Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance
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Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva, Editor, and Scott Proudfit, Associate Editor
collective creation in contemporary performance Copyright Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva and Scott Proudfit, 2013. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-33126-7 All rights reserved. Chapter 7 originally appeared under the title Created by the Ensemble: Generative Creativity and Collective Creation at the Dell Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Theatre Topics 22:1 (2012): 49 61. 2012 The Johns Hopkins University Press. Revised and reprinted with permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press. First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-46132-5 DOI 10.1057/9781137331274 ISBN 978-1-137-33127-4 (ebook) Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Collective creation in contemporary performance / edited by Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva and Scott Proudfit. pages cm Includes index. 1. Performing arts Europe History 20th century. 2. Performing arts United States History 20th century. 3. Experimental theater Europe History 20th century. 4. Experimental theater United States History 20th century. 5. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) 6. Collaborative behavior. I. Syssoyeva, Kathryn Mederos, 1961 editor of compilation. II. Proudfit, Scott, 1971 editor of compilation. PN2570.C65 2013 791.094 dc23 2013009069 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: September 2013 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Alyosha and Grisha: because I love you because you make my work possible because you are my collective. K. M. S. For my book- loving parents: something to add to the shelf. S. P.
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Contents List of Figures Introduction: Toward a New History of Collective Creation 1 Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva 1 Preface: From Margin to Center Collective Creation and Devising at the Turn of the Millennium (A View from the United States) 13 Scott Proudfit and Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva 2 The Playwright and the Collective: Drama and Politics in British Devised Theatre 39 Roger Bechtel 3 Collective Creation and the Creative Industries : The British Context 51 Alex Mermikides 4 Eugenio Barba and the Odin Teatret: A Collective Ethos 71 Ian Watson 5 An Actor Proposes: Poetics of the Encounter at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards 95 Kris Salata 6 Lecoq s Pedagogy: Gathering up Postwar Europe, Theatrical Tradition, and Student Uprising 111 Maiya Murphy with Jon Foley Sherman 7 Created by the Ensemble: Histories and Pedagogies of Collective Creation at the Dell Arte International School of Physical Theatre 125 Claire Canavan 8 Framework for Change: Collective Creation in Los Angeles after the SITI Company 137 Scott Proudfit 9 The Nature Theater of Oklahoma: Staging the Chaos of Collective Practice 151 Rachel Anderson- Rabern ix
viii CONTENTS 10 In Search of the Idea: Scenography, Collective Composition, and Subjectivity in the Laboratory of Dmitry Krymov 165 Bryan Brown 11 The Case of Spain: Collective Creation as Political Reaction 187 Nuria Aragonés 12 Collective (Re)Creation as Site of Reclamation, Reaffirmation, and Redefinition 195 Thomas Riccio Notes on Contributors 211 Index 215
Figures 4.1. The Chronic Life (Rehearsal). The director Eugenio Barba working with the actors Kai Bredholt and Sofia Monsalve. 86 4.2. The Chronic Life (Rehearsal). Kai Bredholt (the widow of a Basque officer). 87 4.3. The Chronic Life (Rehearsal). Julia Verley (Nikita, a Chechnyan refugee) and Jan Ferslev (a rock musician from the Faroe Islands). 87 5.1. Action Marie De Clerck, Francesc Torrent Gironella, Mario Biagini, Jørn Riegels Wimpel, Thomas Richards, Pere Sais Martinez. 98 5.2. I Am America Timothy Hopfner, Marina Gregory, Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez, Lloyd Bricken. 102 5.3. The Living Room (2012) Philip Salata and Thomas Richards. 107 5.4. The Living Room (2012) Teresa Salas, Thomas Richards, and Philip Salata. 107 10.1. Demon: View from Above. Anna Sinyakina (bike), Sergei Melkonyan (man), Alexander Osipov (woman). 168 10.2. Death of Giraffe. Anna Sinyakina, Sergei Melkonyan, Irina Denisova, Mikhail Umanets (in foreground), Arkady Kirichenko (in background). 175 10.3. Demon: View from Above. Construction of Van Gogh s sunflowers. 178 12.1. A scene from Twelve Moons, a collectively devised performance directed by the author, produced by the Korean National University of the Arts, Seoul, Korea. 197 12.2. Utetmun, text by Paul Jumbo (center), directed by the author, devised and produced by Tuma Theatre, Fairbanks, Alaska. 200
x FIGURES 12.3. A section of the Ritual Preparation created collectively by the performers of Sardaana, a devised work directed by the author and produced by the Sakha National Theatre, central Siberia. 201 12.4. A scene from Emandulo, a collectively devised work directed by the author and produced by the Kwasa Group, Natal Performing Arts Council, Durban, South Africa. 205 12.5. A scene from Andegna, a collectively created performance directed by the author, presented by Litooma in collaboration with Lul Theatre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 208