JUN
13

Creating a Community Contract

By Lavinia Roberts 

Lavinia Roberts is a theatre teacher and award-winning playwright who’s passionate about arts education and about creating zany, engaging, and meaningful plays for schools and community theaters. 

There seems to be more emphasis than ever on having your actors sign a contract, either at auditions or when accepting a role, that provides the dates and times of rehearsals and performances and spells out consequences for absences.  This contract, probably written by the director, is likely to also cover other policies, such as not touching props or when eating or drinking is allowed.

I’m all for that type of contract, but today I want to share my thoughts on something slightly different — a community contract.

What is a community contract and why do one?

A community contract or working agreement is a list of expectations conceived and agreed upon by the entire ensemble.  Taking the time to create a community contract is important for various reasons, but two in particular:

• It offers an opportunity to discuss rehearsal expectations, getting your actors to buy-in by having them participate in creating the list of expectations.
• It provides an opportunity for your creative community to verbalize its values.

There are many approaches to creating a community contract with your troupe, and it will largely depend on how much time you can devote to the task.  I believe that the time investment upfront is worth it in order to save time down the road, closer to your production.  Imagine if you could forego not having to spend time with actors not being off book according to the schedule or disrupting rehearsal with distracting behavior.  Below are just a few ideas to help you get started.

Discussion questions

When writing a working agreement as an ensemble at the beginning of the rehearsal process, here are some possible questions to ask:

• What are the qualities of someone you would want to work with?
• How can we show respect to others in our ensemble?
• What does it mean to be inclusive?  How can we work to be this way?
• What expectations do you have for the director?  For actors?  For crew?
• How can we make the rehearsal space creatively nurturing?
• How would an ensemble member you want to work with handle stress or challenges?
• What are some strategies for having challenging conversations?
• Why is professionalism, such as being prepared for rehearsals and arriving on time, important to the success of a theatre production?

Brainstorming activities

Discussion is an important part of this collaborative process, but there are several other ways to brainstorm and collect everyone’s thoughts on these topics.  For instance, have large pieces of paper around the class with a different question written at the top of each sheet.  Then, students (or pairs of students) can rotate around the room and write their thoughts on each piece of paper using a marker.  Finish by discussing the findings as a group.  Or, you could have small groups create posters addressing specific aspects of a strong ensemble such as “respect” or “inclusion.”  Each group could present their poster to the rest of the troupe.

Get creative

Improvisational acting games are an entertaining way to explore traits of excellent ensemble members.  For example, have small groups improvise short scenes that have the world’s worst ensemble members.  You could give each group prompts such as “Doesn’t listen to others,” “Always arrives late and unprepared,” or “Bosses others around.”  Perform the scenes and have the ensemble discuss why that ensemble member was detrimental to the success of the production.

For a different improvisational activity, have students create short scenes inspired by ensemble-themed superheroes.  Give each group a superhero with a special power, such as Positive Attitude Gal, Super Listener, or Prepared for Rehearsal Guy.  Share the improvised scenes and discuss what made these everyday heroes “super.”

Creative writing can also be used to develop a strong ensemble.  For example, have small groups write job descriptions for each role in the production.  What character traits would they be looking for if they were hiring someone for that job?  Students could also write short monologues from the viewpoint of an ensemble member who is accepting the Best Ensemble Member Award.  What did the ensemble member do to earn this award?  What traits do they have?

Working agreement

Once you have a finalized agreement, have the whole ensemble sign it and place it in a prominent location for all to see.  Feel free to add to the community contract as needed if the group thinks it will help hold ensemble members accountable.

Overall, theatre is a highly collaborative art form.  Creating a respectful and inclusive community with shared values and goals is vital to a strong ensemble and successful theatre production.