• A number of human beings that currently
occupy the delineated space who may or may
not be visible at any given moment:
– Some of these humans are called performers:
actors, dancers, puppeteers and musicians.
– It also, obviously, includes the audience as well.
– And it also includes those working on this thing in
some other capacity – stage managers, run crew.
– But again those distinctions are not always clear…

Elements
• And all the things that the humans are
doing/using to create the experience:
– Speaking words (from a text/script)
– Moving around themselves and the objects around
them (blocking, dancing, etc)
– Turning on and off lights at various times
– Playing sounds in different parts of the space
– Etc
– Etc
– Etc

Mechanics
• Mechanics are all the questions surrounding
the function of artmaking.
• I see them sort of like the rules we imagine to
guide the experience – both the creators and
audience.
• Mechanics help all of us understand how we
play the game with the pieces we have.

Mechanics
• Some of them are incredibly concrete:
– How long does the experience last?
– How does the audience view the work?
– How do we know it’s over?
• Some are a bit more conceptual:
– What rules govern how performers are allowed to
interact with each other and the audience?
– How (if at all) can the audience affect what happens?
– Is the quality of these interactions the same
throughout the experience or does it change?
• Note some of these are explicitly stated, others simply
expected (especially in “standard” settings)

Mechanics
• Some are intuitive or aesthetic to the creators:
– What material/ideas are we interested in exploring?
– What information do we want and/or need to communicate?
– How do we want the audience to feel?
– What is the pacing/energy of the experience and how does it
change?
– What is the style of the language/movement/music/image, etc?
• Some are narrative:
– What is form or delivery of performance that is occurring?
– Does time operate realistically? Is it a linear experience?
– Is there language?
– Are we interested in “plot”?
– How literal or figurative is this world?

Mechanics
• Some of them are production related:
– How much money do we have?
– What is the time line this happens over?
– What spaces and equipment do we have access to?
– What audiences do we expect to bring in and/or want to reach?
• Some of them are process and interpersonal
– What is the hierarchy of decision-making? Is there a “lead”
artist(s)?
– What performers do we have/want and what are their skills?
– Are there any new abilities we want to develop in this process?
– What kinds of design are we interested in?
– Do we have/want a director or outside eye?
– When do people begin to engage with the process (at
conception, research, development, refining, performance)?

• Again, the question that guides the exploration is: what
best serves the story I want to convey or the experience I
want to share?
• Elements can have an influence on mechanics and vice
versa:
– A proscenium with a raised stage and audience sitting in seats
will likely induce less direct physical interaction between
performers and audience than one in which the audience is on
the same level and standing in the playing space with the
performers.
• The more you do this, the more you might discover things
that initially seem immutable or concrete actually have a
range of possibilities you can experimenting with…

Embracing the Experiment
• An example: Let’s say you have a character in
the text that is written (so far) who plays the
accordion [element].
• Normally, when the text says this, it means
that when choosing performers I must seek
someone who has musical skills on this
instrument (or can learn them fast enough)
[mechanic].
• A case of element is dictating a mechanic.

Better go cast an accordion player!
Right?
Well…

If we step back with a sense of
experimentation we can see that
we’ve actually made an assumption:
i.e. that objects in space are literal.

• We might test a mechanic that all props were imagined instead of
physically present:
– We might find that having actors mime objects highlights the action in
a clean and sleek way.
– We might find that it’s interesting but the performers don’t have the
mime skills and choose to take time to develop them
– We might find the first try is too specifically literal but then try again
with a gestural language that more abstract and works better
– We might find that it’s not a solution for this scene but the mimed
movement sequences are so beautiful that we want to include them in
the play anyway
– We might decide we really do need that accordion playing actress
– We might decide the accordion is actually an unnecessarily large and
gimmicky instrument and point out to the writer that our actress can
play the flute…

We could try and guess at the
various potential results of testing
each idea, but devising is based on
the idea you can’t always know just
by thinking, you actually have to try
it to see

• Many choices are not only up for grabs at the start but
are constantly being tested and changed based on
experimentation as the process progresses
• Many things that are generally “set” at the start –
script, design elements, number/type of collaborators,
even location – may change drastically as the creators
better understand the work they are making.
• And often, more people get to participate in offering
the inquiries of experimentation to be pursued.
• This process is something everyone is generally on
board for and can go right up until (or even into) the
performance period.

In this way “experimental” is used in
the more scientific sense – as a
means towards actively creating
room for discovery. The aim is to
find unexpectedly effective avenues
we might not have predicted ahead
of time.

I think of this as a way of saying
there’s more out there than what
you already know

This is why devisers tend to shake
things up again and again, making
work in wildly different ways every
time they make something.
We rarely assume the last way
will always be the right way.

This is why devised pieces tend to
take so much longer.
It’s also why we so often frustrate
funders and producers who want to
know lots of stuff ahead of time.
Side bar:

“Devising” is an approach that prizes
openness to manipulation of the
elements and the mechanics of live
performance in active experimentation
throughout the creative process in order
to most effectively communicate a story,
idea and/or feeling to the audience.
Which brings me to the best definition I was able to create for
“devised” theater:

A directing example from Swim Pony
• In early 2009 I met up with 4 performers and 3
designers and pitched them a show idea
• I wanted to create a piece that explored a few
things:
– When I watch or read about the vastness of the
universe or try to imagine an atom I feel both really
insignificant and at the same time connected and a
part of something so amazingly huge and complex
– Scientists think there are 10 dimensions and that this
is a total mind fuck that hurts my brain
– I wanted to make a play about climate change that
was interesting to watch

Questions we asked
• How do you feel scale rather than just think about
it?
• Does the flow of information always have to be
from stage to seats?
• What is the best way to make the audience
understand super complicated scientific principles?
• Can we still control the experience if the audience
has some agency in choosing aspects in what they
see?

• Inspired by video game design
• 22,000 sq ft
• Choose your own adventure – up to 4 scenes in a round that do not repeat
• Focused on building a consistent emotional journey rather than a narrative
• 128 unique experiences
• May not see a character
• May not see a huge section of the space

SURVIVE!
• The format of the show (choose your own
adventure with limited access to all scenes)
mirrored the sensation I wanted, but we only
found this out through research and trial and
error of scenes in real time
• Some elements, like the climate change thing, fell
away because it didn’t fit with the emerging line
of discovery
• Some elements were ones others into the
process, like NASA’s Voyager, and weren’t part of
my original inkling of conception but became the
central aspects of the work

SURVIVE!
Here’s a bit from that show…
These were two simultaneous scenes that were
aimed at trying to communicate the idea that
“data” can be present all around us but
“knowledge” can still be out of our reach

Jamie’s (Kinetic Girl) experiments with language as a
form of communication
https://vimeo.com/32683231

Brad’s character (The Gentle Scientist) evokes the feeling of
patient/patronizing explanation of what is all around us
https://vimeo.com/32692385

So let’s try it!
• How do you start?
• However you want!
• Begin from mission
• Take a personal inventory of who you are and
what you want to do

So let’s try it!
• Someone with an idea or image for a project
that would be excited to turn into theatrical
form
• Even better if it’s something that you’ve never
been able to figure out how to do in “script”
format

So let’s try it!
• That person will be the “lead” creator
• I’ll act as a facilitator for a large group
brainstorming session
• You guys can imagine yourself as various
collaborators (actors, designers, etc)
• Do you want to start with mechanics or
elements?

So let’s try it!
Mechanics:
• What is it and what do you want to communicate
about it?
• What is the taste/touch/sound/texture of this thing?
• What kinds of questions does it make you want to
ask?
• Where (if anywhere) is it?
• What are things you associate with it (however
abstract)?
• Does it evoke particular feelings?

So let’s try it!
Elements:
• Are there people you really want to work
with?
• Are there spaces that immediately feel similar
or right?
• Are there particular videos, songs,
texts/stories or images that you associate with
it?

So let’s try it!
• With these ideas in mind begin to build a
rough timeline of process
• How best could you do this? Where? When?
• This is where the production elements come
in and support an idea rather than driving it

And now…
Work for next time:
• Finish you surveys and hand to me today
• Read Chapters I, II and III in Art and Fear and
respond
• Look through “Morning Pages” and begin your
daily routine

What is Devised Theater?

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to What is Devised Theater?

Similar to What is Devised Theater? (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

What is Devised Theater?

Editor's Notes