Abstract
As a theatre director, I have been immersed in the intricacies of ensemble-building for the past twenty years. Through this, and alongside my work with groups in other sectors, I have accumulated a number of tools and strategies for drawing people together. This research project focusses on the director’s role in the creation and development of an effective theatre ensemble. The project refines, challenges, articulates and extends my current practice to offer up findings that will have relevance to directors of theatre, and for those undertaking group leadership roles in other fields. The Practice Research methodology that underpins the project provides a framework where a conceptual and practice review, alongside practitioner interviews and my attendance at workshops, inform a practical exploration of tools and strategies used in ensemble-building. This leads to the devising, rehearsal and presentation of scenes, alongside a demonstration of training exercises. The project centres on a group of seven actors, assembled specifically for the project, whom I, as their director, meet with one to three times a week for a duration of six months. The ensemble-building phase includes testing tools and strategies that are already part of my toolkit, including Anne Bogart and Tina Landau’s Viewpoints, the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin’s improvisation exercises, yoga, and reiki, alongside new approaches and considerations that arise from the research. This project shares findings regarding what works, and what does not, when seeking to build an ensemble in 21st century Aotearoa New Zealand.