Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre.
It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject.
Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written collaboratively with practitioners and members from the academic community and is divided into three sections: 1. Introduction and an approach to training ensembles
2. Practitioner case studies and analysis of specific practical approaches to training ensembles (or individuals in an ensemble context)
3. Succinct perspectives from practitioners reflecting on a range of questions including: What is an ensemble?; the place of ensemble in the contemporary theatre landscape; and training issues.
Part One: Introduction; John Britton; Chapter 1: Bryan Brown : The Emergence of Studiinost: the ethics and processes of ensemble in the Russian theatre studio; Chapter 2: Amy Skinner: More than the Sum of their Parts: Reflections on Vsevolod Meyerhold's Theatrical Ensemble; Chapter 3: Franc Chamberlain: Michael Chekhov's Ensemble Feeling; Chapter 4: Jonathan Pitches: Star or Team? Theodore Komisarjevsky's early developments in ensemble playing in the UK; Chapter 5: Mark Evans: The French Ensemble Tradition: Jacques Copeau, Michel Saint-Denis and Jacques Lecoq; Chapter 6: David Barnett: The Berliner Ensemble. PartTwo: Snapshot #1: Chris Johnstone: Ensemble; Snapshot #2: Michael Boyd (Introduced by Duška Radosavljevic) :The RSC Ensemble; Chapter 7: Adam J. Ledger: Stan's Cafe: the Vision of the Ensemble; Snapshot #3: Peter Harrop & Evelyn Jamieson: Collaboration, ensemble, devising; Snapshot #4: Paul Carr & Richard J. Hand: Ensemble/Improvisation; Drama/Music: An Experiment in Interdisciplinarity; Chapter 8: Bryan Brown: As important as blood and shelter: extending studiinost into obshchnost; Snapshot #5: Julia Varley: Ensembles, groups, networks; Snapshot #6: Malgorzata Jablonska :Teatr CHOREA: Synchrony in Action; Snapshot #7: Anna Porubcansky: Song of the Goat Theatre (Teatr Piesn Kozla); Chapter 9: Rebecca Loukes: Towards a Syncretic Ensemble? RedCape Theatre's 'The Idiot Colony'; Snapshot #8: Mark Valdez: Network of Ensemble Theaters; Chapter 10: Brad Krumholz: Locating the Ensemble: NACL Theatre and the Ethics of Collaboration; Chapter 11: Paz Hilfinger-Pardo: Building Chartres in the Desert: The TEAM, Collective Intelligence, and the Failure of Ideals; Chapter 12: John Collins: Elevator Repair Service and The Wooster Group: Ensembles Surviving Themselves; Chapter 13: Marianne Sharp: 'Whose Fantasy?' Five Voices on Rachel Rosenthal's TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble; Snapshot #9: Kate Hunter: The Waiting Room: Practicing Embodied Cognition in Performance; Snapshot #10: Frank Camilleri: Ingemar Lindh and the Institutet för Scenkonst. Part Three: John Britton: Introduction; Chapter 14: John Britton: Self-With-Others: Training individuals ensemble; Snapshot #11: Eilon Morris: Collaborating in Time: The formation of ensemble through rhythm; Snapshot #12: Tanya Gerstle: Delicate Codes and Invisible Lines. 'Pulse': An Approach to Training an Ensemble; Chapter 15: Phillip Zarrilli: Psychophysical Training and the formation of an Ensemble; Snapshot #13: Antje Diedrich: Suzuki Training as Ensemble Training; Snapshot #14: Terence Henry Chapman: Ensemble Training and Meyerhold's Biomechanics; Snapshot #15: Chris Johnstone: Narrative Images; Chapter 16: Susan Thompson: Freedom and Constraints: Jacques Lecoq and the Theater of Ensemble Creation; Snapshot #16: Bryan Brown: Birthdays Make the Best Training; Snapshot #17: Patrick Stewart: Where I'll Be On Armageddon; John Britton: Afterword: What is it?
John Britton is Senior Lecturer in Performance at the University of Huddersfield, Course Leader for the MA Ensemble Theatre: Training & Performance (a postgraduate degree based round his unique training processes) and Artistic Director of DUENDE, an international performance ensemble dedicated to developing interdisciplinary and intergenerational new work. John trains ensemble groups worldwide through his workshops in Mexico, Slovenia, France, Germany, Greece, China, Portugal, Australia, India and the UK. John has extensive experience as a director, performer and writer of physical, interdisciplinary and text-based work.
Reviews for Encountering Ensemble
Encountering Ensemble draws attention to the reality that ensemble invites and demands from practitioners, students and audience members alike ... For students, practitioners, educators and researchers who are interested in understanding the extent to which ensemble theatre has contributed, and can continue to contribute, towards the purpose and practice of theatre in contemporary society, this book is invaluable. South African Theatre Journal This welcome contribution to performance studies provides a rich and significant resource for students, teachers and practitioners. -- Jayne Richards Studies in Theatre and Performance A thoughtful, practical guide that celebrates ensemble as an intersection of historical knowledge shaping the relationships we craft both with one another and the audience. -- Rebecca Hewett Theatre Topics
