Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance

Seeking to broaden current understanding of collective creation, this edited volume situates its contemporary practice in the tradition which emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. The contributors trace the aesthetic, social, and political shifts that have marked this mode of theatre making, from mid-century manifestations as a theatrical expression of the New Left to present-day devising practices. With emphasis on Russia, Europe, and North America, Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance examines collective and devised theatre practices internationally and demonstrates the prevalence, breadth, and significance of collective creation in modern times.

Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva is Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Theatre at Florida State University, USA. She is the co-editor of A History of Collective Creation (with Scott Proudfit, 2013). A specialist in devising, physical theatre and Meyerhold's biomechanics, Syssoyeva has taught performance and scenic movement at Yale School of Drama, Stanford University, Colby College (where she was Irving D. Suss Guest Artist in 2008), and Florida State University.

Scott Proudfit is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at Elon University, USA. He is the co-editor of A History of Collective Creation (with Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva, 2013). Before receiving his PhD at Northwestern University, he worked with the Actors' Gang and the Factory Theater in Los Angeles and with Irondale Ensemble Project in New York, often on devised plays.

Introduction: Towards a New History of Collective Creation; Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva
1. From Margin to Center: Collective Creation and Devising at the Turn of the Millennium (A View from the United States); Scott Proudfit and Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva
2. The Playwright and the Collective: Drama and Politics in British Devised Theatre; Roger Bechtel
3. Collective Creation and the 'Creative Industries': the British Context; Alex Mermikides
4. Eugenio Barba and the Odin Teatret: A Collective Ethos; Ian Watson
5. An Actor Proposes: Poetics of the Encounter at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards; Kris Salata
6. Lecoq's Pedagogy: Gathering Up Post-war Europe, Theatrical Tradition, and Student Uprising; Maiya Murphy with Jon Foley Sherman
7. Created by the Ensemble: Histories and Pedagogies of Collective Creation at the Dell'Arte School; Claire Canavan
8. Framework for Change: Collective Creation in Los Angeles After the SITI Company; Scott Proudfit
9. The Nature Theater of Oklahoma: Staging the Chaos of Collective Practice; Rachel Anderson-Rabern
10. In Search of the Idea: Scenography, Collective Composition, and Subjectivity in the Laboratory of Dmitry Krymov; Bryan Brown
11. The Case of Spain: Collective Creation as Political Reaction; Nuria Aragonès
12. Collective (Re)Creation as Site of Reclamation, Reaffirmation, and Redefinition; Thomas Riccio