Name Title of Song

Worksheet: Creating an Arc for an Ensemble Role

Instructions: Using the column format below, make a list of any and all songs, stage
activities, and dialogue for your character in the order they appear in the script. If you
play several characters over the course of the show, you will need to do this exercise for
each one separately.
Next, identify how the group numbers or scenes that you are in affect the main
characters. Do you and the other members of the ensemble represent society (The Music
Man)? Are you commenting on the action and telling the story to the audience like a
Greek Chorus (Urinetown)? Do you represent a specific point of view that contradicts or
agrees with the main characters (Finians Rainbow)? Keep in mind that the ensemble may
fulfill different roles in different scenes.
After youve figured out what your role is, think about whether the ensemble, as a
whole, makes a shift. Do you serve the story differently at the beginning, middle, or end
or the show? Some examples of shifts might be to go from festive and jovial to dark and
disapproving, or from innocent to jaded, or careful to carefree. Notice whether the shift
happens mid-song or mid-scene, and identify what makes the shift occur. Does one of the
main characters convince you to change? Does something happen? In order to help tell
the story, your character will need to mirror the rest of the ensemble during these shifts.
Does your character go along with the change willingly, or reluctantly? If reluctantly,
then what finally convinces you?
Using the outline youve created for your lines, songs, and activities, write a few
paragraphs that describe your characters journey through the whole show.

Song Title/
Other Stage Activities/
Scene Number Dialogue Ensembles Role in this Scene