Devised and ensemble-based theatre breaks down barriers and hierarchies between directors, writers, and performers in order to create work as a group of artists. In this section, you’ll find content about pieces made this way, thoughts from the creators, and learning on how to do it. The 2014 Ensemble Series is a great entry point.
The Latest
Video
Theatre in Times of War and State Violence
2026 National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation
Thursday 4 June 2026
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Essay
Slow-Motion Gives Forced Migrants the Chance to Move at Their Own Speed
by Dmitrii Zenkov
15 April 2026
Video
A Conversation with Purva Bedi and Mariana Newhard
Erika Chong Shuch, a dancer, choreographer, director and theater maker dishes on the seeds of her passion for performance, her creative process, and her experiences collaborating with other artists.
This is a transcipt of Claudia Atkin's "catalyst speaker” speech she delivered on August 14, 2011 for NET’s National Ensemble Summit 2011: Rowdy, Radical, and Relevant!, using musical accopmiment.
Deborah Stein breaks down her experience in collaborative theatre settings to its specific characteristics, revealing the agony and ecstasy of creating in an ensemble.
Aaron Landsman's new project in development, City Council Meeting, is an attempt to democratically include audience participation in the narrative of a play.
In this installment of the series From Scarcity to Abundance: Capturing the Moment for the New Work Sector, Meiyin Wang hypothesizes on the future of theatre and the impact it can have on the world.
Playwright Chinaka Hodge recounts her experiences producing her first play and how the collaboration process supported and enhanced the growth of her play.
2026 National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation
Thursday 4 June 2026
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
This panel discussion explores the role of theatre artists in times of war, occupation, and state-sanctioned violence, in multiple contexts and locations around the globe, from Minneapolis to Palestine.
On 20 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with multi-hyphenates Purva Bedi and Mariana Newhard. Both are acclaimed writer performers who have worked in theatre, film, and TV.
To make theatre with forced migrants in Serbia, Dmitrii Zenkov knew he had to slow down. He reflects on the ethics of tempo in the slow-motion Phiz-Drama project and offers exercises for others to bring into their own work.
On 13 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the award-winning director and founder and artistic director of Elevator Repair Service, one of the most acclaimed experimental theatre companies in New York City.
Is there space for hope in climate crisis theatre? What happens when teachers are just as terrified as their students? These questions and others reverberate through Emily K. Harrison’s reflection on the process and performance of an intergenerational, devised work exploring the (potential) collapse of the Anthropocene.
How can ensemble training influence theatre culture and grow capacity? In this episode, Tara Khozein and Martin Boross sit down with theatre director and Wilma Theatre co-artistic director Yury Urnov and director, performer, choreographer, and playwright Suli Holum after a HotHouse session with the ensemble.
What's the point of entering the rehearsal room without a plan? In this episode, Tara Khozein and Martin Boross are joined by Apollo Garcia Orellana and Sandy Timmerman to talk about approaches in devising, the importance of being lost, and why they prefer to work without a playwright in the room.
What makes us want to immerse, and what makes us want to flee? Tara Khozein and Martin Boross sit down with Hope Orange and Diana Delgado at q-Staff theatre in Albuquerque right after their residency and public showing of Dwelling, an immersive theatre event on the theme of home.
Focused on collaboratively creative performance companies, From the Ground Up connects with theatremakers to understand the artistic, financial, and social sustainability of physical, devised, and ensemble-based processes. To showcase examples for American ensemble practitioners, this podcast documents the individual roadmaps and efforts of makers from around the world.
A Talk with Christian Appel and Renée Imperato of the TransGenerational Theatre Project
24 August 2017
Patty Gone interviews Christian Appel and Renée Imperato about how they used applied theatre, writing, and utopian world-envisioning to create the all-trans, ensemble- based TransGenerational Theatre Project in NYC.
