ABSTRACT
This chapter will show how multi-artform devising processes have been a crucial means of navigating barriers to diversifying who is represented onstage in Theatre-Rites’ shows. The chapter revisits earlier works in the company’s history that have seeded their approach, with a close exploration of the different kinds of collaborations that emerged with an animator/visual artist in Catch Your Breath (2002–2004), musicians in In One Ear (2004–2006), a lighting designer in Lighten Up (2008) and circus performers in Hang On (2009).
Before exploring these formative processes in more depth, the chapter first discusses the link between cross-artform approaches and a life-long commitment to learning, the distinction between Theatre-Rites’ ‘inward-facing creative teams’ and ‘outward-facing casts’ and the company’s unique workshop auditioning process.
