Ensemble Theatre and The Smith Family’s partnership to create an immersive dramatic arts program

Ensemble Theatre and The Smith Family invited 27 students to participate in a dramatic arts program with workshops and a live theatre performance as the finale. Read how this experience influenced their lives.

Screams and cheers filled the theatre as the actors took their bows. High school students filed out of the room with grins on their faces, spirits high. It was a special scene that filled the halls of Ensemble Theatre on Sydney’s north shore on Thursday.

Anne Samonte from The Smith Family.

The theatre has partnered with the student-focused, non-profit organisation The Smith Family to invite 27 children to participate in a program of the dramatic arts.

Acting and storytelling workshops were offered as part of the program as well as a backstage tour and career discussions. And for the grand finale, all students were invited to see Johanna Murray-Smith’s adaptation of the play, A Doll’s House.

Claire Nesbitt-Hawes, the artistic producer of Ensemble Theatre, said because live theatre is such “a transformative experience,” opening up these opportunities to young people is important.

“Having access to a cultural experience like that can just widen your horizons, broaden your possibilities, and your aspirations, as well,” Ms Nesbitt-Hawes said.

Yashoda participating in a workshop.

When performances were unavailable during the pandemic, many people realised theatre isn’t just a “luxury” — rather, it’s “part of the fabric of who we are,” Ms Nesbitt-Hawes said.

Yashoda, a Year 11 student in the program, who had never seen a live performance before this opportunity, said it was an entirely “different kind of experience.”

“With the performance, it was so interesting because you’re seeing it from a different perspective,” Yashoda said. “If you’re watching a movie, it gives you one perspective and you’re just watching it from afar.”

At the end of A Doll’s House, Yashoda said she was so invested in the plot and the characters that she stood up and screamed.

Maryan, a Year 8 student who also attended the program, had similar feelings about the play.

Students gathered for a theatre workshop.

“It’s like watching a movie but in real life,” Maryan said. “It’s a much more immersive and human experience.”

But the experience doesn’t just end at the workshops and shows. Anne Samonte, the program co-ordinator of The Smith Family, said many of the students have opened up and developed friendships with their peers.

“They develop skills, social skills, and they develop their confidence,” Ms Samonte said. “And just throughout the course of the week, you see a change, and you see students have come out of their shell.”

Especially after the pandemic, live theatre is even more special than before, according to Maryan.

“There’s nothing like coming together in person for experiences like this,” Maryan said.

In regards to the future, Ms Nesbitt-Hawes said the week-long program had been “really special” and she hopes to keep offering similar opportunities.

“From a company perspective, it’s been amazing to see these kids engaging with what we do,” Ms Nesbitt-Hawes said.

To all the other students who are presented a similar opportunity, Yashoda said the program was worth it.

“Take the chance and experiences,” Yashoda said. “Got to make the most of it.”