Practical information
Class given by artist-facilitator: Jessica Abdallah
Dates : Wednesdays, from April 29 to June 17, 2026, 7:00pm to 9:30pm
Age required: Be 18 or older on the first day of the class
Prerequisite experience: Acting 1 & Acting 2 or equivalent experience with foundational theatre training. This is not a course for beginners.
Price: $325.00 +tax
Language: This class is in English
Questions about the course? Contact us: courspublics@ent-nts.ca
Class Description
In Ensemble Performance, participants will focus on building a strong, supportive acting ensemble that both inspires and challenges its members. Students will work collaboratively to create and rehearse a piece of ensemble-driven theatre, placing the collective at the centre of the creative process rather than individual performances. Through shared leadership, experimentation, and play, the class will emphasize collective decision-making, trust, and artistic responsibility, fostering a dynamic environment where every voice contributes to the final work.
Throughout the 8-week session, participants will be led through a variety of ensemble-building exercises to strengthen their connection as an acting ensemble, while simultaneously putting these skills into practice through the staging of an ensemble-driven piece of theatre.
Participants are expected to have taken the Acting 1 & Acting 2, or have equivalent experience with foundational theatre training. This is not a course for beginners.
Objectives
- To build an acting ensemble that inspires and challenges its members.
- To work on a piece of collaborative theatre which prioritizes the cast as a whole.
- To engage in decision making as a collective.
- To deepen one’s craft as a performer and collaborative artist.
- To have fun.
Artist-facilitator: Jessica Abdallah
Jessica Abdallah is a Montreal-based director, teacher, and theatre creator who has been bringing stories to life for over 20 years. She is a graduate of John Abbott College’s Acting program, Concordia University’s Theatre & Development program, and the MFA in Directing at the University of Alberta. Favourite directing credits include Eurydice (McGill Theatre), Other Worlds (Geordie Theatre), What Rough Beast (Tantalus/Theatre Ouest End, Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks), The One (Hopegrown), the French and English versions of TUMIT (Akpik Theatre), Sedna: Goddess of the Sea (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre), and Annie Mae’s Movement (UofA). Jessica is Creative Director of the Geordie Theatre School at Geordie Theatre, directs teens yearly at St. George’s High School, teaches Public Classes at the National Theatre School of Canada, and sits on the PACT Membership Committee.
