Parker’s Performance Playbook – Devised Theatre

It’s Tuesday, and I’m back for another Parker’s Performance Playbook! As I look at this month’s calendar, there is something very exciting coming in just a few weeks. This year’s production of Flip the Script opens on February 22nd, entitled Jamila’s Table. We are so excited to premiere this student-devised production which was created to tell a story from the Columbia Pike community. 

But what does it mean that Flip the Script is devised? Encore’s Flip the Script program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, and gives Arlington students the opportunity to be directly involved in writing an original work about our community. Devised theatre goes through stages from research to collaborative writing, to reading drafts and making changes, until there is eventually a final version that is performed for audiences. Because it is student-devised, there is not just one author. They all work together to bring their personal experiences and their research to the table in order to make the final product representative of many perspectives. 

Jamila’s Table started as an idea, “a theatrical piece on food traditions and stories of three distinct cultures in the global community of Arlington VA.” After months of research, community outreach, and writing, it has become a full-length play. 

Encore’s devising process focuses on telling stories that emerge from our community, but there are a lot of different ways that you can approach devising. Sometimes groups of actors come together and begin with improvisation, letting a story naturally unfold from spontaneous storytelling. Other companies begin with movement or sound, focusing on the journey more than the narrative structure. It is a naturally ensemble-led form of theatre, meaning that it sometimes lacks the top-down leadership model directed by one person’s vision and opts for collaboration towards a shared vision instead. 

Try it at home!

Devised theatre has little to no barriers to entry. Anyone can come together and decide to create something new. You can do it from your home today! Try this snow day activity to devise a short play. Find a poem (like this one: School – 12:15) and read it together in a group. Next, improvise a scene based on what the poem made you think of (maybe your group in class forgot to prepare for their presentation today). Then you can discuss what characters you came up with or what happened in the story. Lastly, maybe act out the scene again but make one detail more specific (instead of just being in a classroom, you are in the math teacher’s classroom). See what changes! 

You can start with anything: a song, a theme, a phrase, a location. Whatever idea you come up with will be completely new art! You never know where you will end up when you begin devising, and it is so exciting to watch the art transform throughout the process. If you need some inspiration to begin your devising process, I recommend coming to see Jamila’s Table at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre. 

Performance Dates and Showtimes:
Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2025 at 3:00 pm
Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, Feb 23rd, 2025 at 3:00 pm
Saturday, Mar 1st, 2025 at 11:00 am This performance will have ASL Access provided by GoodSigns. Please email boxoffice@encorestage.org to be seated in our ASL seating.
Saturday, Mar 1st, 2025 at 3:00 pm
Sunday, Mar 2nd, 2025 at 3:00 pm

Tickets: $15 for Adults, $12 for Children, Students, Military and Seniors (ticket fees included). Group rate of $10 for a group of 10 or more.

Photos from Jamila’s Table rehearsals, blog contribution by Parker Nelson.

Parker’s Performance Playbook – Devised Theatre

Encore Stage & Studio

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