LEARNING FROM ENSEMBLE-BASED SHOWS, BY SARAH FARRIS

Photo by Steve Wagner

For all the years that I have been doing theatre, I have only performed in one show that is an “ensemble-based” show, which was The Wolves at Dobama Theatre in March of this year. My second ensemble-based show will be Elephant’s Graveyard with Seat of the Pants in February of 2026.

After getting cast in The Wolves, I was ecstatic because I had never done a show like that before. Every character is onstage for nearly the entire play and they are talking over each other almost constantly. Admittedly, as excited as I was for the experience, I was also a bit intimidated. It is an incredibly physical show with several conversations occurring every which way at the same time. How was I going to remember all the movement? How was I going to remember all my lines, the overlapping conversations, and the cues? 

I learned a great deal throughout the process of doing an ensemble-based show. You learn to be in tune with the movements of your fellow cast members who are sharing the stage with you. Part of that came from our work with Viewpoints, which allowed us to become increasingly more aware and familiar with our breath, the space around us, and physical awareness. It felt like I had to have all five of my senses activated constantly throughout the entire duration of the show. It truly challenged me in the best way and I grew so much as an actor!

You get to experience a type of chemistry with a cast in an ensemble-based show that you don’t always have the opportunity to experience in any other type of show. You become in tune with each other’s movements and really lean on each other when performing and telling the story. I cannot wait for this cast’s chemistry to continue developing throughout our rehearsal process. 

In our process rehearsals for Elephant’s Graveyard, we have been learning and working with several different techniques, such as The Four Brothers, Psychological Gesture, The Palace, The World of the Play, and so much more. A few of these techniques are familiar to me, but there are also many that I have never heard of before. 

I have loved this opportunity to learn so much new material and to discover new techniques that have already helped me grow as an actor. My favorite part of any show that I get to perform in is doing character work, and I can’t wait to apply these techniques I’ve learned to my character and storytelling in Elephant’s Graveyard.