My evaluation of the three separate devising pieces I undertook last term.
Throughout these separate devised pieces I have come in contact with many different style of directing and various approaches to devising.
Firstly our transformers piece which consisted of our collaboration with the technical theatre students. This started with their input towards the technical aspects of the show, then followed by our ideas to make a structured piece of theatre, having previous experience in this type of collaborative process from the first year, this year was different in the sense that we were given much more freedom in the material we used and and the directorial approach we took.
The communication throughout this process was varied, at the start it was difficult to keep relative information up to date with the rest of the group, this became easier as we made more progress towards the final product.
Taking the role of director of the piece was an interesting task and I felt has given me key experience in an undeveloped area of mine, I approached a clear structure for our team (myself, Charlotte, Jordan and Cliff) outline what aspects go Gogols ‘Diary of a madman’ We would be showing through shadow play, Then overseeing the work the two actors were creating.
My favourite aspect of this devising task was our collaboration with the technical theatre students as they brought some real clear and structured ideas for us to build on.
Halfway through this process I was lucky to have the chance to come in contact with an outside theatre group ‘Making Theatre, Gaining Skills’, where I auditioned for a part as a squirrel in a T.I.E piece (Theatre In Education). This meant I was taken away from our ‘transformers’ piece. Working with Hilary Strong -The former artistic director of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival- to help make a educational theatre experience for 2-6 year olds. Her directorial approach was vastly different from what I have experienced before, spending nights running the whole piece and re-writing sections we though needed tweaking. This free, approachable style of directing made me fond of how Hilary not only explored the stimuli we worked with but also allowed our own creative thinking towards the piece.
It also lead me to gain experience in a real working environment with a theatre company. I also was lucky enough to build a rapport with not only Hilary but the other cast members as well, leading to effective networking, another area I am currently working on building.
For me, this was the biggest bit of learning I have undertaken this term, introducing me to a working environment and allowing me to achieve a working show with set deadlines for performances in schools ( and also having little kids laugh at you because you’re dressed like a giant squirrel)
Lastly the final devised show we worked on in this term was Samuel Beckett’s ‘End Game’.
we started this process with the knowledge that a Beckett text would be used, and after our first session with Claire and Leonie, who were training teachers, End Game was selected to be approached. This opened up a new style of directing again, this time allowing us to make as we choose, but being overseen by both Claire and Leonie. After weeks of workshops for physical theatre, writing and script work, we spent a day editing down a script and selecting a location to perform our ‘End Game’, after different choices we decided the black box would set the right atmosphere for what we wanted to achieve. during our show week, the script was edited down even more so than originally thought, I believe this was because lack of communication in the group. Although I felt this piece put a good deal of strain on the group, the finished product was vastly different to what i first imagined, none the less a vibrant and interesting take on a classing Beckett play.
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