Invisible Things: Documentation from a Devising Process - Softcover

Harradine, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0955908213 ISBN 13: 9780955908217

Publisher: Fevered Sleep, 2011

Synopsis

'Invisible Things' is a book about devising.

Taking the research, development and performance of Fevered Sleep's 'An Infinite Line: Brighton' as its focus, it is structured as a series of themed chapters intercut with case studies of key elements of the creative process. The chapters explore areas such as collaboration, dramaturgy, working with animals, developing conceptual frameworks and design. The case studies cover things such as light, sound, structure, organising rehearsals, and jobs/roles within a company.

Through a combination of text, photographs, drawings, extracts from artist's notebooks, critical commentary and dialogue, 'Invisible Things' offers a rare insight into each stage of a creative journey, revealing all the complexities of a devising process from the point of view of the people at its heart.

'Invisible Things' is also an experiment in how to document and remember a live event in another form: how to turn an ephemeral performance into a book.

About this title

About the Author

David Harradine is co-founder and artistic director of 'Fevered Sleep', where he has made over 20 projects spanning installation, performance, photography and publication.

David is a previous winner of the Jerwood Young Directors Award, has a doctorate in Performance Studies from the University of London and is currently Artist in Residence in the school of Arts and Media at the University of Brighton, where he is developing ideas for 'They Shoot Horses Don't They?', a dance film project made in response to climate change.

Recent projects include 'The Weather Factory', an installation about the weather in Snowdonia, commissioned by National Theatre Wales and 'On Ageing', a show about ageing performed by children, co-produced with the Young Vic.

David's current projects include making work that explores the connections between light, landscape, ecology, weather and place. 'An Infinite Line', the series of works about natural light on which 'Invisible Things' is based, continues to develop. David is working on plans including a project for Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the British Mainland, and a project in the heart of London.

From the Back Cover

Taking as its focus 'An Infinite Line: Brighton', a project created by Fevered Sleep for the 2008 Brighton Festival, 'Invisible Things' offers, through a series of themed chapters and specific case studies, a rare insight into the usually hidden activities that make up a devising process. The book is also a piece of documentation, and explores ways in which an ephemeral event in performance can be reinvented in a different form. 'Invisible Things' has been created by Fevered Sleep's Artistic Director David Harradine, in collaboration with dramaturg Synne Berhndt and book designers Valle Walkley.

From the Inside Flap

'Invisible Things' is a book about devising. Combining text, photographs, extracts from artist's notebooks, research notes, drawings and recorded dialogues, it presents a non-linear journey through a devising process, revealing all the complexities, explorations, changes of direction, strategies and discoveries that such an experience entails. Written as a series of themed chapters intercut with case studies of elements of the process, 'Invisible Things' is both evocative and specific, poetic and practical. The themed chapters cover subjects such as collaboration, dramaturgy and design; the case studies address things such as working with light, creating sound and music, approaching structure and organising rehearsals. 'Invisible Things' offers a rare chance to see the usually hidden activities that make up a devising process, by exploring that process from the point of view of the people at its heart.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fevered Sleep
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0955908213
• ISBN 13: 9780955908217
• Binding: Paperback