Where Does an Idea Start?
Did you ever think about how writers get ideas for plays?
In the real world, this doesn’t happen as it did in the movie Shakespeare in Love. In that movie, the writer is blocked. He then meets the love of his life, and the next day a play, fully formed and polished, comes into existence. Poof!
If only it happened that way.
Usually a writer toils in solitude. He sits alone at the computer, typing away for months, sometimes years, until they have something. If they are very lucky they will have the help of a dramaturg, who works with them to make the play the best it can be.
Enter the 20th Century Model
In the 20th century, theatre-makers were experimenting with structure and form everywhere. Maybe you’ve heard of experimental theater from La Mama Experimental Theatre Company, or FreeStyle Love Supreme, an improvisational rap show currently on Broadway. Experimental theater is about experimenting with how plays are created and told onstage. They heyday of experimental theater was in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and it revolutionized the way theatre is written and performed. This is also known as “downtown” theatre, postmodern theatre, or simply “avant garde” theatre.
So today although a play can be written by a single person sitting alone in front of a computer, plays can also be created collaboratively by an ensemble.
Plays Created by an Ensemble
John Walton defines ensemble creation, known as “devising,” as a process in which the whole creative team develops a show collaboratively. Our friend Martine Kei Green-Rogers further explains that “numerous educational and professional theaters are using the techniques of devised theatre to address social issues.”
This method of collaborative theatre-making is a perfect model for Rhymes Over Beats to create theatre that matters. We want to talk about issues that our Collective feels is important.
Devised theatre happens when a group of people with a similar experience talk about their experience, and a play results. This is how A Chorus Line was created, and is how a work we co-produced in 2017, The Assignment, was created.
See Something, Say Something – Theatrically
Rhymes Over Beats is all about creating new work, new work to appeal to our audiences and that says something important about the way we live and how we see the world.
We’re looking for Collective Members to tell stories. Want in? Email info@rhymesoverbeats.org and talk to us.