Creating A Strong Ensemble

If you are working on a play or musical with a large ensemble, those actors can sometimes feel “less than” the named characters or the leads. I’m just in the ensemble. I don’t matter. You want to nip those thoughts in the bud. If your actors feel unworthy, that will lead to them giving lackluster performances, or worse, missing rehearsals and eventually dropping out of the production altogether. Give ensemble actors character development opportunities. Even unnamed ensemble members can be three-dimensional characters that connect with the audience members sitting in the back row of the theatre. Character ProfileA character profile gives an actor a document to refer to throughout the rehearsal process. It has all the information an actor needs for a character. Traditionally, the character profile has a page of questions, personality traits, likes, dislikes, and memories. The actor fills it in with information from the script. However, your ensemble may not even appear in the script. Or perhaps it’s made up of “Townspeople,” “Pirates,” or “Ladies in waiting.” Sometimes there is no information in the script for them to use in their character profile. That’s perfectly OK. Not only can every member of the ensemble fill out a character profile, it’s going to be easier for them than for the leads. Why? Because every single character detail comes from an actor’s imagination. They come up with their name, family background, occupation, and where they live. They don’t have to stick with the details the playwright gives them, but can come up with their own details. There are boundaries, of course. The characters they create have to fit within the world of the play. For example, if you’re playing a Shark in West Side Story, it wouldn’t make sense to have the name Nostradamus and live in a spaceship. But other than that, the sky’s the limit. Enter, Sit, ReactHere’s an exercise that your ensemble can work on by themselves. It also works as a great warm-up. It’s going to help your ensemble establish a physicality for their characters. Often, the ensemble members simply walk, pose, and gesture like themselves. They don’t have a designated character and perhaps the director hasn’t given them the tools to create one. Along with a character profile, you want your ensemble members to think about the physicality of their characters. Put a chair in an empty space. Have actors enter the space one at a time, as if they are entering a room. They enter, move across the stage, then sit in a chair. Remind them that they have to stay in character while doing each of these actions. Once they sit, the character realizes they forgot to do something. So they stand and exit. Each step must be done with a specific physicality. For example, if they are playing an older character, that’s going to affect the way they sit and stand. Students can incorporate the details they come up with in the character profile into this exercise. Start Here, End There, Carry ThisHere’s an exercise that will save you time staging ensemble scenes and help actors keep their character in mind. Look at a scene in the play you’re working on that requires the ensemble to enter and end up in a certain place (i.e. on a riser or downstage left). You’re going to decide three things: • Where the ensemble enters from (stage right, right, or audience) • Where they end up • What props (if any) they bring with them This defines where they start, where they end, and what they’re carrying. Send the ensemble off to another room. They’re going to do an exercise on their own before you see them on stage again. They have the basics – start here, end there, carry this. But what they’re going to do together is share and discuss their moment before as characters. What’s going on in their lives as they come onstage? Where are they coming from? They’re not coming from stage left, right, or the audience. They have to think about their lives in the world of the play. Are they coming from their homes? Are they coming from work? Are they coming from a fight? Are they coming from a date? Tell the ensemble to pair up or form small groups of 3 or 4. Have them create the story of where they’re coming from, where they’re headed to, why they have those objects, and (most importantly) why they stop onstage at this exact moment. Why here, why now? Have them identify the relationships within their group. Who are they to each other? Remind students they won’t have words to communicate that story to an audience. They’ll have to show the story with action, as they enter and move to their designated spot. There should never be a movement on stage that isn’t motivated by something. So an actor needs to fill in the details of the basic actions of arriving onstage and stopping. Where are they coming from? Where are they headed to? Why are they stopping here? Who are they with? Every member of your ensemble needs to answer these questions. Once they’ve answered the questions, have them rough out the staging that gets them to those positions. Have them enter and make their way to their designated spot while “telling” their story without words. Remind students to not forget their physicality. Let them do this on their own and present it to you. After the students present, you now have something you can shape, as a director. You have a visual story. You’re engaging your actors and encouraging them to make choices that fit within the world of the play. You’re focusing their movements toward the ultimate goal: a stage full of life and story. And furthermore, your ensemble has played an active part in achieving this goal. They weren’t just told to “go downstage and stand there.”

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For…Ensembles! It’s not about the leads and the chorus, it’s about the ensemble. The definition of the word ensemble is to have parts that come together as a whole and are only considered in relation to the whole. It’s all about working together to make a great production. Here are 10 plays that explore the concept of the ensemble. Click the link and you’ll be taken to the webpage for each play. There you’ll get the details and read sample pages. All the best with your search! The Blue and the Grey This play starts with the sound of drumming and the words of Walt Whitman. This sets the tone of the play and lets us know what to expect. This is the work of the ensemble. In this play of ghosts, the past, and those left behind – The ensemble creates the aural world in The Blue and the Grey – haunting, necessary. Finishing Sentences Sometimes an ensemble is needed to populate the world of the play. In Finishing Sentences Kendra finds herself surrounded by camp life – that’s what the ensemble provides. And besides, you can’t have a colour war without them! (even if the blue team can’t get their chant together) Storied Quite often, the world of the play is, well, out of this world. It’s built in the imagination of the playwright, and in order for the audience to buy in, they need to see characters who also buy into the world. Storied takes place in a magical dimension inhabited by characters from fiction. Everyone from Javert to Santa Claus to Elizabeth Bennett lives there. The ensemble is crucial to the audience leaving the real world behind as they watch the play. The Happiness Shop In this play an ensemble of “Roppets” – robot puppets litter the stage. They are on stage for the entire play. They visual demonstrate “happiness.” They smile, they laugh, they hi-five all the time. It isn’t creepy at all. Aren’t middle schoolers happy all the time? They’re too young to have problems…. The Scarlet Heart The Scarlet Heart is a commedia dell’arte piece which can be played as scripted or off of scenarios. To play off a scenario means a group really has to know each other, listen to each other, improv often together. They’ll have to become a true ensemble. Being Bianca: The Semi Complete Guide Being Bianca has a huge cast – it can include up to 50 actors. And that means everyone has to be on the same page and working toward the same goal. Bianca has to do some community service. She decides the best service is to teach the world what it’s like to be her. Who wouldn’t want to be Bianca? Ariadne’s Thread: The Adventures of Theseus and the Minotaur Ariadne’s Thread has an ensemble in the classical sense of the word – a greek chorus. Again it’s all about creating the world of the play and in this tale of Minotaur’s and mazes the greek chorus observes and comments. They are the voice of the audience and they share that voice in perfect unison. Stupid is Just 4 2day We can’t avoid stupidity. It happens. To everyone! But it’s just temporary. The characters in this vignette play are all named after orchestra instruments. And that’s because all the transition pieces are performed like music rather than theatre. Everyone speaks, and gestures in unison. Win the Best Ensemble award! Chemo Girl Camille is given a video game system from her mom as a form of recovery therapy for cancer. The ensemble creates the video game for Camille as she is drawn into the world and takes on the name “Chemo Girl.” Think video games can’t be done in the theatre? The ensemble makes it happen. Anonymous In Anonymous everyone is just trying to get along, get by, make themselves heard. It’s hard when you don’t have a face or a voice. The teens in this play have no names because they’re everyone. The ensemble brings this theme to life.

How do you take a monologue (meant for one person to deliver) and act it out as a group? How do you create an Ensemble Monologue? Analyze the MonologueHere’s a monologue from my play Funhouse. “GIRL: You’re not good at this you know. I’ve had better. Much better. Sneakier. Sit beside me at lunch, pretend to be my friend. Bolder. They try to drag me into the bathroom. Meaner. Spit at me. Knock books out of my arms. Pinch me. Treat me like a piece of garbage, think it’s funny to try and make me eat garbage, be garbage, and I should be so grateful for any attention that comes my way – oh sure let’s go in the dark ride, gee what a great idea! Oh look who’s waiting for me with what, rotten eggs to rub in my hair? What a surprise! How funny! (as others) Why aren’t you laughing? It’s just a little egg. It’s just a joke. (mocking serious) But I thought you were serious. I thought we were all going to be best friends. (dead serious) I won’t eat garbage for you, friend.” So the first task is to analyze the monologue. • What’s the subject? • What do we know about the subject? • Who is talking, and who are they talking to? • Why are they talking? • Where does the monologue take place? • What images are in the monologue? If you’re doing this exercise with a class, divide them up into groups and have them answer these questions. At first read, it’s easy to see that the topic of the monologue is bullying. The Girl in the monologue is talking to another person, probably a girl. She also takes on the voices of other bullies. The Girl is standing up to one of her bullies. We don’t know where the Girl is, but she does talk about going “in the dark ride” which suggests a carnival or sideshow. The big image for the piece is garbage. Being treated like garbage, being forced to act like garbage – the suggestion is that if you’re garbage, you’re less than human. The Girl is standing up for herself and declaring herself human. Already there’s a lot to work with here. What seems daunting at first (how do I act out a monologue with a group??) becomes clear through question and answer. Visualize the SubjectThe subject here is bullying. Discuss the different types of bullying with students. Then visualize the subject: what are the pictures, scenes, and tableaux that visualize this subject? Have students create ten second scenes that illustrate bullying. Have students create tableaux in small groups. Create one huge tableaux. Be LiteralThere is a story here in the monologue. You could literally stage it – one girl delivers the monologue to another, possibly a group of girls with others as bystanders. How do those listening to the Girl react? Are they proud? Are they scornful? Are they bullied themselves? Be AbstractDon’t be afraid of the abstract! There is a very strong image of garbage in this monologue. To be bullied is to feel like garbage. Why not explore this in your scene? Brainstorm with your students how to use the image of garbage in your piece. For example: What if everyone was dressed up as garbage, acting very non-human (perhaps zombie-like) at the beginning of the monologue? As the monologue progresses, this garbage takes on more and more human characteristics, until they too stand tall and proud with the girl at the end. Vocal OptionsJust because the piece is a monologue doesn’t mean only one person gets to speak. What if the entire group delivered the monologue? Decide which lines are spoken in unison and which by individual speakers. You can create a lot of impact by how you deliver the lines as well: a shout, a whisper, a plead, a punch. Note: If you choose to deliver the monologue as a group, don’t just present the whole piece in choral formation. Think about the visual impact of your work as well the aural impact. This exercise is an excellent example of Project Based Learning. It takes theatre in one form and teaches students how to apply it to another form. It teaches students to visualize words, a very important skill for staging theatre.