Lila Franco

FYS 100
Devised Theater

Through human history, we can see that there seems to be a necessity to

question and to overcome old believes. Devised theater is one example of how

humans break the old mold of theater. That hierarchical ideal of how theater is

supposed to be is lost in devised theater. Devised theater challenges the

conventional ideology of one persons text under another persons

direction(Normington). But before we go deeper into the concept of devised

theater, lets review what the conventional idea of theater.

By conventional theater I mean the established way institutionalized

theatre works. There is a hierarchical structure of director, playwright, written

text, producer, designers, actors. Each one has a specific duty or task to be

accomplish within some delimitations. There is some collaboration, each

person's additions to the whole are demarcated according to their artistic

responsibilities in their specialty. Even when depending on the play or institution

there are variations, in the end, there is a clear idea of what the result will be

since the beginning.

Now, what is devised theater and how is it different from conventional

theater? Normington defines devised theater as a process of generating a

performative or theatrical event, often but not always in collaboration with

other (Normington). Furthermore, Oddey defines it as work that was emerged

from and been generated be a group of people working in

collaboration(Oddey). More general, devised theater is an umbrella term for

processes of experimentation and sets of creatives strategies that challenges

the idea of one particular method.

A devised piece starts with a theme or an event that a group, or solo

artist, wishes to explore. It can be something from a picture, to a theme, to a

poem, to an existing piece of dramatic or non- dramatic literature (Jackson).

The text may be written by the director or by the group itself constructed form

their own background or experiences. The group is often a company of people

who continually work together, over years, to develop theatre pieces. Often, the

group members share responsibility in designing, costume, and staging, the

creative process occurs in collaboration.

In devised theater, there is freedom of possibilities that allows the artists

to explore and discover, while accumulating ideas from each member. The

process of devising is about the fragmentary experience of understanding

ourselves, our culture, and the world we inhabit (Oddey). The product reflects

the diversity of ideas of those who participate in its creation. Usually, devised

theater addresses the issues present in the socio-political and cultural context

that are relevant for its time. And sometimes the product is directed to a

particular audience or made from them. Even more, contemporary devisers

have expectations that the work will be performed by those involved in the

devised process, at least in the first production (Normington).

Such is the case of Ping Chong and his play Undesirable Elements. The

final product came out after living in community with the group. His series show
a decade of working closely with diverse groups. He dedicated time to know the

stories. Undesirable Elements is performed by the ones who experienced those

stories. It was a collaborative process that gave a space for different voices to

be heard. Like devised theater, Undesirable Elements was produced from a

particular group to a particular audience. In this case, for those who identify

themselves with the actors or for those who dont.

All in all, devised theater is a space where different visions come together.

From the beginning until the end, its a collaborative process. There is not a

particular method to create a devised piece. It encompasses different views and

strategies. The result is a product which holds diverse voices.

References:

Jackson, Lisa. The Theatre That Will Be: Devised Theatre: Methodologies and

Aesthetics in Training and Practice. Virgina Commonwealth University,

2006, http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=2460&context=etd.

Normington, Katie. Making a Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary

Practices. Routledge, 2007. CrossRef,

http://www.tandfebooks.com/isbn/9780203946954.

Oddey, Alison. Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook.

Psychology Press, 1996.