The Practicing Ensemble Class

Every Tuesday evening, 11 Oct – 1 Nov
6.30pm – 9.30pm (doors open 6.15pm)

£7.50 per session (or £25 if all four booked in advance)

Please book in advance: online or in person at Tobacco Factory Theatres box office, or over the phone (t: 0117 902 0344).

The PE Class is an ongoing series of workshops exploring the essentials of ensemble theatre practice. They are a space for theatre-makers to experiment, to practice, to share ideas, and to meet.

Each session will be led by a different Bristol-based Director who is asked to try something new, to facilitate an extended practical exercise for the duration of the session.

This season’s facilitators:

Tue 11 Oct – Steph Kempson (Sharp Teeth)
“Feeling vs. Text”: finding alternative ways through movement, sound and music to access challenging texts.
NB. Singers and instruments welcome.

Tue 18 Oct – Josh Ben-Tovim (Impermanence Dance Theatre)
“De-misting the windscreen of collaboration”: creating structures to enable equality of input with minimum chat and maximum making.

Tue 25 Oct  – Chris Pirie (Green Ginger)
“Hiding in Plain Sight”: audiences are OK now with seeing puppeteers on stage, but can they deal with us on their screens?

Tue 1 Nov – Adam Fuller (Open Attic Theatre)
“Tracing Energy Onstage”: like a sparkler at a bonfire, can physical brushstrokes and the way energy moves around the performance space supercede the narrative content?

What will I get out of the classes?

As well as getting to develop skills and try out new approaches, learning from some of the best practitioners making work right now, PE Classes are a great way to meet other local theatre-makers, and to introduce yourself to a range of Directors developing work in Bristol and beyond.

Are the classes right for me?

PE Classes are aimed at active theatre-makers who want to collaborate to tell stories for their audience. They are peer led sessions, pitched at fellow practitioners who work professionally in the theatre, or who aspire to.

Actors, dancers, clowns and circus artists… performers from any discipline are all welcome, as are teachers/workshop leaders and current theatre/performing arts students (HE and 18+ only).

Other Directors are particularly encouraged to attend as particpants. Award-winning acting talent is not required, only openness, generosity, and an ability to support the groups’ improvisation and play.

Nuts and bolts

Places are limited and class size capped. Please note that you cannot pay on the door so places must be booked in advance, and that Trinity Arts do not sell tickets for these workshops. Tickets can be purchased online, over the phone or in person at Tobacco Factory Theatres up until 4pm latest on the day of each session. As long as you’ve paid-up by then, no need to bring paper-ticket with you to Trinity Centre.

PE Classes take place in Fyfe Hall, upstairs at Trinity Centre. Doors open at 6.15pm for chat, finishing coffee, wandering in, stretching if you want. Class starts 6.30pm sharp.

Please wear loose comfortable clothing and bring drinking water. Bring appropriate soft indoor footwear or be prepared to work bare foot.

Any questions, please contact simon [at] theplasticinemen.co.uk.

Supported by Bristol City Council Creative Seed Fund and Tobacco Factory Theatres.