A note:
'Non-Hierarchical Processes' is lacking as a title because it does not identify what it is moving towards. However, I used this word for the session to represent the many ways to give greater agency to collaborators. Words to replace “non-hierarchical” could be fluid, collaborative, or horizontal. It's also important to note that a space can never be fully non-hierarchical as informal power dynamics will always be present.

What is the role of the director if not to lead a group?
- A facilitator
- An outside eye
- Noticing what is appearing
- Affirm what’s working
- Hold the space
- Connect the dots
- Prevent density in roles/ remove the clumps.

How can we increase fluidity in our roles?
- Clear is kind
- We can all have our specialities but there is overlap in skill. (This is connected to the conversation around mothers in theatre as more overlap in skills creates more opportunity for flexible working hours).
- Remember that we are that role, but a role is not your full identity.
- Name when you are wearing different ‘hats’

Administration can enforce hierarchy:
- The timing of when people are hired enshrines their "level of power" in the process.
- Salaries dictate power.
- How you post a job set the tone (job listing vs invitation to enter a specific process)
- Physical space creates dynamics.

Check-Ins
- People think it's “wholly wofty softy”, but it changes how the group works
- It is transformative for everyone in the space to be heard and feel like they have value
- Safer people work better

Open Space in the Rehearsal Room:
- Choice to come to rehearsals -> gives team agency
- Sessions on the wall -> those conversations live in the space
- Principles that guide us -> a compass to guide us over time
- Work with less (Owen would say that we should remove a layer every time)

Practical Ideas:
- Open Space sessions to start a project (gets everything in the space)
- Don’t discuss so much, finish a run and then go again. (Trust your team to know what to adjust)
- Visual script on the wall
- See the work as external to the people - “It lives in the centre”