DEVISING THE LEGENDS
.INTRODUCING COLLABORATIVE DEVISING
Collaborative Devising is the act of writing as a group.. In a typical devising workshop participants compose pieces for the stage by putting together raw material into a form that is repeatable, theatrical, and communicative. The process is by nature collaborative. Participants arrive at solutions to specific delineated tasks within a short period of time. The compositions are based on given material, theme, an idea or a hunch. Composition work functions the way sketching does for a painter, creating ideas and presenting and discovering notions that may be useful for the play. The key to composition work is to do a lot in a little time.
EXQUISITE TIME PRESSURE
When we set a time limit so there's not much time to think or talk wonderful work often emerges; what surfaces does not come from an analysis of ideas, but from our impulses. Some pressures are far from being freeing or constructive but exquisite pressure comes out of an environment where forces lean on the participants in a way that enables more, not less, creativity. Exquisite pressure comes from an attitude of necessity, trust and respect for the people you are working with, for the amount of time you have, for the room you work in, the materials you work with and for what you’re doing with all of these.
The group does not spend their time sitting and discussing and planning; but are on their feet from the start. When a group is stuck- they will invariably revert to sitting in a circle, looking at pieces of paper, talking all at once or not at all, trying to come up with ideas; generally that's not a lot of fun. But when a group is engaged they look like kids in a playground, they are moving about, animated, listening, making offers of help, saying "yes...and." to ideas, and enjoying being in the moment.
We create exquisite pressure by giving the right amount of ingredients for the assignment, not too few, not too many, putting the proper number of people in the group, and determining the challenging nature of the task.. There should be levels of difficulty with which you begin and to which you graduate. But in all cases, the challenge needs to be challenging enough, and the stakes high enough for the group to enter into a state of spontaneous play.
FOLLOW THE DEVISING & ADD YOUR VOICE
You can follow the progress of the devising on the blog pages. This is the real information centre for devising process.. This is a great place to add your voice and influence the play. Here you'll find a description of what we did at each workshop, what we discovered and feedback and ideas from the people who took part. You can add your own ideas and views here too. We will also be adding suggested further reading, pictures and video clips.
Collaborative Devising is the act of writing as a group.. In a typical devising workshop participants compose pieces for the stage by putting together raw material into a form that is repeatable, theatrical, and communicative. The process is by nature collaborative. Participants arrive at solutions to specific delineated tasks within a short period of time. The compositions are based on given material, theme, an idea or a hunch. Composition work functions the way sketching does for a painter, creating ideas and presenting and discovering notions that may be useful for the play. The key to composition work is to do a lot in a little time.
EXQUISITE TIME PRESSURE
When we set a time limit so there's not much time to think or talk wonderful work often emerges; what surfaces does not come from an analysis of ideas, but from our impulses. Some pressures are far from being freeing or constructive but exquisite pressure comes out of an environment where forces lean on the participants in a way that enables more, not less, creativity. Exquisite pressure comes from an attitude of necessity, trust and respect for the people you are working with, for the amount of time you have, for the room you work in, the materials you work with and for what you’re doing with all of these.
The group does not spend their time sitting and discussing and planning; but are on their feet from the start. When a group is stuck- they will invariably revert to sitting in a circle, looking at pieces of paper, talking all at once or not at all, trying to come up with ideas; generally that's not a lot of fun. But when a group is engaged they look like kids in a playground, they are moving about, animated, listening, making offers of help, saying "yes...and." to ideas, and enjoying being in the moment.
We create exquisite pressure by giving the right amount of ingredients for the assignment, not too few, not too many, putting the proper number of people in the group, and determining the challenging nature of the task.. There should be levels of difficulty with which you begin and to which you graduate. But in all cases, the challenge needs to be challenging enough, and the stakes high enough for the group to enter into a state of spontaneous play.
FOLLOW THE DEVISING & ADD YOUR VOICE
You can follow the progress of the devising on the blog pages. This is the real information centre for devising process.. This is a great place to add your voice and influence the play. Here you'll find a description of what we did at each workshop, what we discovered and feedback and ideas from the people who took part. You can add your own ideas and views here too. We will also be adding suggested further reading, pictures and video clips.
The Time Table of Devising The Legend
STEP 1 PREPARATION
JANUARY
Crowd Funding Launch
Funding has already begun and will be ongoing. We have some leads to some trusts to apply to, if you have ideas let us know. We will also be running our own fund- raising events, Claqueur Impro Theatre will be doing some shows and we will shortly launch crowd funding.
Research and Gathering Material
There will be a number of ‘gatherings in March to collect research material to inform our play. It could be historical research about Rusthall and Denny Bottom in the late 19th Century 1860-1910, or facts about the topography of the Rusthall rocks. The research doesn’t have to be based on facts it could be folk tales, legends, or fairy tales, creation myths, rituals or rites of passage from which we can create our own Legend. We would love it if you wrote your own stories. Music, artwork, photographs, artefacts could give us clues too. This material will be used as a stimulus for composition workshops where it will be transformed into theatrical presentations.
Crowd Funding Launch
Funding has already begun and will be ongoing. We have some leads to some trusts to apply to, if you have ideas let us know. We will also be running our own fund- raising events, Claqueur Impro Theatre will be doing some shows and we will shortly launch crowd funding.
Research and Gathering Material
There will be a number of ‘gatherings in March to collect research material to inform our play. It could be historical research about Rusthall and Denny Bottom in the late 19th Century 1860-1910, or facts about the topography of the Rusthall rocks. The research doesn’t have to be based on facts it could be folk tales, legends, or fairy tales, creation myths, rituals or rites of passage from which we can create our own Legend. We would love it if you wrote your own stories. Music, artwork, photographs, artefacts could give us clues too. This material will be used as a stimulus for composition workshops where it will be transformed into theatrical presentations.
STEP 2 COMPOSITIONS
FEBRUARY
17th Project Start Date
The project officially starts on 17th February. A Launch Party in late February TBC. We hope our preparation stage has produced a good range of inspiring research material for the composition workshops and are well on our way with funding and support in kind.
19th February Launch Event
Toad Rock Retreat 1 Upper Street, Rusthall TN4 8NX 7.30pm An Invitation to all local artists and others who want to contribute activities or events to the Festival to find out more about the project and input their own ideas. Light Bites and Pizza Van.
22nd Feb Claqueur Impro Theatre Show
At King Charles Church Hall, 3 Warwick Park Rd.Tunbridge Wells. TN2 5TA To launch our fund raising Claqueur Impro Theatre will be performing a show with guest improviser actor Roddy Maude Roxby of Theatre Machine
Sat 23rd Full Day Composition Workshop
10.30am - 4.30pm At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS (off Camden Rd.) A full day composition workshops focusing on masks, creating mask scenarios with Roddy Maude-Roxby, one of this countries leading improviser actors and mask teachers
MARCH
March 5th & 19th March Evening Composition Workshop based on Images & Mime
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm This evenings composition workshops focusing on mime, movement and creating images. We don’t know what the play will be, that’s what for the compositions for, to find out. But’s very likely it will involve big images and movement.
24th March Full Day Composition workshop focus Music
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS (off Camden Rd.) 10.30am- 4.40pm Sunday composition focusing on music and sound and how they can enhance theatre movement and images, and be used to tell stories. With David Brett, Actor Musician, David has worked with 7:*4 Theatre and was a member of The Flying Picket's he wrote the harmonies of their number one hit cover version of "Only You" He is a member or Atelier Theatre company.
APRIL
6th April Mask Making Workshops
The Rackcliffe Centre, Old Fire Station, 26 Lower Green Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN4 8TE 11am- 5pm A series of workshops making masks will begin in April. Many of the masks will be based on the faces, characters and creatures carved in the rocks by weather and erosion.
2nd April Evening Composition Workshop based on words
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm. A workshop to inspire writing collaboratively, around themes emerging from previous workshops. The words we create will be be used within the play as dialogue, songs and concrete poetry incorporated into the sets and props.
14th April Tour of the Rocks
Starting at The Toad Rock Retreat, Harmony Street, Rusthall at 11am. Come with us on a learning and imaginative exploration the rocks. Learn something of the history of the Rocks from ‘landscape Investigator Nigel Stapple, and local resident John Hayes, and be prompted by theatre director and playwright Jon Oram into imagining the stories the rocks are telling us.
16th April Evening Composition Workshop based on words
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm. The second workshops to inspire writing collaboratively and individually on themes emerging from previous workshops.
April 28th Full Day Composition Workshop based on Design
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS. 10.30pm -4.30pm.
This composition workshop is all about what the play will look like. Toad Rock is the best set imaginable, there is little we can do to improve on that, but the characters and creatures that emerge from them need to be spectacular, colourful and imaginative. Laura Stanfield our Designer will be working with us to create fast make images.
April 30th Evening Composition Workshop Following the Narrative
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm
Building the narrative of the play, exploring character and scenes,
MAY
14th May Composition Workshop Following the Narrative
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm
Building the narrative of the play, exploring character and scenes,
17th Project Start Date
The project officially starts on 17th February. A Launch Party in late February TBC. We hope our preparation stage has produced a good range of inspiring research material for the composition workshops and are well on our way with funding and support in kind.
19th February Launch Event
Toad Rock Retreat 1 Upper Street, Rusthall TN4 8NX 7.30pm An Invitation to all local artists and others who want to contribute activities or events to the Festival to find out more about the project and input their own ideas. Light Bites and Pizza Van.
22nd Feb Claqueur Impro Theatre Show
At King Charles Church Hall, 3 Warwick Park Rd.Tunbridge Wells. TN2 5TA To launch our fund raising Claqueur Impro Theatre will be performing a show with guest improviser actor Roddy Maude Roxby of Theatre Machine
Sat 23rd Full Day Composition Workshop
10.30am - 4.30pm At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS (off Camden Rd.) A full day composition workshops focusing on masks, creating mask scenarios with Roddy Maude-Roxby, one of this countries leading improviser actors and mask teachers
MARCH
March 5th & 19th March Evening Composition Workshop based on Images & Mime
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm This evenings composition workshops focusing on mime, movement and creating images. We don’t know what the play will be, that’s what for the compositions for, to find out. But’s very likely it will involve big images and movement.
24th March Full Day Composition workshop focus Music
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS (off Camden Rd.) 10.30am- 4.40pm Sunday composition focusing on music and sound and how they can enhance theatre movement and images, and be used to tell stories. With David Brett, Actor Musician, David has worked with 7:*4 Theatre and was a member of The Flying Picket's he wrote the harmonies of their number one hit cover version of "Only You" He is a member or Atelier Theatre company.
APRIL
6th April Mask Making Workshops
The Rackcliffe Centre, Old Fire Station, 26 Lower Green Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN4 8TE 11am- 5pm A series of workshops making masks will begin in April. Many of the masks will be based on the faces, characters and creatures carved in the rocks by weather and erosion.
2nd April Evening Composition Workshop based on words
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm. A workshop to inspire writing collaboratively, around themes emerging from previous workshops. The words we create will be be used within the play as dialogue, songs and concrete poetry incorporated into the sets and props.
14th April Tour of the Rocks
Starting at The Toad Rock Retreat, Harmony Street, Rusthall at 11am. Come with us on a learning and imaginative exploration the rocks. Learn something of the history of the Rocks from ‘landscape Investigator Nigel Stapple, and local resident John Hayes, and be prompted by theatre director and playwright Jon Oram into imagining the stories the rocks are telling us.
16th April Evening Composition Workshop based on words
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm. The second workshops to inspire writing collaboratively and individually on themes emerging from previous workshops.
April 28th Full Day Composition Workshop based on Design
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS. 10.30pm -4.30pm.
This composition workshop is all about what the play will look like. Toad Rock is the best set imaginable, there is little we can do to improve on that, but the characters and creatures that emerge from them need to be spectacular, colourful and imaginative. Laura Stanfield our Designer will be working with us to create fast make images.
April 30th Evening Composition Workshop Following the Narrative
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm
Building the narrative of the play, exploring character and scenes,
MAY
14th May Composition Workshop Following the Narrative
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8RJ. 7.30- 9.30pm
Building the narrative of the play, exploring character and scenes,
STEP 3 CONSTRUCTIONS
May 18th - 19th Weekend Construction Workshop
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS 10.30pm -4.30pm Two full days the draft script from the development meetings we have two days to create the rehearsal script. We'll be doing a little more devising, trying out scenes and exploring new ideas.. The more people, the more heads the better. It will be challenging, but fun and rewarding. Come for the whole week-end, when you can or just pop in to see how it's all going.
25th May Archeological Garden Dig
Back Garden of 18 Apsley Street. Under the supervision of Nigel Stapple Landscape interpreter. bring a trowel pr hand fork, gloves and kneeling pad. See what you can find in a shallow dig in your garden and Nigel will help you interpret what you discover. A fascinating exploration.
At Age UK, Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. TN1 2QS 10.30pm -4.30pm Two full days the draft script from the development meetings we have two days to create the rehearsal script. We'll be doing a little more devising, trying out scenes and exploring new ideas.. The more people, the more heads the better. It will be challenging, but fun and rewarding. Come for the whole week-end, when you can or just pop in to see how it's all going.
25th May Archeological Garden Dig
Back Garden of 18 Apsley Street. Under the supervision of Nigel Stapple Landscape interpreter. bring a trowel pr hand fork, gloves and kneeling pad. See what you can find in a shallow dig in your garden and Nigel will help you interpret what you discover. A fascinating exploration.
STEP 4 CASTING
MAY 20st - 23rd CASTING
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8R1 and other venues TBC
Everyone who turned up got a part. Jon saw people in groups of 8-10 so if they wanted to come with friends they booked into the same session. The sessions are meant to be fun and relaxing. This is unlike a conventional play as it’s being devised, some scenes may not yet be fully developed, or indeed exist. The coming weeks they will be involved in creating scenes with others. In the casting session we worked together to find the roles that most suit and interests individuals..
At The Rusthall, 5 St Paul's St Rusthall.TN4 8R1 and other venues TBC
Everyone who turned up got a part. Jon saw people in groups of 8-10 so if they wanted to come with friends they booked into the same session. The sessions are meant to be fun and relaxing. This is unlike a conventional play as it’s being devised, some scenes may not yet be fully developed, or indeed exist. The coming weeks they will be involved in creating scenes with others. In the casting session we worked together to find the roles that most suit and interests individuals..
STEP 5 PRODUCTION PERIOD
MAY to JULY
May 28th - July 16th Rehearsals
Rehearsals are as likely to be much more much about building and making the play than repetition and learning lines. We want to create a visual feast in a fabulous setting. They will evenings and occasional Sundays. We try very hard to call people according to their availability.
May 28th - July 2rd Design Workshop
Laura Stanfield our designer and the design team have only eight weeks to create the costumes and props for the show. It will be dependent on the help of the community. We have a design studio workshop on the Upper Floor of Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre in Tunbridge Wells. Workshop will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 11am - 5.pm and on Thursdays 1pm- 8.pm No previous experience required though it’s a great opportunity for skilled artists to use their talents as well as broaden your experience.
May 28th - July 16th Rehearsals
Rehearsals are as likely to be much more much about building and making the play than repetition and learning lines. We want to create a visual feast in a fabulous setting. They will evenings and occasional Sundays. We try very hard to call people according to their availability.
May 28th - July 2rd Design Workshop
Laura Stanfield our designer and the design team have only eight weeks to create the costumes and props for the show. It will be dependent on the help of the community. We have a design studio workshop on the Upper Floor of Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre in Tunbridge Wells. Workshop will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 11am - 5.pm and on Thursdays 1pm- 8.pm No previous experience required though it’s a great opportunity for skilled artists to use their talents as well as broaden your experience.
STEP 6 PERFORMANCES
PERFORMANCES JULY 24th-28th
There will be six performances at Toad Rock. Weds 24th to Fri 26th July 7.30pm; Sat 27th 2pm and 7.30pm and Sunday 7.30pm.
There will be six performances at Toad Rock. Weds 24th to Fri 26th July 7.30pm; Sat 27th 2pm and 7.30pm and Sunday 7.30pm.