The London Devised Theatre Intensive is a two-week workshop for maverick theatre makers who are creating their own work, seeking international collaborators, and ready to take control of their artistic practice.
We ran the London Devised Theatre Intensive in October 2017 and October 2018 at Toynbee Studios.
“LDTI has changed the way I see myself as a performer. I feel more motivated and armed with tools to create work than I have ever done.”
Jennifer Kay, 2017 participant
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“I was really searching for a community of theatre makers. Here I’ve managed to find people from lots of different art forms and experiences.”
Carla Keen, 2018 participant
THE PROGRAMME
MASTERCLASS SERIES
Train with guest artists at the forefront of devised theatre, sharing their wealth of experience in creating bold, original performance. The core ensemble of theatre makers in the Intensive will be joined by a handful of new participants attending only the Masterclass Series, creating an extended network of artists trained in these techniques.
PEER PRACTICE EXCHANGE
Share your favourite devising techniques, and add new ones to your creative toolbox. Practice exchange allows you to learn from your peers and gain confidence in teaching others about the tools you use in your work.
DAILY DEVISING IN OPEN SPACE
Create new performance every day, putting into practice the new techniques you’ll learn from our guest artists and your peers in the Intensive. The workshop runs in Open Space, designed to let you explore new ideas and impulses. Follow where your passion and curiosity lead you, without the pressure of a public performance.
GROUP THEATRE TRIPS
See three professional productions by devised theatre companies in London, and discuss the performances with your fellow theatre makers in the workshop. Build on these shared points of reference as you continue to create your own work together throughout the Intensive.
CAREER COACHING
Laura Lundy, theatrical producer and founder of Blue Panther Productions (New York) will offer mentoring throughout the Intensive, as well as a group coaching session, ‘Define and Articulate Your Creative Work, on Your Terms’. We’ve all had that moment when we’re asked what we’re working on, and our mind goes blank. Learn how to speak clearly and authentically about your work in a way that invites supporters to join you.
THEATRE MAKER HAPPY HOUR
Celebrate the last day of the Intensive by raising a glass at our Happy Hour. This event gives theatre makers a rare opportunity to discuss new projects and fully realised work with London artistic directors and other industry decision-makers.
OPEN SPACE
The London Devised Theatre Intensive runs using Open Space, a liberating method for self-organising around the ideas we’re passionate about. A radical alternative to the traditional theatre model, Open Space creates an anti-hierarchical environment for rapid generation of ideas and shared ownership of the work.
There are five principles of Open Space:
- Whoever comes are the right people.
- Whenever it starts is the right time.
- Wherever it happens is the right place.
- Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
- When it’s over, it’s over.
And one law of Open Space: the law of passion and mobility.
Open Space works best for people who are self-starting, experienced devisers who are looking for the space and time to explore, collaborate, and try something new. The Intensive aims to liberate artists, and to give you the freedom to find out what’s most important to you.
LDTI is facilitated by Amy Clare Tasker, director of Pinecone Performance Lab and programme director of Theatre Maker at The Cockpit. Amy has created shows and run workshops in Open Space, and she has written an article on Open Space for HowlRound, a US theatre journal.
Find out more about how we work here.
THE PRODUCERS
The London Devised Theatre Intensive is a programme of Pinecone Performance Lab and Blue Panther Productions.
Pinecone Performance Lab is a London-based theatre company fascinated by unexpected connection. Our recent projects include Home Is Where, a 1:1 pop-up headphone verbatim performance, and HOT (Helen of Troy), a solo musical about beauty, power, and myth.
Blue Panther Productions works with playwrights and theatre companies to increase visibility and reach national and international production goals faster and at greater levels of success. Producer Laura Lundy will lead the professional development strand of the Intensive with career coaching and our Theatre Maker Happy Hour.
WHAT THEATRE MAKERS SAY
“I’ve learned so much over these past two weeks. I’m more confident in myself, and more motivated. Before, I was really lost, I wasn’t sure what path I wanted to go down.“
Jackie Lam, 2018
How would you describe the London Devised Theatre Intensive in just three words? The core ensemble from the 2017 programme give it their best shot.
Video by Anne Rene Brashier.
“Amy holds the room really gently, and calmly, so that when we’re being creative and mad and bouncing off the walls – she has an incredible ability to make your feel safe and bring a group together.“
Joel Gatehouse, 2017
MASTERCLASS SERIES
IMPROVISATION IN THEATRE
Lee Simpson, Improbable (2017)
Improvisation is a powerful tool for accessing honest in-the-moment responses, discovering characters and relationships, and experimenting with performance styles. Lee brings over 20 years’ experience improvising and devising with Improbable, creators of the International Institute of Improvisation.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PERFORMACE
Bryony Kimmings (2017)
Bryony will guide you towards creating performance inspired by your own life, touching on individuality, concept, style, creating new material and dreaming big. Get inspired by her fearlessly personal approach to provoking social change.
STORIES WITHOUT WORDS
Nir Paldi, Theatre ad Infinitum (2017)
The actor in an empty space can use the body to create character, spaces, emotions, poetry, and atmospheres, and ultimately tell stories – without words. With gestural language, mime, comedy, tragedy, poetics, Nir will introduce you to a visual theatre style that fires the imagination.
ENSEMBLE MOVEMENT
Eric Mallett, Complicite (2017)
Associate artist Eric Mallett of the renowned ensemble theatre company Complicite will lead you through their process for building an ensemble through physical training and play, creating a shared visual language, and devising dynamic collaborative performances.
MAKING INTERCONNECTED PERFORMANCE
Tom Mansfield, Upstart Theatre (2017)
Tom’s masterclass draws on pioneering new techniques from his production, Phone Home, which brought together collaborators in London, Munich, and Athens. Explore how digital technologies can inform and inspire our devising practice – and even help us bring audiences into the process of making theatre.
IMPROVISATION: LIVE WRITING
Stella Duffy (2018)
Stella Duffy is writer, improviser, theatre maker and performer. For many years she has used and taught improvisation for performance, devising, creating solo shows for herself and others, and writing novels and theatre. Using a combination of impro techniques, games and writing exercises derived from improvisation, she will look at creating character, dialogue and narrative.
PUPPETRY
Oliver Smart, Folded Feather (2018)
The creative and expressive potential of puppetry is impossible to ignore in theatre today. This practical and hands-on masterclass will introduce participants to techniques, methods, and approaches towards the effective use of puppetry as a devising tool and performance medium, creating the illusion of life within the inanimate.
PHYSICAL THEATRE
Kat Joyce, Tangled Feet (2018)
Physical theatre offers an imaginative alternative (and complement) to traditional text-based theatre. Beginning from a process of physical improvisation and play, Tangled Feet create original, visually stunning, transformative performances, sometimes inside theatres but often in other public spaces.
WHY DEVISE?
“I started out like most, thinking I needed to have all the answers myself. Eventually I realized the work was so much richer when I didn’t have the answers. That’s what really excites me: developing something with an ensemble’s collective mind.”
Carrie Klewin Lawrence
Artistic Director of 3rd Space Theatre Collective
“I love devising theatre because you get to play with all the theatrical toys straightaway. It’s like using a very complicated piece of equipment without reading the instructions first.”
Lee Simpson
Co-Artistic Director & Founder Member of Improbable
“Devising offers a unique opportunity for theatre makers to claim agency over our careers, bring our whole identity to the work, and liberate ourselves from narrow industry expectations. I believe devising is key to making our studios and stages more inclusive of those who have been historically left out.”
Amy Clare Tasker
Co-Director of Pinecone Performance Lab
The core ensemble of LDTI 2017 explain how the Intensive gave them the creative boost they needed. Featuring Kate Goodfellow, Steven Laverty, Heather Lundy Kahl, Peyvand Sadeghian, and Jennifer Kay.
Video by Anne Rene Brashier.
LDTI BLOG
CREATIVE CONVERGENCE
Ambassador Peyvand Sadeghian reflects on the first few days of the 2017 LDTI.
“Chronos time: that official system we use to manage our activities. Kairos time: often unexpected, those opportune moments that need to be seized when they arise. I’ve been trying to navigate between these two worlds the past few days. Sometimes they converge conveniently, other times there’s more of a struggle, and it’s not always in our control.”
A WHIRLWIND TWO WEEKS
Ambassador Naomi Joseph recaps her experience in the 2018 LDTI.
“Wow…what a whirlwind two weeks. It has been a privilege to dedicate two weeks to my creative practice. To be in a room full of creatives who are generous with their time and energy, as well as their professional skills as artists, has made the experience incredibly rewarding.”
ENDURANCE VULNERABILITY
Facilitator Amy Clare Tasker finds the magic ingredient for creative transformation.
“As a group, we have been building to an astonishing depth of work throughout the week. It’s impossible, for me at least, to do my best creative work without this vulnerability. Impossible to create the depth of connection and generosity and care for each other, which enables a transformative day like we had on Friday.”
GALLERY
Pinecone Performance Lab 