Generate and shape dramatic material when devising, including improvisation and other techniques for making content, and how to develop, select and refine raw material

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to generate and shape dramatic material when devising: to use improvisation and other techniques to make content, and then to develop, select and refine that raw material into strong, usable scenes. You should be able to describe several devising techniques and what each is good for, and explain the process of turning a lot of raw material into a smaller set of effective moments. The central insight is that devising has two linked phases - making material and shaping it - and that good devising generates generously through varied techniques and then selects ruthlessly against the dramatic intention, because most of what is created will be set aside so that the strongest moments can be developed.

The answer

Generating material: the techniques

Groups make material using a range of techniques, each suited to a different purpose. Improvisation, in which performers invent a scene in the moment, is good for discovering dialogue, relationships and what happens. Hot-seating, in which a performer answers questions in role, deepens and tests understanding of a character. Still images and image work find strong moments, structure and visual storytelling quickly. Thought-tracking reveals inner thought and adds depth to a moment. Narration can frame or link material. Working directly from a stimulus, an object or a text generates content tied to the source. Knowing what each technique produces lets a group pick the right tool for what they need at a given moment.

Improvisation as a primary tool

Improvisation deserves special attention because it is the engine of much devising. By playing a situation out without a script, performers discover what characters say, how they relate, and what happens next, often finding material that planning would not reach. Improvisation works best with a clear frame - a situation, the characters' objectives, and the dramatic intention in mind - so the invention has direction. The output is raw and uneven, full of both gold and dead ends, which is exactly why a shaping phase must follow.

Shaping: from raw material to scenes

Generating produces far more material than a piece can use, so the second phase is shaping: turning raw output into strong, usable scenes. The group reviews what was made, identifies the strongest moments - those that serve the intention and engage an audience - and selects them, setting the rest aside. Selection is the heart of shaping, and it depends on the dramatic intention as the test of what belongs. A group that keeps everything ends up with a baggy, unfocused piece; a group that selects well keeps only what earns its place.

Developing the chosen material

Selected material is then developed and refined. The group re-runs chosen moments, refining dialogue, sharpening the characters' choices, and deciding what is fixed and what can stay loose. They strengthen the focus, tension and clarity of each moment, and test it on its feet to check it works for an audience. Developing turns a rough improvised moment into a crafted scene, with intention behind every choice. This is a cycle: material is run, judged, adjusted and run again, gradually becoming sharper and more deliberate.

Recording decisions as you go

Throughout generating and shaping, a group records its decisions in the devising log: what techniques were used, what material was generated, what was kept or cut and why, and how moments were developed. This record both supports the reflective commentary that the coursework requires and helps the group remember and build on its choices. Good devising is not only inspired but documented, so that the process is visible and the reasoning behind the finished piece can be explained.

Examples in context

Example 1. The right tool for the job. A group needing to understand a difficult character uses hot-seating, questioning the performer in role until the character's history and wants become clear. Later, needing a strong opening, they switch to still-image work, finding a striking frozen picture far faster than discussion would. They match each technique to what they need.

Example 2. Cutting to find the piece. After several lively improvisations, a group has an hour of raw material but a five-minute piece to make. By testing each moment against their intention - to show how a rumour spreads - they keep only three sharp scenes and cut the rest, then develop those three into tight, deliberate moments, ending with a stronger piece than the mass of material first suggested.

Try this

Q1. Name three devising techniques for generating material and state what each is good for. [3 marks]

• Cue. Any three of: improvisation (discovering dialogue, relationships and action), hot-seating (deepening understanding of a character), still images (finding strong moments and structure), thought-tracking (revealing inner thought), or narration (framing and linking).

Q2. Explain why most improvised material has to be set aside when devising. [3 marks]

• Cue. Because generating produces far more material than a piece can use, and only the moments that serve the dramatic intention and engage an audience earn their place, so the rest must be cut to keep the piece focused.

Q3. Describe how a group develops a selected improvised moment into a crafted scene. [4 marks]

• Cue. By re-running the moment, refining the dialogue and the characters' choices, sharpening its focus and tension, deciding what is fixed and what stays loose, and testing it on its feet for clarity and effect on an audience, repeating the cycle until the rough moment becomes a deliberate, crafted scene.