This week I learned more about a process that I find incredibly interesting and has a ton of potential uses in schools. Devised theatre. This process is when a director or organization want to put on a show but cannot currently budget for or afford to buy rights. This is almost always done in schools but can be done with local theatre troupes as well. When this happens, the students come together to write their own show with original ideas in a collaborative group. Not only does this foster creativity for the students but gives them the opportunity to be on stage.
When I was in Middle School, I engaged in devised theatre and loved it. Through the direction of Ryan Fleming, myself, and a group of about 20 students co-wrote and put together a play about The Beatles experience with their teacher in middle school. It was incredibly silly, but every aspect of the show was ours. We wrote it, had stage managers, set designers, costumers, lighting, sound people and just about every position in a production you could imagine.
Recently I discovered that Mount Baker Secondary School is planning to try this method of creation for their upcoming Christmas production, and I personally cannot wait to see what they come up with, but let’s ask ourselves, what is the big deal with devised theatre? This process forces so much input from students that they would more actively take part in school drama clubs and classes because while devised theatre requires a lot of work from students, it would also cater a lot of positive results. The students would have something that they could show their friends and family and specifically point out, with pride, what part of the creation was their own. Students will seize the opportunity to show off what their capable of on the basis of their education. How are they excelling in Language Arts? See the script. How are they doing at technologies? Check the lighting and the sound cues. How are the relationships that students have created with their peers? Watch the chemistry between the actors and how well directed they are. There are so many practical uses for this kind of show besides the obvious that it saves the school money.
Overall, devised theatre is an important tool for drama teachers that can really show off what your students can do, and forces them to work collaboratively so that, while they increase their talents and abilities in multiple departments, they are also improving their interpersonal relationships which can follow them outside of school and into community theatre and even their careers.