With only a few weeks until the show, our whole company has proven to be incredibly versatile and productive, meaning that we now have a full show, ready to be tweaked and fine tuned until it becomes an even better show. The devising process has been fluid, consistent and ultimately a lot of fun, due to the nature of devising a piece of physical theatre. Devising can be defined as ‘the process of making theatre that enables a group of performers to be physically and practically creative in the sharing and shaping of an original product’ (Oddey, 1994, 1), and this is especially the case when it comes to creating physical theatre, as creativity is perhaps the most important catalyst for devising interesting and captivating sequences, which are needed in a physical theatre show. Producing work has also been easier since we sat down and worked on a fully fleshed out narrative in the first few weeks of rehearsals. The theme of space has stayed, and we decided to revolve our production around an eight year old boy named Sam, who will learn about the space race throughout the show whilst the ensemble acts as his imagination, guiding him through the show. Sam has a mother, but no father, and the production will also show his experience learning this information and dealing with the notion of death and loneliness. I think our narrative works perfectly with physical theatre as a style, as imagination is inherently creative and emotive, something that physical theatre can effectively portray.

In the early stages of our devising process, we focused mainly on the historical content of the space race as a means to influence the physical work we produced. As a company, we worked on a timeline for the content of the show and decided that we would begin with the moon landing, and then watch Sam go back and learn about historical events like Sputnik and JFK’s assassination. Basing our production in the space race allowed for a lot of room to play with different ideas and physical techniques, as the there was so much content that we could use as stimulus, not to mention the fact that the space race through a child’s perspective allows for unlimited possibilities surrounding what we can put on stage.

Throughout our rehearsals so far, the notion of ‘play’ was one that helped us create stronger images and movements, and ultimately build stronger sequences based on the historical events that we previously decided on. In the devising process, ‘it’s important to play first, to improvise, then set it structurally’ (Lamden, 2000, 10), and I think this idea is one that we carried throughout our devising process; for us it was very much about playing with ideas, creating interesting sequences from these ideas, and then setting them in stone and tweaking them. For example, in one sequence we wanted a fast paced and playful scene revolving around the ensemble, acting as Sam’s imagination, attempting to entertain Sam and distract him from his rocket blueprints. This sequence was particularly fun to create, as we used this idea of ‘playing’ to construct it. Knowing that Sam is an eight year old boy, we began by playing games that children would play, such as grandma’s footsteps, which enabled us to explore alternative ideas and ultimately produce a stronger scene. The grandma’s footsteps game has actually ended up in the sequence, proving that the playful attitude to devising has been effective.

The cast engaging in a playful game. (PinPoint Theatre, 2016)

As I previously mentioned in an earlier blog, music is an important part of our production. To avoid having a soundtrack to the show that seemed out of place, I knew that we needed to use music in our devising process as well as our final show. Using music in our devising process served as an effective tool for creating interesting sequences, as it allowed us to create tighter choreography and build sequences that would work with the music, not just along side it, creating a stronger production overall. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s In Motion serves not only as an example of incredible songwriting but also an instance in which we used music to aid the devising of a scene. In one of our early rehearsals, we needed some upbeat, pumping electronic music to assist in the choreography of some stylised ‘walking’ movements, and In Motion acted as the perfect piece of music, allowing us to effectively and quickly create the sequence.

Lamden, G. (2000) Devising: A Handbook for Drama and Theatre Students. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Oddey, A. (1994) Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook. London and New York: Routledge.

PinPoint Theatre (2016) Warm up games. [Facebook] 24 April. Available from https://www.facebook.com/PinPointTheatreCompany/photos/pb.1696701420543201.-2207520000.1464098734./1724112777802065/?type=3&theater [Accessed 25 April 2016].