What Makes a Good Ensemble Member?
Written by Catrin Jones
Catrin Jones is The Center's acting teacher and director of our Youth Theatre Ensemble. Originally from Wales, she studied BA (Hons) Acting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. In this series she explores what ensemble theatre is and why it matters for young performers, and gives an insight into what the Youth Theatre Ensemble at The Center will look like.
Ensemble theatre is built on collaboration. Every member plays an important role in bringing a performance to life. The strongest ensembles are those where everyone works together towards one goal. In this newsletter, I will discuss some of the key qualities that I believe make a fantastic ensemble member!
Active and curious listening
Great ensemble members listen carefully to the ideas of others, and therefore, build upon them. Rather than focusing on their own ideas, they remain engaged with and interested in what is happening around them. Actively listening to one another encourages the generation of new ideas, allowing the ensemble to create work that is exciting and, subsequently, more imaginative than one person alone could create.
They support the group
Ensemble theatre is all about teamwork. Strong ensemble members celebrate the successes of their fellow performers, which contributes to a positive rehearsal environment. They encourage others, offer help when needed, and understand that the success of the production depends on everyone working together.
Preparation
Being prepared is one of the most valuable ways to support your ensemble. Ensuring your lines are learned, bringing ideas to rehearsals, arriving on time, and being reliable all help the group work efficiently and effectively. Preparation demonstrates commitment to both the production and the other people involved in it. This is teamwork at its finest!
Open mindedness
The devising process often involves trying new ideas and taking risks. Ensemble members should approach rehearsals with an open mind and an eagerness to try things out, make mistakes, and adapt. Even ideas that seem a bit unusual at first can lead to amazing discoveries that help shape the final performance.
Creative contribution
Every voice matters in an ensemble! Sharing ideas, asking questions, and participating fully in activities helps create a stronger and more dynamic production. Ensemble members who contribute creatively help to ensure that the work reflects the imagination of the group as a whole.
Respectfulness
Respect is the foundation of trust within an ensemble. This means showing consideration for fellow performers and valuing different perspectives. Respect in the rehearsal room can be shown in a number of ways, including something as simple as not talking when someone else is performing or offering an answer. When people feel respected, they immediately feel more confident in sharing ideas, and can be bold and brave in risk-taking.
Flexibility
Ideas often change and evolve throughout the rehearsal process. Flexible ensemble members can adapt to new directions and remain positive when things shift. This adaptability allows the group to explore possibilities and discover the strongest way to tell their story.
They help tell the story
Every performer contributes to the storytelling, whether they are speaking, moving, or simply present on stage. Great ensemble members remain engaged (even when they are not the focus of a scene). This level of commitment helps in creating a believable on-stage world.
Energy and enthusiasm
A positive attitude has an amazing impact. Bringing energy and enthusiasm into rehearsals helps maintain motivation, allows for creativity and boldness, and makes the process more enjoyable for everyone involved. Positive energy is super contagious, and can lift the whole mood of the rehearsal!
They understand that everyone matters
Successful ensembles recognise that every member has something valuable to contribute. Great ensemble members value both their own role and the roles of others. By recognising that everyone matters, an environment is created where an ensemble can truly flourish.
The qualities explored in this newsletter are at the heart of what makes ensemble theatre such a rewarding experience. For all of these reasons, I am incredibly excited to be leading The Center Youth Ensemble and creating a new piece of theatre alongside its members. Youth theatre has played such an important role in my life and career, and so I am delighted to help young people develop their skills in this way. By working together as an ensemble, we are going to create a brand new production that is ambitious and indicative of the voices of those involved. I truly cannot wait to guide our ensemble through this process, and I am so excited to see what we can achieve together.
The Center Youth Ensemble
The Center Youth Ensemble is a Saturday programme for English speaking youth and young people in Berlin who are interested in creating original theatre together in a supportive environment. Spanning several months and culminating in a public performance, the programme offers participants the opportunity to experience the full creative process of building a production from the ground up. As a paid programme, it is designed as a committed creative experience, rather than a more casual drop-in style class. This is not professional training in the traditional sense, and it is not simply an acting class. It is a small programme built around collaboration, devising, writing, movement, storytelling, design, and performance.
Over the course of the programme, the ensemble will work together to create an original stage production. Our ensemble members will help generate ideas, devise (and write) their own scenes, create characters, and even source or bring their own costumes and props if they wish – There will be a small budget for these. The goal is for the work to feel genuinely theirs!
As director, I will guide the process, but the ensemble itself will have the real creative ownership. The young people involved are not simply performing in a show, they are building it from the ground up. Every voice and each idea matters equally within our rehearsal room. I will then bring these ideas together and assemble the final script for our performance, all the while being sure to honour the story that the ensemble will have created.
Our programme is about creating a space where young people can belong creatively, work together, and experience the process of making brand-new and exciting theatre together.