Reflection on the process

I know I said I was going to start with discussing the brief but since sitting down and reflecting I have decided that it is first essential to briefly discuss the process and how it proceeded which will hopefully to a certain degree illuminate the series of posts to follow.

The process was roughly broken up into four phases: research, devise, score and rehearse. These names really do not do justice in describing what happens in the process and even at what time they occur. For instance this is not a linear sequence progressing from one to the other on certain dates. Instead it is more like a fluid Rhizome (this is not exactly the word I’m after but it will do for now) each phase expanding and contracting as they become more or less important or necessary in the process. The Rhizome areas grow and out grow each other at different stages changing day to day and week to week. At the start of the process there is no rehearsing as such, minimal scoring, some devising and a lot of research

Looking at this diagram I am positive a Rhizome is not the word I want but I cannot find nor articulate a word that encompasses my thoughts. Therefore I will leave it as Rhizome for the moment. Looking at this during the later stages of the process we would see that the research has shrunk in comparison to the devising and scoring aspects of the process and rehearsing has appeared but still remains relatively small in comparison.

Initially I had perceived the process as more linear and actually had planned specific dates that would mark the transition to the next phase. What I’ve learnt is that while these dates were important in the time line to ensure the process moves forward and reaches where it needs to be in time, it is not a linear structure and each phase will organically and fluidly become more and less important as the process evolves.