This book provides a fascinating and concise history of devised theatre practice. As both a founding member of Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theater Company and a Professor, Telory Arendell begins this journey with a brief history of Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and Living Newspapers through Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble and Joe Chaikin’s Open Theatre to the racially inflected commentary of Luis Valdez’s Teatro Campesino and Ariane Mnouchkine’s collaboration with Théâtre de Soleil. This book explores the impact of devised theatre on social practice and analyzes Goat Island’s use of Pina Bausch’s gestural movement, Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed in Giving Voice, Anna Deavere Smith’s devised envelope for Verbatim Theatre, The Tectonic Theatre Project’s moment work, Teya Sepinuck’s Theatre of Witness, Pig Iron’s use of Lecoq mime to build complex physical theatre scripts, and The Riot Group’s musical arrangement of collaborative devised text. Included are a foreword by Allen J. Kuharski and three devised plays by Theatre of Witness, Pig Iron, and The Riot Group. Replete with interviews from the initial Pig Iron collaborators on subjects of writing, directing, choreographing, teaching, and developing a pedagogical platform that supports devised theatre.

Devising Theatre is a practical handbook that combines a critical analysis of contemporary devised theatre practice with descriptions of selected companies, and suggestions for any group devising theatre from scratch. It is the first book to propose a general theory of devised theatre. After identifying the unique nature of this type of performance, the author examines how devised theatre is perceived by professional practitioners, and provides an historical overview illustrating how it has evolved since the 1960s. Alison Oddey examines the particular working practices and products of a number of professional companies, including a Reminiscence theatre for the elderly and a theatre-in-education group, and offers ideas and exercises for exploration and experimentation.

This book is written for all companies, student and professional, who are interested in non-text-based theatre and shines a practical light on the passionate business of the devising process. It includes suggestions and advice on getting started and developing trust and communication within the devising company; how to research and use the results to stimulate ideas and discussion in the rehearsal period; encouraging, channelling, and developing ideas in the rehearsal room; discovering and incorporating the unexpected in rehearsal; backstage and design work, with sample checklists; raising money and organizing budgets; and how to stop talking, start playing, and develop the performance for an audience.

Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth: The Performing Justice Project offers accessible frameworks for devising original theatre, developing critical understandings of racial and gender justice, and supporting youth to imagine, create, and perform possibilities for a more just and equitable society. Working at the intersections of theory and practice, Alrutz and Hoare present their innovative model for devising critically engaged theatre with novice performers. Sharing why and how the Performing Justice Project (PJP) opens dialogue around challenging and necessary topics already facing young people, the authors bring together critical information about racial and gender justice with new and revised practices from applied theatre, storytelling, theatre, and education for social change. Their curated collection of PJP "performance actions" offers embodied and reflective approaches for building ensemble, devising and performing stories, and exploring and analyzing individual and systemic oppression. This work begins to confront oppressive narratives and disrupt patriarchal systems—including white supremacy, racism, sexism, and homophobia. Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth invites artists, teaching artists, educators, and youth-workers to collaborate bravely with young people to imagine and enact racial and gender justice in their lives and communities. Drawing on examples from PJP residencies in juvenile justice settings, high schools, foster care facilities, and community-based organizations, this book offers flexible and responsive ways for considering experiences of racism and sexism and performing visions of justice. Visit performingjusticeproject.org for additional information and documentation of PJP performances with youth.

Featuring the work of: About Face Youth Theatre • Albany Park Theater Project • Barrel of Monkeys • Every house has a door • FEMelanin • 500 Clown • Free Street Theater • Honey Pot Performance • Lookingglass Theater • The Neo-Futurists • The Second City • Southside Ignoramus Quartet • Teatro Luna • Walkabout Theater • Young Fugitives Ensemble-Made Chicago brings together a wide range of Chicago theater companies to share strategies for cocreating performance. Cocreated theater breaks down the traditional roles of writer, director, and performer in favor of a more egalitarian approach in which all participants contribute to the creation of original material. Each chapter offers a short history of a Chicago company, followed by detailed exercises that have been developed and used by that company to build ensemble and generate performances. Companies included range in age from two to fifty years, represent different Chicago neighborhoods, and reflect both the storefront tradition and established cultural institutions. The book pays special attention to the ways the fight for social justice has shaped the development of this aesthetic in Chicago. Assembled from interviews and firsthand observations, Ensemble-Made Chicago is written in a lively and accessible style and will serve as an invaluable guide for students and practitioners alike, as well as an important archive of Chicago’s vibrant ensemble traditions. Readers will find new creative methods to enrich their own practice and push their work in new directions.

A detailed guide to the collaborative method developed by the acclaimed creators of The Laramie Project and Gross Indecency--destined to become a classic. A Vintage Original. By Moisés Kaufman and Barbara Pitts McAdams with Leigh Fondakowski, Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Kelli Simpkins, Jimmy Maize, and Scott Barrow. For more than two decades, the members of Tectonic Theater Project have been rigorously experimenting with the process of theatrical creation. Here they set forth a detailed manual of their devising method and a thorough chronicle of how they wrote some of their best-known works. This book is for all theater artists—actors, writers, designers, and directors—who wish to create work that embraces the unbridled potential of the stage.

Ensemble devising can be a daunting prospect for many actors: it requires a level of imagination, commitment and risk-taking not always seen in conventional theatre. In this handy volume, Davis Robinson uses his wealth of knowledge and expertise, garnered over thirty years of devising, to teach you the ins and outs of ensemble theatre making. A Practical Guide to Ensemble Devising leads you through the process of collaborative theatre, from warm-ups and generating ideas to editing and polishing a performance. It features a comprehensive series of exercises throughout, which will allow you to build the foundational skills required for a range of productive ensemble work. By discussing the work of a number of internationally acclaimed practitioners, Robinson encourages you to develop your own unique style of performance. Lively and accessible, this book is invaluable for anyone interested in developing their devising skills.