About the Performance

Devised theater consists of creating an original performance collaboratively, as an ensemble. Many processes exist on how to create a devised show. One of the most well-known devised pieces of theatre is A Chorus Line, even though it lists book writers and a composer. Other devised pieces can be part of community-engaged work, or ensemble theatre.  For our first day of rehearsal, we did not have a script and we created it over time. Companies known for devised work include the SITI Company, The Rude Mechanicals, Frantic Assembly, Tectonic Theatre Project, Pig Iron, and Theatre du Soleil.

Devising Notes

The text is by the ensemble. We pulled inspiration and short texts from the following:

A Billion Black Anthropocenes or None by Kathryn Yusoff

Climate Note from the Yale Program on Climate Communication

The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

Dirge Without Music by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Director's Note

This performance reflects on a sense of our historical moment which is, frankly, very scary. Rather than running away from what scares us (rising fascism, potential economic collapse, climate change, rapid isolationism, etc.), I asked the ensemble to run toward their fears and process them into art. When we began, we had no script. I created a series of instructions and ingredients for small groups of our ensemble to create short, 3-5 minute compositions. Some ingredients were straightforward and clearly related to our now. Others were intuitive and perhaps oblique. Each composition incorporated ideas from the previous one. We presented weekly and then talked about it. We also trained in two physical theatre approaches I find useful: Suzuki Acting Method and the nine Viewpoints. With the ongoing directing of "talk less, make more," the ensemble created a huge larder of material.

Life went on. This semester has been filled with chaos, grief, and rage. The political climate pushed aggressively on the delicate membrane of our Macalester community. Two rehearsals, including our first, were cancelled due to the first of two protests. When I heard Mayor Kaohly Her had been advised to carry her passport, I began to, as well. I found myself anticipating, listening to, and reporting on people within my networks helping, trying to prevent, or becoming detainees. Amidst this, our rehearsal room became a source of connection and contemplation for us to forge some kind of community and understanding. 

What we created feels very tender to me. It is both a reflection of the ensemble's collective concerns as well as individual realities. There are some moments that feel specifically like the inside of my head, or perhaps the dreams I try to shake myself awake from at night. We did not set out to create a polished plot or a logical narrative. We embraced mess and challenge. My goal was, emphatically, for the piece to feel like the inner lives of 14 people who have spent a lot of time sharing, listening, and making. I believe we have come as close as we can to that goal. And now, with the audience, we can take the next step toward overcoming fear and even holding hope. Perhaps we will fail. But we must continue to try.