How can a playwright share authorial control with a group of actors when creating a new play script? How does the individual playwright address matters of genre, form, style and structure to create a unifying theme, while remaining true to the dramatic intention and aesthetics of the group? What impact will the collaborators have on a playwright's work? Will they help or hinder the writing process? This exegesis closely follows the creation of a new play, The Woods, in a process where the playwright intended to facilitate a collaborative process with the actors rather than act as sole author. Issues arising in this mode of working include the real meaning of sole authorship, aesthetic integrity and creative power balance. The analysis of these issues will have relevance for theatre practitioners working in collaborative contexts.

This research explores the validity and value of ‘solo devising’ as a means for specifying a category of theatre-making that has been little discussed, compared to group devising, in existing literature on devising and postdramatic theatre. Primary source material was obtained through carrying out extended interviews with five experienced British theatre practitioners who have made work that could be described as solo devised performance: Tim Etchells, Bobby Baker, Mike Pearson, Nigel Charnock and Wendy Houstoun. In analysing these interviews, referred to in detail but not reproduced in full, the enquiry draws on a range of writings, including Oddey, Heddon, Harvie, Alexander and George, on devising and making performance and in particular on Melrose’s concept of practitioner-centred expert knowledge, Lehmann’s notion of the postdramatic and Sennett’s specification of expertise in craftsmanship. Chapter One considers solo practice in relation to the idea of a solo devising economy, the interviewees’ professional work and other experimental solo practices within theatre, performance, dance and art. Chapter Two explores how the interviewees create multiple performance personae, doing and undoing notions of individuality and autobiography through strategies of working ‘about’, ‘from’ and ‘beyond’ the self. Chapter Three explores solo devising processes, involving research, generation of material, composition, performance and ‘orchestration’. Chapter Four scrutinises different kinds of collaboration, including ‘audiencing’, as both enabling and productively confounding activities occurring within solo devising. Chapter five specifies some findings about solo devising: that it both involves expert, crafted, individual working, requiring orchestration of a high number of activities and skills, and, simultaneously, practices of negotiated authorship with other artists and audiences, enabling a potentially political reading of its distinctly ambiguous working. An additional finding is that close attention to what expert practitioners say about their work can yield rich information about a specific practice.

Theatre Triad is a new approach to devising collaborative ensemble theatre starting with the three main components of Performance: Voice, Movement, and Text. These components were deconstructed and reconstructed in pairs as the basis for the devising process. The performance process begins with creating an ensemble followed by four steps: exploring the theatrical genres affiliated with the pairings of Voice and Movement, Movement and Text, Voice and Text, and completed with reintegrating all three components. Through this process many things occur, a new play is created, ensemble members focus on exploring the elements of acting and performance, and a strong foundation of acting skills is laid for young actors. Theatre Triad can also be used as a method for teaching a number of courses in Devising Theatre or Acting classes. In this paper you will learn how Theatre Triad works as both a production approach and method in actor training.

No description available.

[pt] Esta pesquisa procura discutir o modo pelo qual algumas companhias teatrais cariocas se inserem no contexto do contemporâneo. Na cena contemporânea nacional e internacional, um grande número de grupos e companhias teatrais voltam-se para a experimentação estética em que o texto dramático serve como estímulo à livre interpretação e jogos de improvisação que resultam em espetáculos mais expandidos. Nesse contexto a escrita cênico-dramatúrgica se sobrepõe ao texto previamente escrito. Assim, os conceitos de teatro pós-moderno e de pós-dramático, cunhado pelo teórico Hans-Thies Lehmann, são contrapostos ao de performativo, como proposto por Erika Fischer-Lichte e Josette Féral. Embora tais conceitos possam ser operativos para alguns espetáculos estudados nesta pesquisa, não dão conta do repertório das companhias cariocas. Dessa forma, primeiramente, após o exame do pós-dramático, e performativo, busca-se refletir acerca do contemporâneo e da contemporaneidade nas análises de críticos e teóricos das artes, do teatro e da literatura. Em um segundo momento, será feita uma apreciação acerca da formação de grupos e companhias no Brasil, com especial atenção àquelas aqui investigadas e suas novas formas de composição: criação coletiva e trabalho colaborativo. Finalmente, a partir da investigação de práticas teatrais recentes das companhias Os Dezequilibrados e Cia. dos Atores, procura-se refletir acerca do que pode ser entendido como teatro contemporâneo e como ele se revela na cena carioca atual. / [en] The aim of this research is to discuss the way in which some theatre companies from Rio de Janeiro fit into the context of the contemporary. In the national and international scene a large number of theatre groups and companies are dedicated to aesthetic experimentation and the dramatic text is stimulus for a free interpretation and for improvisation games which result in more expanded plays. In this context where the dramaturgical writing on stage overlaps the text previously written, the concept of post-modern theatre, as well as post-dramatic theatre, coined by Hans-Thies Lehmann, are contrasted with the concept of performative, as proposed by Erika Fischer-Lichte and Josette Féral. Although these concepts may apply to some performance pieces brought about by this research, they do not account for the whole repertory of these theatrical companies from Rio de Janeiro. Thus, at first, after an examination into the post-dramatic and performative, an investigation concerning the contemporary and contemporaneity is carried out through analysis of Art, Theatre and Literature scholars writings on these issues. Secondly, there will be an appreciation of how theatre groups and companies were formed in Brazil, with special attention paid to those investigated here and their corresponding ways of theatre making: devising and collaborative work. Finally, based on an examination into recent theatrical practices of the companies Os Dezequilibrados and Cia. dos Atores, this investigation aims at reflecting upon what can be understood as contemporary theatre and how it can be perceived in Rio de Janeiro s current stages. / [es] Esta investigación analiza la forma en que algunas companías teatrales de Rio de Janeiro se sitúan en el contexto de lo contemporáneo. En la escena contemporánea nacional e internacional, grupos y companías de teatro vuélvanse a la experimentación estética, mientras el texto dramático sirve como estímulo para la libre interpretación y juegos de improvisación que producen espectáculos más expandidos. En este contexto, la escritura escénica y dramatúrgica se superponen al texto escrito previamente, Así, el concepto de teatro posmoderno y de posdramático, acunado por el teórico Hans- Thies Lehmann, se oponen al concepto de performativo según propuesto por Erika Fischer-Lichte y Josette Féral. Aunque estos conceptos se pueden aplicar a algunos espectáculos examinados en ese estudio, ellos no se aplican a todo el repertorio de las companías de Rio de Janeiro. Además, en primero lugar, después del examen del posdramátic y performativo, se busca reflexionar sobre el contemporáneo y la contemporaneidad en los análisis de críticos y teóricos de las artes, del teatro y de la literatura. En un segundo momento, será hecha una evaluación sobre la formación de grupos y companías en Brasil, con particular atención a aquellas aquí investigadas y sus nuevas formas de composición: creación colectiva y proceso colaborativo. Por fin, a partir de la investigación de las prácticas teatrales recientes de las companías Os Dezequilibrados y Cia. dos Atores, se busca reflexionar acerca de lo que puede entenderse como teatro contemporáneo y como él se revela en la escena actual en Rio de Janeiro.