Devising Theatre and Performance

Helen Paris, Leslie Hill

Description

Devising Theatre and Performance is a hands-on guide for artists, students and teachers of performance at any stage of their practice. It offers a wide range of creative prompts and pathways enriched with critical thinking tools and questions, a hybrid approach Hill and Paris call ‘Curious Methods’.

This is a welcome addition to the field, created and curated by two experienced artists who have operated at the international interface of academia and professional practice for over three decades.

The collection is packed with fun, creative, thoughtful exercises distilled from over twenty years of running interdisciplinary artist workshops and teaching both devising and performance making. As well providing numerous exercises and suggestions for devising, composing and editing original works, this book offers tools for giving and receiving feedback, critical reflection and framing artistic work within academic research contexts.

Readers can choose to dip in and out, to follow the book as a course or to work section by section, focusing on organizing principles such as working from the body, working with site, working with objects or performance activism. The book includes a detailed production workbook and a practice-based research workbook you can tailor to your own projects. The 'Curious Methods' approach encourages users to take the time and space their practice deserves while offering tools, nourishment and encouragement and inviting them to take risks beyond their comfort zones. The exercises are carefully described so that they can easily be tested out by readers, and are well contextualized in relation to vivid examples from contemporary performance practice and relevant political contexts. This compelling approach goes beyond many other books on theatre devising, which merely provide performance recipes; they do so by repeatedly highlighting the vital cultural relevance and potential personal impact of the experiments that they invite us to undertake.

The primary audience for this important new book will be academics, instructors and students in courses on devised theatre, improvisation, performance art, experimental performance and practice-based research. It will be essential for classroom use, for students of theatre and performance and live art – undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D., teachers and all those needing strategies for getting started.

It will also appeal to readers from the broader arts, humanities and social sciences who are seeking resources for integrating creative methods into their research.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

1.         Curious Methods

2.         Pep Talk

Daily Practice

Outfoxing the Censor

Freewriting

A Time and a Place

Failing Better

3.         Working from the Body

Arrivals and Departures

Begin Again

Tongue-Tied

Body Map

Body Memory

Invisible

The Sense of Smell

Homesick

Olfactory Portraits

Fight Flight Freeze

Gut Feelings

Secret Duets

Inheritance Tracks

Family Traits and Mannerisms

Persona

Walk This Way

Building a Persona

4.         Working with Objects

Tactile Memory

Exquisite and Mundane

Inherited Objects

Box Stories

‘The Lovers’

Suitcase

5.         Working with Site

Give and Take

Ghost Library

Ghost Duets

In Search of a Gesture

You Are Here

Map Making, Three Ways

Blurring Time and Place

Things ain’t what they used to be

Best Foot Forward

Marks and Scars

Dancing Place and Space

Private, Keep Out!

Taking Up Residence

Infinitesimal Detail

Fifteen Quick Freewrites on Place

Autotopographically Speaking

Silent Stroll

Closing Thoughts

6.         Working with Pairings

Failure & Text

Desire & Proximity

Ritual & Object

7.         Activism

Manifestos

Impulse Manifesto

Make Manifest

Lending and Borrowing

Signs

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve

On Location

Stand Up, Speak Out

Living Newspaper

Ripped from the Headlines

Re-Enactment

Choose Your Battles

Verbatim Theatre

Explosive Material – a Journalistic Exercise

Explosive Compounds – an Ethnographic Exercise

One-Minute Plays

Mix Tape

Produce, Adapt or Devise?

A Moment in History

Cross That Line

Closed Border

Open Border

Tactical Toolkit

Make a Spectacle

Reflections

8.         Production Workbook

Operating Instructions

Kick-Starting Process

Realm of Concern

I’ve always wanted to be able to …

Feathering the Nest

Look Book

Composition

Space and Composition

Dream Island

Fleshing It Out

Dancing the Dynamics

Workshopping

Index Card Storyboard

Dear Dead Darlings

Remember the Audience

Dear Audience

Feedback

Three Adjectives

Performance Response

Brief Hauntings

Companion Piece

Invited Guests

Bespoke

Cartomancy

Documentation

Pen Pal

Favourite Performance You Never Saw

9.         A Practice-Based Research Workbook

Performing Knowledges

Back Stage

Escape Velocity

Glorious Manifestations

Generative Research

Mapping Your Practice

Diagrammatic Praxis

Secret Fear

Abstractions on Secret Fears

Defining Your Dramaturgy

Signatures of Practice

Art-I-Facts

Love Letter

Artist-Scholar Family Album

Methodologies

Phenomenology

Doing a Phenomenology

Phenomenological Journal

Autoethnography

Project Descriptions in 1st and 3rd

Specialist Knowledge

Autoethnographic Journal

Keeping a Lab Notebook

Designing Bespoke PBR Exercises – Two Case Studies

Gut Feelings

UpRoot

Sowing from Seed

PBR Evaluation and Critique

Bespoke Evaluation Rubric

Amalgamated Evaluation Rubric

Bibliography and Further Reading

Index

Sujets

• Theater
• Performing Arts
• Theatre
• Performance art
• General officer
• Art
• General
• Performance

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 26 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789384727
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Curious Methods

Curious’s methods are at once tender, lyrical, soul-stirring, and politically charged. To practise their methods with them is joyous and inspiring. Jen Har vie, Queen Mar y University of London Devising Theatre & Performance LESLIE HILL & HELEN PARIS

Devising heatre and Performance Curious MetHods

LESLIE HILL AND HELEN PARIS

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First published in the UK in 2021 by Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK

First published in the USA in 2021 by Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Published in collaboration with Live Art Development Agency

Copyright © 2021 Intellect

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: Helen Paris, Claudia Barton and the Discovery Tree, Curious Retreat, Big Trees State Park, California, photo Leslie Hill.

Copy-editing: Newgen

Cover and book design: Kathy Barber and Gorm Ashurst at Bullet Creative

Production editing: Jelena Stanovnik

ISBN: 9781789384710 epub ISBN: 9781789384734 ePDF ISBN: 9781789384727

Printed and bound by Severn, UK.

This is a peer-reviewed publication.

To find out about all our publications, please visit www.intellectbooks.com. There, you can subscribe to our e-newsletter, browse or download our current catalogue and buy any titles that are in print.

Devising Theatre & Performance: Curious Methods

to our students with love

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Contents

Acknowledgements Illustrations

1. Curious Methods

2. Pep Talk Daily Practice Daily Creative Practice Time Outfoxing the Censor Freewriting A Time and a Place Failing Better

3.WorkingfromtheBody Arrivals and Departures Begin Again Tongue-tied Body Map Body Memory Invisible The Sense of Smell Homesick Olfactory Portraits Fight, Flight, Freeze Gut Feelings Secret Duets Inheritance Tracks Family Traits and Mannerisms Persona Building a Persona Ideas / Reflections / Sketches

4.WorkingwithObjects Tactile Memory Exquisite and Mundane Inherited Objects

Devising Theatre & Performance: Curious Methods

6 7

8

14 16 16 17 17 18 19

20 22 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 29 30 30 31 32 33 36 36 38

40 43 45 46

Box Stories ‘The Lovers’ Suitcase

5.WorkingwithSite Give and Take Ghost Library Ghost Duets In Search of a Gesture You Are Here Map Making, Three Ways Blurring Time and Place Things Ain’t What They Used to Be Best Foot Forward Marks and Scars Dancing Place and Space Private, Keep Out! Taking Up Residence Infinitesimal Detail Fifteen Quick Freewrites on Place Autotopographically Speaking Silent Stroll Closing Thoughts Ideas / Reflections / Sketches

6.WorkingwithPairings Failure & Text Desire & Proximity Ritual & Object Ideas / Reflections / Sketches

7. Activism Manifestos Impulse Manifesto Make Manifest Lending and Borrowing Signs Wear your Heart on your Sleeve On Location

48 49 50

54 58 59 61 61 61 62 62 63 64 64 66 66 67 67 68 68 69 70 71

72 74 75 77 79

80 83 84 84 85 86 87 88

Stand Up, Speak Out Living Newspaper Ripped from the Headlines Re-enactment Choose your Battles Verbatim Theatre Explosive Material – a journalistic exercise Explosive Compounds – an ethnographic exercise One-Minute Plays Mix Tape Produce, Adapt or Devise? A Moment in History Cross That Line Closed Border Open Border Tactical Toolkit - Jessi Piggott Make a Spectacle Reflections Ideas / Reflections / Sketches

8.ProductionWorkbook Operating Instructions Kick-Starting Process Realm of Concern I’ve always wanted to be able to … Feathering the Nest Look Book Composition Space and Composition Dream Island Fleshing it Out Dancing the Dynamics Workshopping Index Card Storyboard Dear Dead Darlings Enter The Audience Dear Audience Feedback

89 90 90 91 92 93 94

95 96 97 98 99 101 102 103 104 106 108 109

110 112 113 114 115 115 116 117 117 118 119 119 120 121 122 122 123 124

Three Adjectives Performance Response Brief Hauntings - Ryan Tacata Brief Hauntings Companion Piece Invited Guests Bespoke Cartomancy Documentation Favourite Performance You Never Saw

9. A Practice-Based Research Workbook Performing Knowledges Back Stage Escape Velocity Glorious Manifestations Generative Research – Lois Weaver Mapping your Practice Diagrammatic Praxis - Sher Doruff Secret Fear Abstractions on Secret Fears Defining Your Dramaturgy Signatures of Practice – Gretchen Schiller Methodologies Phenomenology Doing a Phenomenology – Susan Kozel Phenomenological Journal Autoethnography Project Descriptions in First and Third Specialist Knowledge Autoethnographic Journal Keeping a Lab Notebook Designing Bespoke PBR Exercises Sowing from Seed PBR Evaluation and Critique Bespoke Evaluation Rubric Amalgamated Evaluation Rubric

Bibliography and Further Reading

124 125 126 126 126 127 127 128 128 129

130 134 134 136 136 138 139 140 141 142 144 145 146 146 147 148 148 149 149 150 150 151 152 153 154 155

156

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thanks to all the brilliant student and professional artists we have worked with over the years in classes and workshops, during retreats and residencies, for all the inspiration, laughs and love you’ve given us.

Thanks to our first ever Solo Performance students at Arizona State University back in 1997 for helping us become teachers; my (Helen’s) Brunel University students whose professional work I now audience with pride; my (Leslie’s) interdisciplinary Ph.D. students at UEL SMARTlab for all your pioneering practice-based research and for the tri-annual jam sessions; our beloved and bereft Stanford students who organized a sort of living wake for us before we moved back to the United Kingdom – we were speechless; and my (Leslie’s) Roehampton students who managed to produce their 2020 theatre degree shows on Zoom from their lockdown bedrooms – I will always treasure your creativity in the face of challenges we could never have imagined.

To all our Curious workshop participants from the NRLA Winter School in Glasgow to LADA-sponsored DIY workshops in London, Time Place Space in Wagga Wagga Australia and the Taiwan Women Theatre Festival in Taipei to name but a few – we’ve had so much fun working with you and keeping in touch with you and your work over the years!

Thanks to our wonderful colleagues at Roehampton University London and Canterbury Christ Church University. We would particularly like to thank Gretchen Schiller, Structure Fédérative de Recherche- Création at the University of Grenoble Alps, for our fantastic experiences at the interdisciplinary ‘Arts

Devising Theatre & Performance: Curious Methods

in the Alps’ summer schools in 2017 and 2019 developing some of this material and Chloé Déchery at l’Université de Paris 8 and Studio-théâtre de Vitry, Paris, for the invitation to try out some of the ideas in this book, particularly the PBR workbook, with an incredibly talented group of artist-scholars in 2019.

The Back Stage exercise is an adaptation of a workshop we developed for elderly groups with Lois Weaver as part of ‘Getting On: A Backstage Tour’, funded by a Stanford Community Engagement grant in 2013. Thanks also to Stanford University for funding our PBR in the Arts MOOC with a teaching innovation award and to the 5,000-plus artists who participated and our peers who contributed. Thank you to Artsadmin, particularly Judith Knight, Gill Lloyd, Cheryl Pierce and Cat Harrison, for producing and managing so many workshop events over the past twenty years alongside all the performances. Thanks also to our beloved Curious board – Philippa Barr, Theresa Beattie, CJ Mitchell, Jen Parker Starbuck – for steadfast support and advice.

Thank you to Arts Council England, the Wellcome Trust, Live Art Development Agency DIY, Home Live Art, Arnolfini, Battersea Arts Centre and countless venues and festivals for funding and facilitating artist workshops over the years. Thank you to the Woods Institute for the Environment for funding the UpRoot workshops.

Immense thanks to Lois Keidan, CJ Mitchell and Megan Vaughan at Live Art Development Agency and Jelena Stanovnik and the team at Intellect for believing in this book and helping us bring it to fruition. Massive thanks to the anonymous peer reviewers for their suggestions. Huge thanks to Kathy Barber and Gorm Ashurst at Bullet Creative for your super collaboration on the design.

Illustrations

Cover image: Helen Paris, Claudia Barton and theDiscovery Tree*, Curious Retreat, Wild Longings, Big Trees State Park, California, photo Leslie Hill.

1. Claudia Barton, Helen Paris and Leslie Hill,UpRoot, photo Hugo Glendinning.

2. Helen Paris,Best Before End, photo Hugo Glendinning.

3.

Helen Paris,Best Before End, photo Hugo Glendinning.

4.Best Before End, photo Richard Davenport.

5.

San Francisco cast,Out of Water**, photo Jamie Lyons

6. Geoff McGary and Rene Newby,the moment I saw you I knew I could love you, photo Hugo Glendinning.

7. Leslie Hill, Claudia Barton and Helen Paris,Wild Longings, photo Elliot Frank.

8.

9.

Helen Paris,Best Before End, photo Richard Davenport.

Leslie Hill,On the Scent, photo Hugo Glendinning.

Inside back cover: Leslie Hill,UpRoot, photo Hugo Glendinning

*The ‘Discovery Tree’, now ‘the Big Stump’ was felled in 1853, an act of destruction that helped spark environmental activism and the establishment of National Parks across the USA.

** Created by Caroline Wright and Helen Paris, music by Jocelyn Pook

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1. Curious Metods