New Play Blog

The #Newplay Convenings: Next Steps

by David Dower

OK, so we've now completed the first three #newplay convenings of the AVNPI. Thank you to everyone who has participated thus far, both live in DC and online. It's been a real privilege to chair these discussions. And all of us working with the Institute program here at Arena Stage are committed to making sure the energy of so many people over the past three months is a catalyst for action; that it doesn't just evaporate now that the last of the guests have gone home and we've put away the vacuum cleaner.

The plan from here, for those following along:

-- First up, there will be a comprehensive report from each. These will be compiled into a single monograph and released to the public this Spring. We'll include a list of the proposed next steps from each so we've a public record of what was requested. (If you were a participant in any of the convenings, you'll get a draft version of the report for your comments before we finalize.)

-- Then, we'll form a "task force of the willing" around each topic from the people who participated. They'll help us prioritize the "next step" recommendations in each convening. We can't do everything, of course, and not all at once. This step will create a path for advancing as a field.

-- It will be the responsibility of each of the convening producers (Amrita, Travis, and Ronee) to then direct the process of moving through that list of priorities. Over the coming twelve months we will endeavor to make measurable progress on the challenges and opportunities expressed in the priorities.

It is our hope that we will be able to reconvene within the next twelve months-- this time as a committee of the whole that comingles these three groups with the other Institute program participants: the resident playwrights, the Round 1 and Round 2 NPDP folks, and the beta group for the New Play Map-- to chart and celebrate the progress everyone has made in 2010 and to recalibrate the priorities and opportunities in each program area.

That's a huge undertaking of course. And we're not yet certain we have the money to mount it, but I put it here because it's our goal and our intention-- and even though it's hard we want to commit ourselves to the attempt.

Thanks for your interest and support. Stick around. We're just getting started...

Why call it 'Devised work'?

by Ronee Penoi, Institute Fellow

As Travis's blog posts suggest, everyone's heads are full-up with the deep discovery and concentrated conversation made by our wonderful group this past weekend at the convening on Devised Work. So, instead of trying to respond to all of it, I'm going to toss out there one thought that popped up for me in the days following.

'Devised work' is always going to be a tricky term for 'this kind of work.' And that's because any term is going to be problematic. As soon as anyone attempts to unite a collection of work that belongs there because of its uniqueness, it becomes clear pretty quickly that it can't be codified collectively. So why try? A beautiful and  unexpected benefit of the past weekend, is that many artists felt a sense of community that isn't often made apparent. It isn't why we gathered, but it suggests at least to me, that maybe there's more benefit to finding similarities than differences here. Maybe there's a way to unite while still cradling that sense of uniqueness - to expand the sense of what 'devised' means, so that instead of the response being, 'oh, I don't do that' its 'yeah, I'm in that community.'

It may be a little 'kumbayah', but there it is.

Devised Works: Post-Convening

Posted by guest blogger Travis Bedard from the Devised Work Convening

The final formal section of the convening (before the demonstrations) was a moment of reflection on all of the discussions, and then the participants were asked to share conclusions and next steps. Some of those next steps as well as a few important points that got repeated along the way. In nothing like a hierarchical order:

• The fact that there is a “we” is important.
  There is a support network for the work, you just need to reach out (and be available).
• Don’t just reach out to your community when you want to sell tickets, be in the community.
• “We were planning on a potato, but we can use this parsnip”
  Things happen and resources and people come and go. Stay flexible.
• Devised Work artists and supporters need to lobby Equity to that recognize the duration of process on the work to create contracts that allow it.
• “How can we free the product from the architecture?” 
  Theaters are built with a specific product in mind (even black boxes) how can we free the thinking about creation from that restriction?
• There was a desire for more festivals (or even microfestivals) of devised work nationally, both to present work more often and less expensively, but also to keep an eye on what everyone else is doing.
• There was a loud call for a central source listing available resources (space, grants, duct tape, whatever) and ways to connect to those resources.
• Technology. There was no fear of technology in the room, but there was a lack of clarity on how it could best be leveraged, especially social media.

There were three very clear calls for action, none of which were actually raised during the final sharing session, rather they echoed throughout ALL of the sessions.

1. There is a large need for language around the sector. Despite a dislike for labels, communication to funders and audiences requires something.
2. Presenters/producers/funders and the artists need to close the circle and develop audiences holistically as a unified group not as separate units. That sort of repeated engagement doesn’t help the art and can turn off an audience member.
3. Long term relationships need to be forged between all parts of the devised work sector. Those long term relationships will enable better communication less drenched in grant-speak, and fewer outsized expectations about process or product.

I would like to close my reporting from this convening with a pair of questions:

What would you do to improve the lot of devised work artists and ensembles? What is one thing you can do to make a difference in this sector in the next year?

Saturday Night’s All Right for Devising

Posted by guest blogger Travis Bedard for the Devised Work Convening:

After two days of talking about theatre, four of the participants gladly grabbed their chance to get back “into the room” and actually make some theatre.

Kirk Lynn, Andy Parris, Geoff Sobelle, and Barney O’Hanlon each took a turn at demonstrating a process or exercise used in their ensemble work on stage with Georgetown students the eager guinea pigs.

     

Devised Works Convening: Day 2

Posted by guest blogger Travis Bedard for the Devised Work Convening

The second day of the devised work convening was a grueling, giddy day that passed far too quickly. It was a day that lasted from roughly 9AM until midnight. It was tightly planned and the few gaps were filled with introductions and more conversation. I honestly needed to be removed from it all to get any sort of hold on the ground that had been covered.

As David Loehr explained, the participants were exploring the questions posed by David Dower’s four prompts in three circles. The first circle a group composed by Mr. Dower based on the prompt being answered, the second comprised the remainder of the participants cast as active listeners, and the third made up of invited local artists, the Art Dev. staff, and the formal observers. This approach worked wonderfully to focus discussion. It gave participants clear roles during each segment and kept each question from being a free-for-all lost in the larger group. It also served to relieve the tension of participating in a passionate debate for 10 hours.

Day 1 of the Devised Works convening

Posted by Travis Bedard from the Devised Works convening -

I have been an active follower and participant in the discussions around these #newplay convening since the #newplay tag popped up for the Diversity convening. What I can tell you as someone experiencing it “in the room” for the first time is that what hasn’t translated in the online discussions around these meetings is the size of the group discussing these broad topics, and the pure passion that these people have for the advancement of theatre. That’s not to say  that the Diversity or Race discussions weren’t obviously passionate, it’s simply that outside the room, following the interpretations of one person typing on the fly in one window on your computer doesn’t adequately capture it.

Today’s work in the room broke down into two distinct parts, as loosely mentioned in the earlier “in the room posts”, actually getting everyone in the room, and then talking about their upcoming projects. Firmly rooting where we are, so we can look confidently to where we might be headed.

As David Dower mentioned in his post previewing this convening, this branch of the #newplay discussion has been going on amongst many of these same players for years. Many of the participants have worked with one another in one capacity or another in the past and the greetings as they arrived reflected that, as they caught up with one another,

This informal reconnection flowed easily into the more formal introductions of the group with the observers and reporters introducing themselves and then the bulk of the afternoon spent with participants explaining where they (and their groups) are now, and what is next. The breadth and depth of the ambition and collaboration of the participants is breathtaking.

The development process of a devised work that is iterated over and again requires bursts of support in the way that a single author traditional piece doesn’t. A commission at the beginning of the process and a check for production would leave a woefully doughy middle of a devised piece. It was made clear as companies, funders, presenters, and support organizations each outlined their next steps that they are working desperately to get solid footing under each part of that development process. Working in concert with the producing companies to support a work from conception to production.

Introductions finished (and remember that there are a lot more people in the room than you think there are) Mr. Dower began a broad group discussion around the question of whether companies considered themselves “lightly institutionalized”, or “institutionalized” at all (Lightly institutionalized in this case referring to the structure and operation of the companies). It quickly became clear that groups were hesitant to accept the label and the general sentiment expressed was that it was the institutional side of the work that was leading to burnout (or risk of burnout) in most cases.

This segued into a final burst of discussion about the frustrations of the Sisyphean production/funding cycle, and looking for ways to correct the balance of time spent being grantwriters, and fund raisers versus time spent in the rehearsal room building the art…

When the dinner bell rang.

Where does that leave us?

We are set up perfectly for the long day tomorrow. The room is fired up and ready to go; The participants feel safe talking to the group about things that are really bothering them about the system or the process or their situation; and the prompts that lead tomorrow’s discussion are very straightforward. I encourage you to review them for yourselves, and join in in the comments section here, or follow the action on Twitter by searching or following the #newplay hashtag.

Second: Who are you and what are you doing?

posted by Travis Bedard from the convening room -

The beginnings of this convening are about getting a hold on our present to take our steps towards the future. We are hearing from the companies in the room about their current projects and their next steps.

What work are you building from the ground up? What is you next step? Join the circle and introduce yourself and what you do.

First: Talking about talking

Posted by Travis Bedard from the convening room -

One of the very first problems that arises when discussing “devised work” is that there is little established vocabulary around the niche. There is no monolithic style of “devised work” production, indeed part of the success of devised work is avoidance of the pitfalls of the monolithic production styles of single authorial voice pieces. 

But go ahead and talk to folks who create collaboratively about their opinions on devised work. I have. I drafted up a list of questions about devised works and sent them to devised companies in my circle of acquaintance in Texas to begin a conversation and the first answer from all of them was that they “don’t do devised work, they do X”. Which was of course an answer that encompassed how they made what they made not a catch-all term for which specific “bucket” they belong in. The broad questions then become:

If you don’t fit into a category how can systems fund you appropriately?

If, as many devised works do, you produce then iterate, how do you get development money from systems that are built to support finished projects?

How do you get your audience to buy in to supporting iterations of a developing work?

But let’s start at the beginning:

How do you define “devised work”?

The Online Audience of the #newplay Devised Work Convo knows how to Party!

Calling all 'Devisers' in Southern California: For the past two #newplay convenings, there have been three circles of participation. In the convening room, there's a rotating seating configuration where an inner circle speaks and an outer circle listens. The third circle is the online audience that follows and participates in the conversation that is provoked by a micro-blogger who's reporting from inside the room.  Up to now, the third circle participants have been behind their laptops or mobile units, tweeting and tracking alone in twitterverse.  But why be alone? Twitter's not supposed to be anti-'social'. A group of people in L.A. are already asking just that - shouldn't we just hold a mixer, watch the live broadcast on #NewPlay TV together and tweet the Q&A all together? Yes, you can!  This fun mixer going to be hosted by Son of Semele Ensemble in L.A. on Saturday evening. Bring your tweeting gear and tag #newplay. Click here for more information and to RSVP

Look Who's Talking: Devised Work Convening Participants - #newplay

by Ronee Penoi, Institute Fellow Producer: Devised Work Convening

We've got a great group coming up this weekend for the Devised Work conversation - wowzers! - check it out:

The Participants

Neil Barclay, CEO National Black Arts Festival
Rachel Chavkin, Artistic Director, the TEAM
Stephen Earnhart, Artist 
John Eisner, Producing Director/Lark Play Development Center
Susie Farr  Executive Director, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland
Kamilah Forbes, Artistic Director, Hip-Hop Theater Festival
Sandra Gibson, President and CEO, Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Sabrina Hamilton, Artistic Director, Ko Festival of Performance/Network of Ensemble Theatres Board 
Christopher Hibma, Associate Director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program
Dan Hurlin, Artist
Morgan Jenness, Creative Consultant, Abrams Artists
Melanie Joseph, The Foundry Theatre
Andrew Kircher, Under the Radar (NYC)
Kelly Kirkpatrick, Center Theater Group Los Angeles
Thomas Kriegsmann, President / ArKtype

Jim Lasko, Resident Artist Redmoon Theater
Kirk Lynn, Co-Producing Artistic Director, Rude Mechs
Sam Miller, President, OAM Company, Inc
Jennifer Morris, The Civilians
Barney O'Hanlon, SITI Company
Andy Paris, Artistic Associate, Tectonic Theatre Project
Ann Rosenthal, Executive Director & Producer/MAPP International Productions
Dan Rothenberg, Co-Artistic Director, Pig Iron Theatre Company
Steven Sapp, Universes
Vincent Scott, Program Producer/National Museum of the American Indian
Leigh Smiley,    Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland
Geoff Sobelle, Co-Artistic Director, Rainpan 43
Lisa Steindler, Executive Artistic Director, Z Space
Nick Stuccio, Live Arts Festival
Alex Torra, Associate Artistic Director, Pig Iron Theatre Company
Meiyin Wang, Under the Radar (NYC)
MK Wegman, President and CEO National Performance Network

We're also thrilled to have Travis Bedard blogging at the convening, and David Loehr tweeting all weekend long. Follow online here, on twitter at @NEW_PLAY_BLOG, and use #newplay

"What Are They Talking About?" The Devised Work Convening

by David Dower

Next weekend we'll be completing the Convening Trifecta here, with the gathering of people engaged in the development, production, presentation, and touring of devised work. Here's a [long] introduction to the conversation we'll be having over the two days.

This conversation will build on a whole range of discussions that have been taking place in a variety of settings over the past several years.

#NewPlay TV

Watch the LIVE BROADCAST public event: "How the Devising's Done: Theater Mavericks Talk Process" at 8pm EST / 5pm PST on Sat, Feb 20 on #NewPlay TV at http://livestream.com/newplay 

Add this event your calendar.  

In this free public lecture-demo, four artists will talk about and demonstrate their ensemble and devised processes and techniques. These artists include Kirk Lynn from Rude Mechs, Barney O'Hanlon from SITI Company, Geoff Sobelle from Rainpan 43 and Andy Paris from Tectonic Theater Project. Click here for more details.

Whaddya mean: "Devised Work"? Countdown to the next #newplay convening starts now...

<--Kirk Lynn, Rude Mechs

posted by Ronee Penoi, Institute Fellow

It's been so long, hasn't it?  Yes, the Institute is ramping up for the next conversation, and it's on DEVISED WORK -- February 19th and 20th. "What do we mean by 'devised'?"- you might ask. Well, that's one of the things we're hoping to discover, as well as what the challenges and obstacles are to championing, supporting, and talking about devised, ensemble, interdisciplinary, and [insert your adjective here] work in a system that's primarily built on a playwright-driven model. 

As with 'Defining Diversity' and 'Black Playwrights' - we'll be on Twitter all weekend, so remember #newplay to add questions and follow along. We'll also be live broadcasting on #NewPlay TV a free public event on Saturday, February 20th, at 8pm. We have a line-up of fabulous theater mavericks doing a lecture-demo on their processes and techniques, such as Kirk Lynn from Rude Mechs, Barney O'Hanlon from SITI Company, Geoff Sobelle from Rainpan 43, and Andy Paris from Tectonic Theater Project. Click here for more details.  

<--Barney O'Hanlon, SITI Company, Geoff Sobelle, Rainpan 43-->

Stay tuned...