What to expect with this semester’s Devised Theatre Showcase
UFV’s Devised Theatre Showcase, No Strings Attached, is the culmination of six students and one professor brainstorming, improvising, and just testing out ideas for a whole semester to create a show that asks: what is creativity and how can we each be more creative in our everyday lives? I interviewed two of the students from the THEA 452 class, Trevor Marsh and Stefan Boekhorst, to get an inside look on what it was like producing and acting in an online theatre production starring sock puppets.
The devised theatre production was the product of two theatre courses. One of these was THEA 352: Devised Theatre I, which ran in the Fall 2020 semester and whose showcase revolved around the themes of Zoom, COVID-19, and climate change. This semester’s THEA 452: Devised Theatre II consists of the same six students and professor Parjad Sharifi, and it boasts a much more uplifting showcase than last semester. Devised theatre is unique from other theatre classes UFV offers because it is more a form of collaborative creation than anything else.
“If you think of a normal play, you have a director making their vision on stage, and it’s ultimately the producing and directing staff who make all the decisions,” said Marsh. “But with devised theatre, it’s all communal. We vote on how we can change things, and rehearsal is more of a mind-mapping session, with us improvising and testing ideas.”
“The first day of class our teacher, Parjad, was like ‘Alright, what do you guys want to do?’ and it’s up to us to create the idea of what we want to do,” said Boekhorst. “So we try things out and decide if it works for us, if we like it or not, and if we do, we build on that.”
The two described the four-scene show as a cross between SNL and Robot Chicken, with each scene being like episodes of a show that are all about different ideas but tell a larger story focusing on the main theme: creativity.
“Our theme is creativity and the origin of creativity, how it works, where it comes from,” said Marsh. “It’s about us taking some creative sparks and exploding them into one big, chaotic ball.”
The Zoom show also features a post-performance talkback, something that UFV Theatre productions have adopted in light of COVID-19 and moving their performances online. This creates a chance for audience members to interact with the cast members and get clarification about parts of the show they may be confused about. It’s also a chance to see the actors’ faces and not just their arms inside of sock puppets.
“I think a lot of theatre companies have struggled since having to move everything online, and we’ve all had to push hard into other methods or ways of doing it,” said Marsh. “UFV has tried hard to figure out ways of doing performances over Zoom, part of which I’ve enjoyed because I understand the online space — streaming, editing, having effects happen while you’re in a video call — so it’s a different method in a way.”
The group had to think of creative ways to write and act to make up for the different energy and disconnect that comes with online performances. This is where their idea for sock puppets became a strength, as the show became a lot more vocal and sound-oriented, and much more suitable for the online medium.
It’s that time in the semester when everyone needs a fun, goofy distraction and a little inspiration to be more creative. This show about puppets learning about creativity promises just that.
You can tune into No Strings Attached on April 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. and April 10 at 4 p.m. Get your tickets to the show through the EventBrite page and invite your friends to watch with you!
Devised Theatre Showcas. (UFV SoCA)
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.