Complicite was founded in 1983 and is led by Simon McBurney. The company’s work ranges from devised pieces to adaptations and revivals of classic texts.
Productions include The Master and Margarita, Shun-Kin, A Disappearing Number, The Elephant Vanishes, Mnemonic, The Street of Crocodiles and A Minute Too Late.
From being smuggled into a shanty town in Chile to perform in 1984, to being broadcast live to cinemas across the globe in 2010, Complicite's productions have reached more than 120 venues in 34 countries winning numerous awards.
Rehearsals:
The roots of Complicite's work can be traced back to the training of its members, many of whom studied at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. This training is at the heart of the Company’s Teaching Workshops, which reach over 2,000 people in schools, colleges, clubs, museums and other institutions in the UK and abroad every year. These workshops focus on the exercises and techniques Complicite uses in the rehearsal room, including the study of the neutral mask, clowning, storytelling, the chorus and performance skills.
Generally Complicite do open workshops, and they tend to be led by quite experienced associates of the company, looking at something quite specific and in-depth for a week or two.
Probably it’s the longer-term encounters that are the most valuable for us and for the participants. There’s time to actually learn a lot about the participants because a workshop isn’t just about sharing a set of skills, it’s about developing a sense of communication and collaboration and you can’t do that quickly. The first sessions are about gaining trust and teaching some basic languages. Then there’s an opportunity for the participants to devise work, get feedback and then develop the work further in a dialogue. It’s an exchange and the longer you work together, the more meaningful that exchange becomes.
I can apply Complicites rehearsal methods to my devising process. I found that during our first rehearsals we we not able to be completely comfortable with one another and because there was an awkwardness present we could not trust each other, as a result I was not comfortable in trying risky movements like jumping into my partners arms. However over the course of devising we have all established a trusting relationship with one another and I believe that our piece now flows with fluidity because we have a strong connection. I have learnt that it is perfectly normal to not be fluid during the first improvisation because first you must establish an un breakable bond with your partner. A first I found the devising process challenging because we were not able to move as one. However I now understand that we just needed to time to develop a connection and trust with each other that has to be natural and not forced because awkwardness is visible in any performance.
Subject Material:
Complicite create their subject material using inspiration from other theatre company's as well as every day life.
"The first thing I’d say is, watch lots of devised theatre. You need to know what’s out there, what practitioners are experimenting with. So try to see what smaller companies in particular are exploring."- Complicite’s Catherine Alexander
This relates to our devising process because at the beginning of our rehearsal sessions we found it challenging to generate ideas about what our piece could be about and how we could convey this. However, we took time to watch various different examples of physical theatre and we began to find the improvisation easier the more research we conducted. I will take this into consideration in the next devising exercise, I must research and watch as many physical theatre plays as possible to broaden my understanding of Contact Improvisation.
Here are some of Complicites devising notes, I think it will be useful to spend a short amount of time with my group next time to create some notes about what we want to achieve in our piece, so that we are 100% clear about our topic and subject.
Annotate and describe the process of devising in a restricted space or devising from the movement of an element and evaluate what it is beneficial for.
Devising in a restricted space is an activity with a group of people that requires professionalism and a decent understanding of each other in order for it to be successful. First of all you need to find a space, now this space must be one that doesn't provide much room for you and your peers to move around in and should restrict you in terms of the freedom you have. This restriction forces you to adapt and be able to work in tight spaces. After finding a space with a group of people with or without music you begin to improvise a contact improvisation. This improvisation is based around being able to move your body around efficiently and with confidence in really tight angles. The first time i performed it was in a tight corridor with 6 other people, due to the extreme amount of tightness in the space we resorted into using different layers in order to find space to move our bodies together. For example if people began to lower to the floor I would stand up on the window seal in order to create space and initiate a reaction from everyone else and give them somewhere to move afterwards. Depending on the space will vary whether you can use different levels or not, if there is no space to go onto the floor or somewhere to climb, then it will be much more difficult to devise in a restricted space. The restricted space itself provides a sense of intimacy with the group you're devising with and will allow you to get familiar with each others bodies.
Evaluate Complicite devising methods.
Complicite use an extremely structured method in terms of devising, when producing a production they go through multiple stages in order to be sure that they are getting the most out of what they are creating. The sections consisting of space, games, ensemble work, the language of movement, tension, rhythm, creating characters, working from text, roles within the group, the creative environment, keeping records, reading aloud as a group, choosing a subject, exploring a subject, gathering the material together, consolidation, and presentation. It is clear to see that due the sheer amount of detail in their rehearsal process and devising all the way up until the presentation that they put in an enormous amount of work into creating the best possible piece of theatre possible. From space, until creating characters is when I believe that the most practical work would take place, and would consist of improvisation sessions and would allow the actors to take control of their work. The rest seem to be sit down discussions and very structured. This highlights how Complicite when devising tend to begin by letting the actors and directors just go with what they feel, and then as soon as they believe they have something, they sit down together and communicate with each other about their takings from the improvisation and eventually create a piece of theatre.
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