All Together Now! Enacting the Ensemble in Diarmuid and Gráinne.

Welcome back, everyone! Is week seven really upon us? This week we’re exploring the ensemble and how, without it, we would be staging a radically different Diarmuid and Gráinne to its current manifesto. You may be thinking, “wait, what is this ensemble thing anyway?”, and we know it can be confusing to give it a concrete definition, which is why we have some definitions from the professionals to clear things up, but here’s one of our favourites!

            The ensemble conjures the image of a group of people who share experiences, breathe and feel together. And we’re confident that this is an apt way of describing our own ensemble here at D&G HQ! Sound simple? Not quite. The finished product of an ensemble can appear so exquisitely polished and perfect, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was our talented ensemble. The group spent weeks of team-building warm ups before even one step of choreography commenced. This was to ensure that the team were completely comfortable and at ease with each other, as being part of a collective role that has such a detrimental influence of the play. To guarantee a fully functioning, in-sync ensemble, it was first paramount to allow each and every cast member to gain and give trust from and to each other. Before beginning any scripted work, it is first vital to allow this ensemble to form a connection and determine how the group works together.

As choreography for some of the music and songs began last week, it was refreshing to see not a variety of individuals moving as separate beings, but one fluid, collective entity. The motions blended together seamlessly and the past six weeks of intense warm ups and gruelling activities is evident in these choreography displays during class. An example of this is a particularly interesting yet simple warm up run by one of our movement directors Una, involved walking through the space in the room, and if you feel an impulse, the individual walks backwards. Everybody would then hold this person in order to support them, guiding them forward through the space, until the next person begins to change direction. This exercise, in addition to ensuring the cast are refreshed and ready to jump into action for scenes, offers a sense of emotional support for all the cast members, allowing them to put their complete trust in their colleagues. Warm ups also consisted of throwing a selection of sports balls to each other while rapidly changing our pacing tempo. The aim of this warm up was to encourage the cast members to make eye contact and build relationships. Other warm ups included games that focused on synchronisation and keeping in time with the group, creating a simultaneous shared focus on the task.  Cast member Daryanna explains that “the goal is to stay as cohesive as possible”, and the group certainly did so! It is fascinating to watch these warm ups start with everyone feeling a little apprehensive about the task, yet falling so easily into the rhythm together, and really enjoying the process of learning and growing together. And we can’t wait to see how they grow even further from now until opening night!

Until next time!
The Cast and Crew