For those of you lucky enough to have seen "Super Spectacular" in March at the TKD space downtown, you experienced the joy of original work. Joe Kolbow and Jonathan Niel, the writers and performers, share their thoughts (below) about generating material.

Become a fan of their work here. 

Joe and Jonathan are professional actors in NYC and have trained in classical acting, clown, physical theatre, and more. Their theatre company, The Donovan Ensemble, is based in NYC. I hope their thoughts are of value to you, whether you are an actor, artist, or theatre enthusiast. --scc

Creating exciting new ensemble created theater requires a small miracle to pull off, but with patience and dedication it can bear fruit like a well-tended garden. Here are a few ways The Donovan Ensemble makes the magic happen.

Ingredient 1: Time and Space  

Joe: I’m not just talking on a metaphysical level here. When working in and around New York time and space are in high demand. It takes dollars to rent an empty room to run around in. It takes dollars to commute to that room. Already our nonexistent show is adding up. The room will be useless if we don’t have anyone there to play as well. New Yorkers schedules are notoriously full and each additional person added to the project makes it exponentially more difficult to plan. 

We have found success with the following formula: Find free rehearsal space, use a small cast and have a realistic rehearsal schedule.

We are fortunate to have developed a relationship with a nearby church that allows us to rehearse and perform there gratis. In return we give them a percentage of any proceeds from shows there.

Additionally we are starting small. Our first show was a solo show, so there weren’t a lot of schedules to coordinate there. Our second show uses two people so scheduling remains simple.

We took a few months of rehearsing once or twice a week to come up with our first 45 minute show. This allowed us to really focus on creating fun stuff without being too stressed about a deadline.

Ingredient 2: Create a structure where ideas can bloom

Jonathan:

We work in a few different ways; but we always start off with a physical activity such as yoga or simple stretching to get our bodies and mind cleared and our bodies active.

From there we like to play children’s games and get in a frame of mind of pure fun.  We find our imaginations work a lot faster if we’re in the space to play and the second we start getting too heady and intellectual is the moment we drop everything and play charades or “you’re it” 

We always have a set plan for the rehearsal but we’re not afraid to deviate if that is what will help the final result. 

One of our most helpful creative tools has been Laban Movement Analysis. Devised by Rudolf Laban, LMA draws on his theories of effort and shape to describe, interpret and document human movement.

The Effort shapes, the eight combinations are descriptively named Float, Punch(Thrust), Glide, Slash, Dab, Wring, Flick, and Press.   We spend roughly 8 minutes on each shape. Then we add another layer to this mix.  We use these combinations with colors.  We lay on our backs, close our eyes and think of a particular color. We inhabit the color and any images that pop into our head.  We begin to add the Laban Effort shapes; moving like this color.  A “red punch” might act quite differently from a “pink punch” and finally we give that particular color a name and a voice. Say you were doing a scene in a play and you needed something different out of your character – you can quickly try it using the movement and voice of Seaweed Sam (green); Sunshine Bear (orange).  With these colors we have developed fun and multi-dimensional characters.  This is just one of the ways we work in developing a piece.  So go out and have fun exploring your colors.  If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

So there is a little taste of how we get the creative juices flowing. The next steps are agreeing on the material for a show and structuring it into a performance. Here’s where a director comes in handy – but that’s a subject for a different blog entry.