This is the first book to explore the rich range of research and development (R&D) practices in contemporary British theatremaking. Featuring chapters by internationally recognised researchers, as well as interviews with innovative theatremakers, this book analyses the work of some of the most exciting theatre companies in Britain. This collection draws on conversations with Selina Thompson, Rosie Elnile, Third Angel and many others, offering hints and tips for your own creative practice. The book argues passionately for the funding of R&D, recognising its enormous significance to British theatre-making processes.
Recenzijas
This book is a revelation, enabling the reader to go up-stream and see the sources of shows from the first inklings in the minds of their makers. By mixing trenchant argument and analysis with insightful first-person interviews with key theatre folk, it builds to a compelling case for the need for R&D and a rallying cry for it to be funded. * Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting, University of East Anglia, UK *
Papildus informācija
This is the first book to explore how research and development (R&D) is used in contemporary British theatre-making, how it exists as a specific, often discrete methodology and how you can use it in your own theatre-making.
Foreword (Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre)
Introduction (editors)
- What is R&D? [ definitions; philosophy; rationale; brief history]
- The politics of R&D [ uncoupling process and product; embracing uncertainty]
- R&D and cultural policy
- R&D and funding
- Introduction to the chapters and interviews
- Note to the reader [ structure; hint and tips boxes, reflective conversation sections]
Chapters and Interviews
Chapter 1: New skills and old stories: R&D in/as ensemble practice by Karen Quigley, University of York
Interview: Performer [ Selina Thompson]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 2: R&D in public: Scratch nights at the BAC and beyond by Mark Smith, University of York
Interview: Director / Producer [ Tom Morris]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 3: London Road and the 'Writers and Composers week' by Tom Cantrell, University of York
Interview: Composer [ Lilian Henley]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 4: R&D is/as the endpoint, artist development by Deborah Pearson
Interview: Writer/Performer/Dramaturg [ Alex Kelly or Inua Ellams]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 5: Searching questions and finding metaphors: the role the designer in R&D by Katherine Graham, University of York
Interview: Designer [ Sophie Jump]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 6: R&D and script-based plays [ writer TBC]
Interview: Writer [ TBC]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Chapter 7: R&D and movement work by Ayse Tashkiran
Interview: Movement Director [ Joseph Alford / Vicki Ikbogwe]
Reflective Conversation
Hints and Tips
Afterword (Duska Radosavljevic)
Bibliography
Index
Tom Cantrell is a Professor of Theatre and Head of the School of Arts and Creative Technologies at the University of York, UK. He has published widely on acting processes, including Acting in Documentary Theatre (Palgrave 2013), Acting in British Television (Palgrave 2017) and Exploring Television Acting (Bloomsbury 2018), co-written with Christopher Hogg.
Katherine Graham is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK, where her research focuses on the agency of materials in performance. She has also worked extensively as a lighting designer for theatre and dance and has published work about light in Theatre and Performance Design Journal, Studies in Theatre and Performance, and Contemporary Theatre Review. She is co-editor, with Kelli Zezulka and Scott Palmer, of Contemporary Performance Lighting: Experience, Creativity, Meaning (Bloomsbury 2023).
Mark Love-Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK. He has research interests in devised and physical theatre, community theatre, and the interplay of writing, directing and devising. His latest publication is the Routledge Performance Practitioners book on Frantic Assembly, co-written with Professor Mark Evans.
Karen Quigley is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK. Her first monograph, Performing the Unstageable: Success, Imagination, Failure was published by Bloomsbury in 2020. She has also published research on a range of subjects including site-specific performance, solo spectatorship, embodied voice, British television comedy and theatre-fiction.
