Devised theatre is created during the rehearsal process,

as opposed to a staged version of an extant script. In a

conventional rehearsal process, while the director and
actors have the liberty to play with interpretation,
ultimately their aim is to deliver a faithful version of the
text. In contrast, on day one of a devising project, the
participants jump into the abyss of the unknown. They
may have starting points in mind a text, an object,
music, a space, a concept or issue but at this stage no
one will have an idea of what the final production will be
like. Those factors which we imagine to be the building
blocks of a play plot, characters, structure, style, form
are all yet to be decided. Unsurprisingly, this element of
risk can be daunting. However, it also engenders an
immense sense of fun and freedom, the opportunity to
try things out, to experiment and to play. Devised
theatre can be fresh, original, captivating and thrilling.
Whilst the prospect of devising might initially provoke
panic What do you mean, we have to create a play
from scratch?! it is, I think, often the most exciting way
of working. Theres the palpable danger, the thrill of the
unknown, the excitement of the adventure, and the
satisfaction of creating something entirely original. Actors
and students learn invaluable skills during the devising
process. Indeed, some of the most successful productions
in the contemporary canon are devised, or use devising
techniques in their development. Complicites playful
devising strategies are visible in their productions; they
work as an ensemble under the auspices of director
Simon McBurney, experimenting with visual media,
object manipulation, text and narrative to create
theatrically innovative work, like A Disappearing Number
and Shunkin.
The Five Stages of Devising There is no sure-fire
recipe for success when it comes to devising. The
following process is merely a suggestion, a starting point.
It is a method I have developed in my own work; I find it
useful but it is by no means meant to be definitive. For
me, the key to successful devising is decision-making: set
yourself parameters; plan ahead; do not be scared to
experiment, but ensure you allow sufficient time to work
on detail. Devising should be a constant process of
expansion and contraction generating a wealth of ideas
and then rejecting some; creating scenes and then
revising them; developing a narrative and then
streamlining it. The following five-stage process
encourages you to be as imaginative and playful as
possible within a carefully structured timetable.

Stage One: Preparation In which we prepare to jump off

the edge In the first phase there are few rules, the focus
is on having fun. The aim is to get to know each other, to
find a common language, share skills and to warm up
the body and mind ready for work.
Stage Two: Generation In which we create an array of
starting points and ideas In the second phase we begin
to generate material. We use playful techniques to
initiate ideas and to generate a wealth of creative
building blocks. The focus is on imagining, improvising
and being open to exploring a range of stimuli before
moving into the realms of decision-making. We cultivate
a plethora of ideas and try them all out.
Stage Three: Exploration In which we develop and
expand our ideas In the third phase we begin selecting
and developing key ideas. We pick the most inspiring
concepts from the second stage and then investigate
them further. It is still a generative phase, but we begin
to set parameters, pinning down basic elements of
narrative, characters and scenes. By the end of this
phase we should have a strong idea of the shape and
themes of the piece, allowing us to move on to explore
detail in the next phase.

Stage Four: Distillation In which we selectively develop

and hone our ideas and watch the play start to emerge
Having created an outline in the third stage, at the fourth
stage we now fill in the gaps, edit and reassess. We
experiment with structure, consider the dynamics and
flesh out characters and their relationships. We also work
on shape, tension and the narrative arc until we have a
piece that is almost ready for performance. Stage Five:
Presentation In which we move from the rehearsal room
to the wings The fifth and final stage involves
performance preparation. At this stage, the more
conventional elements of rehearsal come into play. Key
elements of performance technique vocal projection,
accent, character detail, staging, blocking and ensemble
skills become essential. The audience now becomes the
focus. We concentrate on giving an energetic, honed and
engaging performance, and then we begin! How to
Use This Process This five-stage process could be
used to structure your entire rehearsal period, with a
given number of rehearsals allocated to each of the
stages. However, if you are investigating multiple starting
points, you could apply this five-stage process to each
individual strand, thereby repeating it several times over
the course of rehearsals. Let us look at an example. I
recently worked with two groups of drama-school
students, who were tasked with devising an original piece
of theatre over five weeks. Their stimulus was local
myths and legends. I offered both groups the five-stage
process as a means of structuring their work and asked
them to apply it as they saw fit. One group constructed a
play exploring the theme of capture, which involved
telling five sea myths in contrasting ways. They used the
five-stage process to develop each myth separately, each
time working through stages one to five, before moving
on to the next story. They then used the whole process
again to decide how
to put the piece together. After playing some initial
games (Stage One: Preparation), they began improvising
playfully around the mythical characters (Stage Two:
Generation). Next they selected their favourite tales and
explored those in greater depth (Stage Three:
Exploration). They considered the myths in detail and
explored different performative languages in which to tell
them: some told with words, others to music, others
using stage combat to add dynamism and excitement,
giving their piece texture and contrasts. However, as is
often the case, they had then developed such a wealth of
material that it became vital to edit drastically, cutting
unnecessary material and paying more attention to the
shape of the piece as a whole. They needed to link each
as yet unconnected story. They did so by choosing a
setting a ship and introducing each new myth as the
sailors got increasingly drunk and began telling tales.
They edited their narrative arc (Stage Four: Distillation),
finding a way to shift cleverly from the world of the ship
to the myths themselves. They then rehearsed with full
costume and technical aspects in preparation for the
performance (Stage Five: Presentation). The other group
took a different approach, as they were eager to focus on
one story. They divided their rehearsal schedule into five
parts, rigidly following the five-stage process, allocating a
week per stage, in order to allow themselves enough
time to develop an original yet detailed performance. In
the initial weeks they brought in research about local
buildings and hauntings, focusing on a newspaper article
about an abandoned hospital nearby. Over the next few
weeks they worked collaboratively to create characters
and plot, before scripting their piece, choreographing
sequences and working on performance. Their final piece
was an abstract tale about a girl who has hallucinatory
experiences after partying at an illegal rave in a disused
hospital. Both groups created fascinating work, yet
planned their rehearsal processes in very different ways.
There is clearly no correct method for devising, as with
any creative process. However, one cannot deny the
value of planning, the benefits of experimenting and the
importance of allowing yourself time to edit and to
develop detail. By adhering to these basic principles you
can avoid the dangers of creating either nonsensical
chaos which leaves an audience frustrated, or worse,
creating bland, safe theatre which encourages the most
deathly audience response of all: complete indifference.