The semi-improvised play process draws on the work of Mike Leigh, Katie Mitchell, Michael Chekhov, Maria Knebel, Konstantin Stanislavski, long-form improv like The Improvised Play or The Showstoppers, and Applied Improv, in particular the work of Tony Cealy.
The process combines these techniques with a few extra supporting rules to create a play where much of the world, the plot and the action are finalised, but the dialogue, movements and sometimes even plot structures are improvised.
This creates a space that is more accessible to audiences and performers, as it responds to the audience and performers needs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long does this process take?
The process takes approximately 2.5 weeks with professional actors, and 3.5 with students or with actors who have high access supporting needs. This is for a full length play, much shorter options are available. For students this process requires background experience in character development as well as improv.
How does the process work?
This process is much like the creation of a normal play, but 50 percent of the time is centred upon developing the world and finding a plot-line that the actors want to study. Another 25 percent is centred upon creating appropriate characters and a set with the last 25 percent orientated towards finalising these decisions. Essentially the process is really similar to a normal play, but world creation and character/set creation take up a bit more time.
How do the technical aspects work?
It is beneficial for the sound and lighting to be controlled by the performers onstage, but it isn’t completely necessary if those working on lighting and sound feel that they are able to edit scenes and recognise the play. (Edit means to cut a scene when you think it is time for the scene to be finished in improv. Technicians can be trained to do this.)
This process does not need to have sound, lighting or tech if that is unavailable. Stage design and technology often take on the role of an additional character in the play, which nice to have but it definitely isn’t necessary.
How does this benefit performers?
I created this process partly because it is great fun and provides a really interesting and exciting new way to stage plays. I also created it to help support disabled actors and narratives on stage, as many actors with disabilities or chronic conditions leave the sector. I received a Developing Your Creative Access grant from the Arts Council to learn how to better support a disabled cast through this process – working with Debbie Hannan, EM Williams and Amarachi Nwokoro.
This process is also really great for actors who come from a complex intersectional background and therefore often struggle to find representation of their own or similar voices on stage.
With students this process can really help to support them to generate characters that they are interested in creating and to slowly learn to push their boundaries, as well as give them skills like audience interaction, narrative development and technical knowledge.
How does this impact the audience?
In front of an audience this process changes traditional theatre spaces. My recommendations are that if there are audience present, the audience are seated in traverse, end-on or in the round styles. This helps to generate audience response to each other in the space.
The semi-improvised play often creates a space that is more relaxed than traditional plays, as performers respond to the reaction of the audience. Audience interaction can also be developed into the play, and I believe that a relaxed theatre space could be a norm for many of the plays developed. This would include clearer lighting, and audio description and the audience would be free to move around and make noise. The one area of access that I have concerns regarding this process is live captioning which may still be manageable.
What narratives occur?
This is the part of the process that I am currently working on. I have a theory that cast size can often dictate the style of the play.
With a cast of 5+ narratives tend to orientate towards large community centres with a wide range of weird and wonderful individuals. This does not have to be the case, however and is a theory that can be challeneged. With smaller casts of 4 or 3, the semi-improvised process often changes to a more intense study of one specific theme.
What is your previous experience of working on this process?
I have developed one full play, Dodgers, using the semi-improvised play process with BA Acting for Contemporary and Devised Performance students, for their final 3rd year play at the University of Northamptom. In addition to this, I have worked on three R&Ds, in addition to using this process, or processes very similar to it, with students from Mountview, City Academy, and East 15. I am currently working with a semi-improvised ensemble, with director Jessica Bickel-Barlow, we are hoping to perform the first ensemble company play which focuses on Spas, Aliens and MI5 this year.
Notable Previous Work:
Dodgers:
Dodgers was a semi-improvised play that centred around a pub called The Dodge, in the imaginary town of Kettle near Swindon. The main focus of the play was on the relationship between a 30 year old man and the 17 year older sister of the one of the pub workers. The play studied different kinds of male characters who dates the 17 year old sister, and looked at themes of sexuality, appropriateness, coercion, mistaken-identity and sexual abuse. Sub-plots looked at unusual couples, first romance, drug dealing, toilet cleaning, casual working, PTSD, and blind-dates. The staging incorporated the floor plan for a whole pub (toilet included), and characters controlled the lighting and sound through the back-of-bar area on stage. Physical movement was intertwined between scenes.
Research and Development for Access:
This process looked at the use of access in the semi-improvised process, with a focus on reduced working hours, online and in-person rehearsals, access supporting measures (like kettles, disabled parking, and stair-free access). The process enabled workers with experience of chronic pain and chronic fatigue to work together to see what kind of characters, and themes arose when they came together. The process was much deeper than many semi-improvised play structures previously, with themes of artist discussion of handling chronic pain carried into narrative strengths.
Chloe Kennedy 