A RETURN AND A NEW CHARGE: BY SCOTT ESPOSITO, ENSEMBLE MEMBER

What is an ensemble? One definition is a group of musicians, actors, or dancers who perform together. While this definition certainly applies to the work of the ensemble of Seat of the Pants, there is another definition that applies even more. Ensemble can also be defined as a group of people viewed as a whole rather than individually. Now entering my second year as a member of this ensemble, I can safely say that it is this feeling of the whole that makes this group of people more powerful than the sum of their parts.

As I mentioned, I’m now in my second year as a member of the ensemble. Seat of the Pants introduced the ensemble model last year. When I was asked to join, I jumped at the chance. My experiences with the company over the years have always been good, but were limited to that of actor. As a member of the ensemble, I was given the opportunity to expand my skill set. While ensemble members are asked to help fundraise for the company (something I’ve always struggled with in any situation), we are also given the opportunity to learn and grow in other ways. For example, ensemble members are asked to help with everything from grant writing to producing and directing to more traditional arts administration tasks.

This year, I’m assisting the company by managing all of our pre- and post-show engagements for each main production, co-leading our open rehearsal fundraising events, and producing and directing some of our new Salon Series (a series of staged readings of brand new works). While I focus on these growth opportunities, other ensemble members take on different tasks, from leading our actor workshops to running and managing our social media presence. The beautiful thing is that now that we are in our second year of this model, we’ve all grown to trust and support one another. This growth has made Seat of the Pants stronger than it was before. We also all hope that it has eased the burden for our fearless leader, Craig Joseph, Seat of the Pants’ Artistic Director! I’m happy to take on the administrative tasks, but what I’m most excited (and scared) about is the opportunity to produce and direct two of our Salon Series new play readings. I’ve never produced anything before and haven’t directed anything since I was in college (almost 25 years ago). I’ve been acting since I was in middle school, but recently have started to feel like I should take a risk, do the scary thing, and look for something to direct. Starting with a staged reading of a new play, with the support of this amazing ensemble of artists, seems like a great way to begin and learn. Seat of the Pants has become an artistic home that encourages personal and artistic growth. It is an ensemble in every definition of the word.