The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre

by Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett

Acclaimed by audiences and critics for their highly innovative and adventurous theatre, Frantic Assembly have created playful, intelligent and dynamic productions for over fourteen years. Written by artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is the first book to reflect on the history and practice of this remarkable company, and Accompanied by a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances, this intimate and personal account offers an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the evolution and success of Frantic Assembly.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2009

About the author

Scott Graham is author of Canyon Sacrifice: A National Park Mystery and Extreme Kids (winner of the National Outdoor Book Award). He is an avid outdoorsman and amateur archaeologist who enjoys hunting, rock climbing, skiing, backpacking, mountaineering, river rafting, and whitewater kayaking with his wife, an emergency physician, and their two sons. Graham lives in Durango, Colorado.

Reviews

[Eli]

Useful

[Grace Rhodes]

I have finished.
I feel like I deserve a bloody medal.
This book was a chore and a labouring activity that I procrastinated doing and reading for so long.
It was chunky, boring, dull and rambled many times.
That being said I was forced to read it for my coursework so I was never going to like it much from the outset.
If you are looking for a comprehensive view into the minds behind Frantic Assembly then this will become your favourite book. Similarly if you have watched every single one of their plays you might find all of the examples interesting. However I had to read this book so I could mention it in my bloody coursework.
If you know me, please do not do this to yourselves. Ask me for my notes please.

[Charlotte]

Very educational in learning games and methods to start creating devising/physical thetare material.

[themistyugly]

guys i already knew half this shite im a musical theatre student why does my teacher set these boring ass books 😤

[Maura Keefe]

Yeah, this is good. Straightforward, with good examples. Decided theatre makers who understand movement. I’ve never seen their work but enjoyed this.

[Kristina]

Grateful for the exercise demonstrations on Frantic Assembly’s website.

“Warms up set the tone for the whole rehearsals… our warm-ups are about personal and group development. They are designed to present a challenging situation, but also a promise ‘you will get better at this; we will make you feel fitter and stronger.’

[Irma Mayorga]

Exercises described are contextualized through accounts of Frantic Assembly's shows, thus not one-offs, but you can see how they transpose physical movement into theatrical storytelling. Would have appreciated an appendix list of music for exercises that the authors refer to in describing many examples - it's named, just scattershot throughout the chapters. Also, it helped me to go online and look for video of the exercises to expand comprehension of how to implement some details of their working methods. I also would have appreciated a kind of "skeleton" outline of the move by move steps for each exercise to have in hand as reference when working with a group. Nevertheless, the physical ideas they relay as springboards for a more physically engaged theatrical form is illuminating.

[Dionysus]

A must for any 6th Former interested in devising and physical theatre

[Emelia Hutchinson]

I bloody love Frantic.