Devising theatre
is a tricky process. Any of us that have taken the risk and plunged ourselves
into the pit of uncertainty that comes with collectively trying to create a new
piece of work will understand how this type of process is energy-consuming,
anxiety-riddled and at times frustrating. However, it is also undoubtedly one
of the most rewarding ways of creating as it involves constant play, experimentation and ensemble work as well as an enormous amount of trust in the people you are working with.
Having being involved in a number of devised pieces, I have learnt that it is a process that fluctuates from day to day, week to week. The initial seed of a production can morph or change into an entirely different show in the space of a few hours, and that in itself is exciting, but also terrifying. While trusting the process can be challenging at times, it is a belief in the work that allows an idea to eventually find it’s feet and become something that everyone involved can be proud of. While one rehearsal can leave a cast feeling elated and creatively stimulated, the next can plummet them back into anxiety where no one is sure what the hell they are doing.
Two months ago, I began
rehearsals for a new devised piece called Night
Light with Wishful Thinking, a company created by the talented Ilo
Tarrant, a lighting designer and recent drama graduate from Trinity. Ilo
was eager to explore the mourning process that comes with the loss of childhood
and our realization or denial of such a loss as adults.
Cast alongside an incredibly energetic and creative group of people, Venetia Bowe, Fionn Foley and Richard
Durning, this was a process that I believed in from the beginning. While each of us entered rehearsals relatively blindly, not knowing what an earth we were going to create, there was a ‘let’s do this thing’ mentality which sustained for the entire creative
process.
The last 8 weeks have
consisted of endless hours of game playing, storytelling, memory sharing, fort
building, improving, more improving, discussing, imagining, trinket making, writing and
re-discussing, along with an abundance of hard work and creativity. It has been
one of the most hands on and active rehearsal processes that I have ever been
involved in, with each person taking equal responsibility for the creation of
the show, injecting it with an enormous amount of imagination and devotion. That has been immensely rewarding to be a part of.
Like any process, it hasn’t
always been easy. Alongside the peaks and the excitement, there have been
slumps and doubts, moments where the opening night seemed like an unreachable
finish line. However, by trusting the process and powering through the slumps,
the initial seed that was planted weeks ago has gradually grown and been shaped
into a full production exploring memory, childhood and nostalgia, that I think each of us are very proud of.
It would be untruthful of me
to pretend that there aren’t still mini doubts and uncertainties floating around my head, worries about what
people may think or take away from their experience of something that we have worked
so hard on. However, regardless of how many weeks or months
or years of preparation one is given, there will always be doubts. It is part of the excitement and the fun and is natural with any process.
Tomorrow night we open in Smock Alley Theatre with our first production of Night Light. It has been exhausting and time-consuming but we have made it, and it has been an incredibly gratifying and creative process. I have made some wonderful friends and have truly enjoyed the constant collaboration that has happened throughout the process. For me, it is this collaboration that is most important in theatre and what makes it all worthwhile.
Night Light runs in Smock
Alley Theatre from July 7th-9th
Director:
Ilo Tarrant
Ilo Tarrant
Cast:
Venetia Bowe
Venetia Bowe
Richard Durning
Fionn Foley
Fionn Foley
Fionnuala Gygax
