The Devising Methods of Frantic Assembly Essay
Introduction: Who Are Frantic Assembly?
Frantic Assembly is led by Artistic Director Scott Graham, Scott formed the company with Steven Hoggett and Vicki Middleton in 1994 and continue to collaborate with many of today's most inspiring artists.
The company was formed with the desire to bring something different when it comes to theatre and they have definatley presented that in the 20 years that they have been performing. Frantic Assembly was formed together with the inspiration of other theatre companies such as Volcano Theatre Company and DV8.
Frantic Assembly, in the beginning, were desperate to channel their raw energy to emulate the visceral quality of both of these inspirations with the idea that they were portraying something much different in their performance but they didn't want to disguise the fact that they had very little clue as to how they could take their performances to the next, professional level.
Frantic Assembly, since 2002, has been funded by the the Arts Council England which distributes public subsidy which is provided by the Department of Culture Media and Sport. In 2012, Frantic Assembly became a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), this brings support for all of the company's funding's such as their productions and core costs. Core costs include wages, national insurance, insurance, office overheads, storage, I.T, business rates and even window cleaning. Frantic Assembly is neither a profit organisation or a charity group, it is governed by a board of trustees, all of whom are experienced arts professionals.
The Devising Methods:
Frantic Assembly's unique physical style combines movement, design, music and text all together to create a flued and dynamic performance that grips the audiences eyes to the stage to watch the whole performance from beginning to end. Frantic Assembly is a very athletic type of theatre group that brings the physical theatre type of performance to it's highest potential by having one or more actors being capable of performing stunts themselves without stunt doubles and or sky-hooks.
They create thrilling, energetic and unforgettable theatre and their work reflects a lot of contemporary culture whilst creating a dynamic and vivid style of performance alongside to strike the audiences interests. Frantic Assembly are not as Physical as many other theatre companies such as 'Complicate', but they chose to waver along a line between Physical Theatre and Verbal Theatre.
The Stimulus of Frantic Assembly is that all the members in the group take inspiration from each other, they discuss before-hand how they should perform a scene and they can agree or disagree to an idea and further develop it to become an even more effective and engaging piece of theatre that brings meaning to every moment in that scene. Frantic Assembly also try to develop scenes in different ways to give a much more entertaining and much less repetitive performance.
To accompany this, they will produce all the elements of theatre, arts or technology, to assist the audiences imagination so they become more familiar with the scenes from the plays being performed. In terms of the technological elements, Frantic Assembly will use Lighting to bewilder an audience which will make them more perplexed and confused as to what's happening on stage and will make their eyes become 'Glued' to the scene, this is all followed by the audience to become baffled by what has happened in the next scene and this creates the the image of an effective performance and shows a powerful method of devising.
Frantic Assembly are one of the many theatre companies in the UK that have generously shared their process of devising with the public and Directors who have been inspired by their methods. They run workshops all around the world with people both who have had no experience with performance or have done it before and would like to develop their skills. Acclaimed by their audiences and critics for their highly innovative and adventurous theatre, Frantic Assembly have created playful, intelligent and dynamic productions for over 20 years.
Frantic Assembly, in 2009, released a book titled 'The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre' to help students or upcoming actors/directors learn about their methods of devising theatre with more logical flavor. It is the first book to reflect on the history and practice of this remarkable company and includes:
* Practical exercises
* Essays on devising, writing and choreography
* Suggestions for scene development
* An anthology of Frantic Assembly productions
* An eight page colour section and illustrations throughout
This intimate and personal account offers an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the evolution and success of Frantic Assembly.
Quotes of Interest:
The Guardian Newspaper's review of Frantic Assembly's performance of 'Stockholm':
"Up there with the best of the year so far...played out with brilliant controlled recklessness...terrifyingly erotic and haunting."
For their performance of 'Stockholm', the actors of Frantic Assembly use a narrative tone of voice to describe the current events and project it with physical movements.
The Times Newspaper's review of Frantic Assembly's performance of 'Lovesong':
"It builds beautifully into a touching meditation on loss and separation through death. You may well not leave it dry-eyed."
One of the main features within 'Lovesong' is that the directors have choreographed it so that the old and young variants of the couple Bill and Maggie would sometimes be on stage at the same time, but the younger Bill and Maggie don't give any notification of the older variant of themselves because they view it as a flashback. Although there are moments in the performance where one of the older variants would interact with the younger. These moments were introduced as a form of dance.
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