A Devised Theater Presentation by Drew Calof Complicite A Devised Theater Presentation by Drew Calof

A Brief History of Complicite Founded in 1983 Principles of Collective Enquiry Exploratory Collaboration London-based Founders Annabel Arden Fiona Gordon Marcello Magni Simon McBurney Current Artistic Director

Basis for Complicite: Jacques Lecoq French Actor, Mime, Theatrical Teacher, Director Revolutionized creative process for devising theatre Emphasized Physical Improvisation Built trust and understanding between actors Sought to teach actors how they could best explore their own abilities, not give them a defined skill set

Lecoq (cont.) Had a background in Sports, specifically gymnastics Led to an emphasis on the theory of geometry in movement Taught in the style of “via negative” Only criticized the poorest qualities of a performance Not tell the actor what was done “right” Let experience be the best teacher Mask Work and Comfortability on stage Neutral Mask-introductory, symmetrical, expressionless Once actors got comfortable physically emoting with neutral mask, they would move on to smaller masks until they had the smallest possible: a clown nose Meant to expand actors’ comfort levels and trust in themselves

Lecoq And Complicite Theatre of Gesture Based in Lecoq’s experience with gymnastics and Mime “the theatre and creation are matters of real experience, of oral transmission and of length. It’s not easy to express with some words what the experience makes us get in touch with in a living way” Summary: Physicality and Gesture are just as important to conveying theatre as words, text, and stage directions Complicite emphasizes Lecoq’s Theatre of Gesture in their devising process First workshop is always about building trust and comfort in actors to fully express emotion through physicality and gesture Following with the Via Negativa, actors must find what is best for them through experience and not through direct teaching

What Makes Complicite Productions Unique? “[Complicite’s] inimitable style of visual and devised theatre [has] an emphasis on strong, corporeal, poetic, and surrealist image supporting text”—Stephen Knapper Extreme Movements Classical Works Lyrical/Musical Productions Technology Projectors Radio Lights

Extreme Movements Highly Exaggerated Movements Surrealism Stark Imagery Acrobatics and Aerial stunts Examples Lionboy Anything for a Quiet Life

Classical Works Used as basis for devising Shakespeare Winter’s Tale Opera storylines Magic Flute Cultural tales Shun-Kin Highly dramatic pieces become backdrop for Theme

Lyrical/Musical Productions Create more memorable tone Often used in relation to incredible deep or heavy Examples A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer A Dog’s Heart Out of a House Walked a Man…

Technology Projectors Lights Radio Camera Show images on top of the physical performance, creating another layer of the performance The Elephant Vanishes Lights Creates stark and eery imagery with silhouettes and shadow The Noise of Time Radio Creates an intensely social and immersive experience The Vertical Line Camera Creates an artificial focal point for a production that the audience can observe The Encounter

Workshops Based in the teachings of Jacques Lecoq Open Workshops Specific Facets of Theatre 1-2 weeks Long-term Workshops 1st session—trust-building, language development Next few sessions are centered in actually devising and revising work Those who want to focus on the physically surreal must do so from the first workshop on Tenets of Devising Theatre Look at a lot of devised theatre Talk to devised theatre directors Sit in on rehearsals

Prominent Productions Lionboy The Magic Flute Boy who can talk to cats must save his kidnapped parents with the help of a circus and its lions Uses Extreme Movements Projections Lighting Musicality Mozart’s operatic tale of heroism, Die Zauberflote, translated into English with a bit of projection-based magic Uses Extreme Movements Aerial Stuntwork Projections Lighting Musicality Classical Work

Works Cited http://www.complicite.org http://www.ecole-jacqueslecoq.com/en http://www.ideastap.com/IdeasMag/the-knowledge/catherine-alexander- complicite-theatre-exercises http://mattdeely.net/COMPLICITE_files http://europamagna.org/pageshtml/Pgtheatre/SCOUT/StageIUFM/jlecoqen g.htm