Dreaming In at the London Devised Theatre Intensive

Fourteen days of performing, directing, devising, learning, and observing.

Stella Duffy reminded us to “let them dream in” to our art, and that we are all “fucking cunty twatty gorgeous brilliance.”

Oliver Smart let us explore his puppetry through play, recovering our youthful knowledge that performance is to give our lives over to discovery.

Bryony Kimmings asked us to swirl in the quagmires of our own darkness and discover the hope buried within, asking us what parts we play in our own lives.

And our ensemble performed, laughed, played, and disappeared into the selfless connection that begets the best art out there.

This was healing and exhilarating. Last week, I was weeping at home over the sudden loss of my beloved Echo, but there was no time to dwell in isolated sadness; I had been brought on to lead and perform with the 2018 cohort of the London Devised Theatre Intensive, and my airline tickets were already booked.

Grief is a different shade of love, and creation stems from both. I was blessed to work with these brilliant artists, hailing from Malta, Ireland, Canada, Australia and other locations. Using the Open Space methodology, we conceptualized and created, designed and performed, and pushed ourselves individually and as a collective to consider the larger questions we wanted to aim our art at.

I was touched when, after leading a RasaBoxes workshop, Julian Laverty said “I studied with Schechner in Ireland… you made this method clearer to me in a day than it was in two weeks with him. Last time, I was so caught up in the words, but now I see how I can use this tool and my breath.”

I was inspired when Stella Duffy leaned into her struggle and her sense of overwhelm to remind us that as humans, we come to every day with the tools that we will need in order to create, and that we have no responsibility to feel shame when we show up as we are and bing ourselves into our art.

I was invigorated by Tashi Baguierra’s exercises, energy, and soul, which she shared in her earnest approach to accessible arts and her lived experience as a neurodiverse artist and audience member, and also through the series of Frantic Assembly’s movement exercises that she shared with us

I was motivated by Beth Watson and Leah Kirby, who shared their passion for drag performance, political rebellion, and challenging the colonial and patriarchal norms of theatre through their artistry and through Beth’s founding of Bechdel theatre.

I was deeply impacted by the collaboratively created immersive work that I devised with Beth, Matthew, Carla, Tashi, and Jackie, titled Static. I am honored to have been a part of this artistic process and performance with you all.

Creation is healing. This was exactly what I needed.