For The Love Of Ensemble
By Green Shirt Instructor Tatiana Pavela

Rob, who is playing Claudius in the production of Hamlet I’m currently in, goes around while actors are warming up pre-show and gives us a simple pat on the back. It’s not a bro-hug, it takes two seconds, and it’s a simple reminder of one of the most vital aspects of theatre: “I’ve got your back.” 

I’ve got your back. The feeling that no matter what happens during the show  – lighting outage (happened last week), finding out that layoffs are happening at your day job, going through a break up the evening before you have to break up onstage, or being so exhausted because you have four meetings during the day then need to pick up your mother at the airport and ohdamniforgottocleanthebathroombeforesheishere!  And now we are doing a three hour show and does anyone even see theatre anymore and everyone knows Hamlet dear lord what is this evening going to be like? But for those three hours, our director acts as ASM when our hired ASM didn’t show up. And Harrison is always the one to remember that we all have to yell backstage in Act 1. And Kelly brings the bag of sour gummy worms to give us a sugar high to get us through the last half of the show. And Zach and I fist bump backstage before our tiny six-line scene every night. And Mary cuts my hair in an alley thirty minutes before the show because the haircut I just got was slightly lopsided and I don’t want to go back to the salon but I can’t stop thinking about it. And Ian and Julia congratulate and console each other and it only adds to the best Laertes/Ophelia relationship I have ever seen onstage.  And someone always manages to snap the button of Rob’s glove because he can’t do it after the first one is on. And Josh always manages to get the audience to laugh at the very end of the show when everyone is so very tired. And we do it, we get through it and it’s beautiful. And we couldn’t have done it without each other. 

And if you can do this for your next cast, for your scene partner, for your classmates? The process will feel like magic. If you can engage and lean forward when your classmates are doing their scene – I promise you, then you will feel their energy when you are up there, attempting to pour out your very vulnerable heart as well as you can.  Show up, stay off your phone, assume the best of intentions with everyone, be kind, do the work,  find the joy, and look for ways to support your fellow classmates. I’ll bring the candy.