Author Description

The Contemporary Ensemble Draws Together An Unprecedented Range Of Original Interviews With World-renowned Theatre-makers In Order To Directly Address Both The Former And Latter Concerns. Reflecting On 'the Ensemble Way Of Working' Within This Major New Resource Are Figures Including: Michael Boyd, Hermann Wundrich, Yuri Butusov, Max Stafford-clark, Elizabeth Lecompte, Lyn Gardner, Adriano Shaplin, Phelim Mcdermott; And Emma Rice; Representing Companies Including: The Rsc; The Berliner Ensemble; The Satirikon Theatre; Out Of Joint; The Wooster Group; Kneehigh Theatre; Song Of The Goat; The Riot Group; The Neo-futurists; Shadow Casters; And Ontroerend Goed. All 22 Interviews Were Conducted Especially For The Collection, And Draw Upon The Author's Rich Background Working As Scholar, Educator And Dramaturg With A Variety Of Ensembles. The Resulting Compendium Radically Re-situates The Ensemble In The Context Of Globalisation, Higher Education And Simplistic Understandings Of 'text-based' And 'devised' Theatre Practice, And Traces A Compelling New Line Through The Contemporary Theatre Landscape. Introduction -- Redefinitions Of Ensemble. Michael Boyd (royal Shakespeare Company): A Contingent Community In A Free Market Economy -- Gabor Tompa (hungarian Theatre Of Cluj): Between The East And The West Today -- Hermann Wündrich (the Berliner Ensemble): How The Berliner Ensemble Changes With Time -- Yuri Butusov (guest Director Satirikon Theatre): Directing As An Art Of Composition -- Max Stafford-clark (out Of Joint): A Tried And Tested Ensemble Methodology -- Elizabeth Lecompte (the Wooster Group): A Group Of People Around A Place -- Lyn Gardner (the Guardian Newspaper): On Regional Theatre-making -- Working Processes. Anton Adassinsky And Elena Yarovaya (derevo): Beyond Words -- Emma Rice (kneehigh Theatre): From A Community To The West End -- Joanna Holden (northern Stage, Kneehigh, Cirque Du Soleil): On Being An Ensemble Actor In The Uk -- Ian Morgan (song Of The Goat): An Actor's Journey Between Wales And Wroclaw -- Dan Rothenberg (pig Iron): Comic Figures Repurposed -- Adriano Shaplin (the Riot Group): Ensemble As A Musical Intersubjective Unit -- Hanna Slättne (tinderbox Theatre): Working Together In Northern Ireland -- Alexander Kelly (third Angel) And Chris Thorpe (unlimited Theatre): On Writing And Performance In An Ensemble -- Ensemble And The Audience. Mike Alfreds (ex-shared Experience, Method And Madness): Sharing The Experience Of Imagination -- Greg Allen (the Neo-futurists): An Interactive Ensemble -- Phelim Mcdermott (improbable): Safe Emergencies -- Peter Eckersall (not Yet It's Difficult): The Dramaturgy Of Long-term Cross-cultural Collaboration -- Katarina Pejovic And Boris Bakal (shadow Casters): Ensemble As A Tool Of Civic Engagement -- David Bauwens, Alexander Devriendt, Joeri Smet (ontroerend Goed): On Courting The Audience -- Richard Jordan (richard Jordan Productions): Towards A Global Ensemble. Edited By Duška Radosavljević. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.