Ensemble Work

This workshop was run by Lee Ryan, we started with a few games, our first one was to stand in a circle and walk towards a person and remember who you walked towards, you would then have to stand in a circle again and say someones name and also remember this persons name. The next part was to then throw a pair of socks at a certain person and remember who you threw it to. This seperately was fine, but then moulding them altogether and having to remember all three layers became challenging. This type of task only works well if you have 100% dedication, commitment and focus to what was happening, it requires you to listen and have respect for your ensemble as everyone relies on everyone. 

Our next task was a game where Lee-Ryan shouted Port or Starboard and we had to run to either one of these, that got us moving and our energy levels raised, it was a game of competition yet we were all still moving together as a company and no one forgot that we were in this as one. Another game we got into required us to get into two teams we then stood in a line and the one at the front done a move and we had to copy as a massive chorus to highlight and emphasise the movement. Personally I really enjoyed this exercise as it created moral support within our company. Having people behind you supporting what you do is the role of an ensemble  to emphasise and create atmosphere. 

Our final game was that we were given the space and told to create a still image. We entered the space one by one and created the still image. The fact that we had to crawl into the space on by one allowed people to think of their action before they started so everything had a meaning behind their movement. The wait made us ponder the situation and create meaningful images that portrayed and conveyed a message relateable to the audience as an ensemble. 

"Hungry man; reach for the book. It's a weapon."