About Devoted & Disgruntled - History

IMPROBABLE DEVOTED AND DISGRUNTLED: ABOUT “It leapt on to an empty stage: it wobbled, it looked as if it would never take off, and then suddenly, it was flying. Sky-high. A Theatrical St Crispin’s Day” Susannah Clapp, The Observer, about Devoted and Disgruntled 1

As a result of a NESTA fellowship, Phelim McDermott was able to train in and research some new ways of working with groups, learning from other creative and developmental fields. One of these was Open Space Technology, a method of democratising discussion in which participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions. Finding himself devoted and disgruntled about the world he worked in, Phelim decided to host with Improbable, their first Open Space Event, in the hope of supporting some creative ideas and actions around the issues people feel passionate about and wish could be different. In January 2006, we hosted our first Open Space, Devoted and Disgruntled: What are we going to do about theatre? The event, for 220 people, sold out and generated a vast amount of interest. Devoted and Disgruntled has become an ongoing Open Space forum, which invites all areas of the theatre and performance community to unite to create new models of being, thinking and doing. It is also an opportunity for the arts community to address pressing issues that often get marginalised in the process of day-to-day survival in the arts world. THE IMPACT We could never have imagined the impact of this event. As a result of this and the issues emerging from the wider performance community we have facilitated numerous Open Space Events throughout the UK and internationally, with a diverse group of cultural organizations, addressing a wide variety of questions, all aiming to take action and to make a difference. Organisations we have worked with include: the National Theatre of Scotland; the London International Theatre Festival; the Producers Forum; Theatre Bristol; British Council Brazil; The Place; Dance UK and Total Theatre. As a company we are also using Open Space as a model to aid more effective communication and collaboration within our own organization. THE FUTURE We are planning a wide-ranging series of Open Space Events for 2009/10 with arts organizations in the UK and abroad as well as the beginnings of work with the corporate sector. If you are interested in engaging with us in this new adventure of trying to make change happen, if you are just curious about a new way of working with groups in a self organising way, or if you think this is something you, your organisation or your particular world / community should engage with, please phone Nick Sweeting on 0207 240 4556 to discuss it further.