The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre Is Written by Artistic Directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett
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The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre Acclaimed by audiences and critics for their highly innovative and adventurous theatre, Frantic Assembly have created playful, intelligent and dynamic pro ductions for over 14 years. The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is written by artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett. It is the first book to reflect on the history and practice of this remarkable company, and includes: • practical exercises • essays on devising, writing and choreography • suggestions for scene development • an anthology of Frantic Assembly productions • an eight-page colour section, and illustrations throughout. This intimate and personal account offers an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the evolution and success of Frantic Assembly. It is also accompanied by a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances. Scott Graham and Steven Haggett are the artistic directors and co-founders of Frantic Assembly. The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theotre SCOTT GRAHAM AND STEVEN HaGGETT I~ ~~o~!~;n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & FranCIs Group, an informa business © 2009 Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett All photographs © Scott Graham, unless otherwise credited Typeset in Univers by Keystroke, 28 High Street. Tettenhall, Wolverhampton All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical. or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Graham, Scott, 1971- The Frantic Assembly: book of devising theatre / Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Frantic Assembly (Group) 2. Experimental theater-Great Britain. 3. Theatrical companies-Great Britain. 4. Improvisation (Acting) 5. Movement (Acting) I. Hoggett. Steven, 1971- II. Title. III. Title: Frantic Assembly book of devising theatre. PN2595.13E97G732009 792.0941-dc22 2008043559 ISBN13: 978-0-415-46536-6 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-46760-5 (pbk) ISBN10: 0-415-46536-2 (hbk) ISBN10: 0-415-46760-8 (pbk) This book is dedicated to the following: Liz Heywood for seeing something at the very start - thank you Sally Harris for teaching us everything you knew! Sian, Marcia and Carys Graham Contents Acknowledgements XI An introduction 1 A very brief history of Frantic Assembly 1 The book 3 What devising means to us 5 Anthology of work 8 Part One - Documentation 19 1 Frantic essays 21 Pre-show 21 Truth and lies - persona and performance 24 Accidents and creativity 26 What is physical theatre? (and why we hate answering that question) 29 Director/Director relationship 31 Video camera in rehearsal 33 CON TE NT s VII Physical truth and characterisation 35 Insecurity, pragmatism, and admitting you were wrong! 41 Frantic music and the notion of soundtracking 44 Frantic and film 50 2 Scenes and their creation 58 Lullaby 59 Headwrecker 61 Siabsiammers 65 Sunbathers 67 Heavenly Legs 69 Select Delete 72 Exhaustion 75 3 Playing with scenes 79 Lovebench 79 Guyscrapers 82 Stockholm Fight 84 Part Two - Practical Exercises 91 4 Getting started 93 Initial movement sessions 93 Trust 94 The importance of rules, time frames and limitations 94 SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE WARM-UPS 99 Rolling 1 99 Rolling 2 102 Push Hands 105 GAMES -A SELECTION OF CROWD PLEASERS 106 Marcia Takedown 106 Quad 109 Quad Jump 111 Clear the Space 114 Relays 117 Eye contact 121 Jump Tag 123 VIII CONTENTS 5 Choreography 125 What we mean by 'choreography' 125 Stopping Points and Connections 128 Round/Byffhrough 131 Sign Describe 135 MOVEMENT FOR NON-DANCERS/CHOREOGRAPHY THAT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE DANCE 140 Chair Duets 141 Get Ready 144 Ways into basic lifting techniques 148 NEW PHYSICAL VOCABULARY/RESTRICTIONS AND FREEDOM 149 SellOut Floor/Caterpillar 149 Dirty Ballroom 152 ADVANCED EXERCISES - PUSHING THE POTENTIAL 155 Hymns Hands 155 Stockholm Bed 160 Devising choreography for site-specific theatre 163 6 Devising with words - devising through images 169 Words as starting points - working physically with text 169 The questionnaire and devising from a theme 175 The 'It Snows' model 184 Stockholm day one and the Stockholm recipe 191 Actions spea k louder than words? 195 Working with writers 197 7 Textual analysis 204 GETTING SCENES ON THEIR FEET 204 The Lecture 204 The VF exercise 205 PHYSICAL CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS 207 Time Passing 208 Rabbit Room 210 Stockholm Post-Its 212 Playing with words: Leg of Lamb 214 CONTENTS IX 8 Some things to think about 216 Bibliography of inspiration 218 x CONTENTS Acknowledgements In our experience, Frantic Assembly has been exactly that - a frantic blast through some astounding experiences surrounded by an assembly of won derful people. Notable frantic companions are Lisa Maguire, Laura Sutton, Tom Morris, Ben and Claire Chamberlain, Vicky Featherstone, John Tiffany, Georgina Lamb, Natasha Chivers, Liam Steel, Simon Mellor, Dan O'Neill, Simon Stokes, David Sibley, Spencer Hazel, Karina Biggs, Cait Davis, and our families. We were only ever as fine as our product and to this end we have been blessed with the cast and creative teams behind the Frantic productions - a fearless and inspiring group of artists who represent the very best in creative generosity and spirit. Special mention to Vicki Middleton (nee Coles), the vital element in our unholy trinity. The three of us formed the company and stumbled through the first ten years before she was whisked off to Australia with a promise of sunshine, surf and snags on the barbie. All of the above allowed and encouraged us to be what we are and for that we truly love and thank you. And thanks to Talia Rodgers ... for the suggestion, the encouragement, and the patience. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XI An introduction A very brief history of Frantic Assembly This book is not about the history of our company, but a little background information might explain a lot about our company ethos. The nature of how we came to be has been a massive influence on our drive to make our work accessible. It has informed all our efforts in education and training. As English Literature students at Swansea University we met as an unused understudy and a bored stage manager on a student drama society production of Educating Rita. Swansea University does not have a drama department but it does have a fantastic theatre that hosts the drama society three or four times a year presenting the usual talcum powder headed Chekhov and vanity projects. That is what we thought theatre was. As students we respectively took part in and watched a student production directed by Volcano Theatre Company (Savages by Christopher Hampton). This was the life-changing moment. We did not know that theatre could be like this. We had experienced this production from both sides of the fourth wall and it had blown our preconceptions apart. It was also clear that this was what we both wanted to do with our lives. Volcano were a massive inspiration to us. They were alternative and sexy, intelligent and fierce. They were the perfect role models for us, being Politics and Psychology graduates from Swansea who had been inspired by another AN INTRODUCTION 1 director to set their company up and create their own work. They recognised the inspiration and expertise they could give us and actively encouraged, advised and nurtured us during the early days. This is why our education and training programmes are so important to us. With Volcano's encouragement we presented Savages at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For 'we' you should read 'Swansea University Drama Society'. Before signing up for the festival we were to be found huddled around a thesaurus trying to agree on a company name. For some reason we felt that Swansea University Drama Society was not going to bring the punters in. We all agreed on Chaos then found out there was a Kaos Theatre Company. Then someone proposed Frantic and Frantic it was. The next year we directed As Is by William M. Hoffman and took it to Edinburgh, again as Frantic Theatre Company. We managed to sell out both runs and garner good national reviews. It was felt that if we could fool the public so far, maybe we should give it a go full time. That is when Vicki Middleton (nee Coles), Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett decided to hatch a plan and turn a hobby into a career. We got other (proper) jobs for the year while we waited for each other to finish our studies before returning to Swansea to start the company officially. The reason for starting out in Swansea had everything to do with Volcano, the goodwill and encouragement of those at the Taliesin Arts Centre, the lower cost of living, and the prospect of immediately being a small fish in a small pond. We felt that in being anywhere else, even Cardiff, we would get swamped in the clamour for new companies to get noticed. We formed the company proper under the name Frantic Theatre Company Limited in 1994 on a government scheme called Enterprise Allowance. In real terms this meant being unemployed for at least 6 weeks and taking a £1 0 pay cut from your Jobseeker's Allowance and attending seminars and meetings on finance and business. Being on the scheme meant that we did not have to sign on at the job centre for the year as we built the business up.