Now in its second complete season, The Ensemblist podcast has quite a treasure trove of archives. All in all, the audio show’s episodes feature over 200 guests who have worked on more than 350 different Broadway shows.
When it comes to learning theatre history, secrets of performers and what a life in the theatre really means, The Ensemblist is a resource showcasing different experiences and voices from professionals in the community. Ensemblist creators and hosts Mo Brady and Nikka Graff Lanzarone have put together a course guide to help audiences leverage their listening experience “with ways to access, utilize, and integrate in-depth episodes of the The Ensemblist into your curriculum.”
The guide can help theatre educators in the classroom or self-motivated learners. Or, the podcast may simply serve as a first-hand source for students writing about the theatre.
The course guide includes a 13-week syllabus. Each week features a topic with suggested readings, videos and corresponding Ensemblist episodes. For example, Week Two focuses on “Developing a Musical,” with links to readings from news outlets, a video link to an interview from Jason Robert Brown on his development of The Last Five Years and two episodes of The Ensemblist, “Readings and Workshops” and “Pre-production.”
In addition to the 13-week outline, Brady and Lanzarone curated a list of discussion topics for the classroom, where episodes can be used as a launch pad to start the conversation among students. “How is working on Broadway different from working in other theatre productions?” leads readers to listen to episodes such as “Life on Tour,” “Summer Stock” and “Kids on Broadway.”
The course guide provides a new type of resource to aspiring performers and theatre educators.
