This is a piece I made during the course of rehearsals that reminds me of the layout of our set. It has the golden playground where the kids are. There is Adendon's moon area in the upper right. There is the checkers area (which has now become an arm-wrestling area) in the lower rights and the bank in the lower left.
The most wonderful part of devising, for me, has been seeing how these droplets left behind actually do feed the final product. They are our ways of processing and they allow our ideas to become whole. There cannot be creation without destruction and, when it comes to the ideas in our show and the ideas left behind, it can be hard to tell which is which. The paintings I've made will not be in the show, but painting is a part of me. For me, the act of painting after rehearsal is as much a part of the devising process as warming up before rehearsal. And thats what's so strange about devising. Those who go to see this show will hardly see any of what we came up with over the past couple months. But, at the same time, everything we've done (indeed everything we are as a cast and as individuals) can be found in the folds of our piece."
Devising involves a process oriented approach, which can be chaotic. However, if the process is well guided, this chaotic expansion can yield beauty through contraction. We stretch our minds, hearts, and bodies and try to make new associations. We engage in a collecting and filing of ideas and inspirations. We allow the group mind to take on a life of its own.
Lots of what we create gets left behind somewhere. Scenes, dreams, characters, and possible spines for the show come and go throughout the rehearsal process. Our collection changes and evolves over time as we water it for growth and then wash the dirt away. Even some truly incredible ideas have to be left behind sometimes for the development of the show; to allow the show to flourish it must be pruned. Bucknell theater students have coined the term "killing babies" for the experience of having to leave behind incredible moments or backstories because, in spite of their beauty, they are not right for THIS show.
Soul
The most wonderful part of devising, for me, has been seeing how these droplets left behind actually do feed the final product. They are our ways of processing and they allow our ideas to become whole. There cannot be creation without destruction and, when it comes to the ideas in our show and the ideas left behind, it can be hard to tell which is which. The paintings I've made will not be in the show, but painting is a part of me. For me, the act of painting after rehearsal is as much a part of the devising process as warming up before rehearsal. And thats what's so strange about devising. Those who go to see this show will hardly see any of what we came up with over the past couple months. But, at the same time, everything we've done (indeed everything we are as a cast and as individuals) can be found in the folds of our piece."
-CJ Fujimura '13
Sound Designer
Ensemble Member
"P.S. Adendon Edenderg sends a warm and cold hello from space"
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