Ensemble Studios Acting School

Ensemble Studios Acting School The Ensemble Studios Acting School was the longest-running private acting school in Australia. Gordon was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Founder of the Ensemble Studios: Hayes Gordon AO OBE (February 25, 1920 – October 19, 1999) was an American actor, stage director and acting teacher with a considerable career in Australia. He was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, and appeared on Broadway in several musicals, including the original production of Oklahoma! (1943), Show Boat and Brigadoon. He also appeared in America's first television

soap opera Fashion Story. He was named in a newsletter Red Networks that specialised in naming alleged communists and sympathisers, and after he refused in 1951 to sign a loyalty oath declaring that he was not a communist, work dried up completely. He went to Sydney, Australia in 1952 to star in the musical Kiss Me Kate. He stayed in the country and established the Ensemble Theatre in North Sydney with a group of young students he tutored from the Independent Theatre. This was a co-operative style theatre and also Australia's first theatre-in-the-round. He also established Australia's longest surviving acting school, the Ensemble Studios, in 1956, which closed in 2009. He was Principal of the school for the rest of his life. Toward the end of his life he published Acting and Performing which outlined his Stanislavsky-influenced acting methods. He passed on directorship of The Ensemble Theatre to Sandra Bates in 1986. He had one daughter, Kati, who lived with her mother in the USA. He remarried in the early 1980s to Helen Terry and remained with her until his death. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1979, and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1997, for his contribution to the arts. He died in Sydney of heart disease in 1999. http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/last-curtain-call-for-ensemble-studio

This was in 1981.....Ron Lee2hOne for you theatrical types. Hearing of a production that's opening next week reminded me...
30/07/2026

This was in 1981.....
Ron Lee
2h
One for you theatrical types. Hearing of a production that's opening next week reminded me of a moment that occurred at the Marian Street Theatre. 'The Shifting Heart' is a play about an Italian family that migrated to Australia in the 1950s. The mother was played by Phillippa Baker who had played a Jewish role in the television series, 'Number 96' but her accent didn't change. I was sitting next to The Great Man, Hayes Gordon. When the lights came up for the intermission, Hayes slightly leaned over and in that deep, distinctive Hayes voice, quietly asked, "What do you think?" I said, "Perhaps Phillippa is better suited to another production, such as 'Fiddler on the Roof'. Are you familiar with that work, Hayes?" With the hint of a smile, Hayes softly said, "Yes I am." Do you have a Hayes Gordon story?

Thank you Joe McCarthy for giving us Hayes Gordon, the Ensemble Theatre and the Ensemble Studios Acting School.
25/07/2026

Thank you Joe McCarthy for giving us Hayes Gordon, the Ensemble Theatre and the Ensemble Studios Acting School.

Tim Carter12 July at 17:01 Vale Dr Ian McGrath10 October 1945 to 11 July 2026.You taught and influenced the lives of so ...
20/07/2026

Tim Carter
12 July at 17:01
Vale Dr Ian McGrath
10 October 1945 to 11 July 2026.
You taught and influenced the lives of so many, were respected and loved by those here and abroad, and will be immensely missed!
Former officer of the Royal Australian Navy, he joined the navy at the age of 15.
Vietnam veteran, was wounded in action.
An exceptional actor, director and lighting designer. He worked for the State Opera South Australia for a period of time.
Lectured at NIDA and then to the University of Wollongong and ended up as head of school.
He was the first in Australia to gain his Doctorate degree in lighting design.
Ian taught many undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Was a recurring guest lecturer in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Ian was in 7 productions at the Ensemble Theatre in the 70's, and later taught a technical course at the Studios in the 80's. He was also head of the theatre department at The University of Wollongong for many years.
Ensemble Theatre bio - IT"S A TWO FOOT SIX INCHES ABOVE THE GROUND WORLD (1970), WE BOMBED IN NEWHAVEN (1970), THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL (1971), LUTHER (1971), WHO'S WHO? (1974), JIMMY SHINE (1975), THE ASS (1975).
A tribute to Dr Ian McGrath from the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema -
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F1drv.ms%2Fw%2Fc%2Fda8bd3eb120d62bf%2FIQCuzsMIUYYrRrDmH0p3z6wXAd9HnveWoiYqCkd3V0FyVUE%3Fe%3DS1mw3A%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExNFZITGVUd2syMmU2eG9vTnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4PtrwNf3aHftzCLs2X4bhv8rP9-Py-eCJVfY10MKewbD2nUmetMVpWihImOA_aem_Xz6X-BZdjWdjBzAbmS02pg&h=AUBySp1vy8p3d9_txkpdPcnaByU_EXdjx84DrZS8foFiUdkWsb4IN5xZ6zdVDZBMnaD1eEtsHsWqQ4iwr4b-2Jyy5apnLKY52xNCXl-psm9s68gl4hb8VCCh-sF9cKlPQ7h3rt2kJ2RkFwqwdZtpZij898ZN-Q&__tn__=R]-R&c[0]=AUDYL89uZ2JdRjJ8pc_bRmXzJWxpVQDGjlGTMJOKaosZ1-XZpTbx-sUUGHZOu0lSi0VTlB6-OwYJ94zAb4AVGnyPis7lmyagRXuLC5YVHqy_gkHs34l3yN1Nf2O9UaNvERvDx85LP8qq5GkwyHMI3HZlUw5RnEdvGofQRh7ALmGlwCDDJm6YSeNMO7ZWx9o&c[1]=AUANB4sgRbSq598bhqKPaJXbTnJ4gbw-D11HP-zyALW0F5hMPLw3agE0_NhnPIAyMRuNpMlIgzMplJwSlymtEuM3jz2GD3tWrIrr2F_7pvMWWQC4EhqB93d-ZETJzUFwMUUdU7qgw-s0h6W2-2CQNVAsNGl3rl8Yx1AMLX2w3WqEhW8DcCgQw6sPG_x6wlc

Tim Carter12 July at 17:01 Vale Dr Ian McGrath10 October 1945 to 11 July 2026.You taught and influenced the lives of so ...
17/07/2026

Tim Carter
12 July at 17:01
Vale Dr Ian McGrath
10 October 1945 to 11 July 2026.
You taught and influenced the lives of so many, were respected and loved by those here and abroad, and will be immensly missed!
Those who would like to send messages to Ian’s family, please contact me.

https://willoughbyliving.com.au/henry-lawsons-cave/A memorial celebration for Don Swonnell was held today at Henry Lawso...
19/06/2026

https://willoughbyliving.com.au/henry-lawsons-cave/
A memorial celebration for Don Swonnell was held today at Henry Lawson's Cave at Flat Rock Gully in Willoughby - RIP.

Imagine hearing the wonderful Australian poetry of Henry Lawson, Banjo Patterson and other bush poets at Henry Lawson's Cave in Naremburn.

An audio recording of Hayes Gordon performing a solo interlude in Down On MacConnachy Square in the original Broadway ...
05/06/2026

An audio recording of Hayes Gordon performing a solo interlude in Down On MacConnachy Square in the original Broadway production of BRIGADOON in 1947. 2.09-2.25.
Interesting that Hayes played a milkman in this production and also in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 20 years later.

"Brigadoon" Original Broadway Cast - Down On MacConnachy Square So...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIN5CTqODOw
08/05/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIN5CTqODOw

Doug Anderson - on a lifetime living in North Sydney and recycling the past...Journalist and film critic Doug Anderson was born in Neutral Bay in 1944. In th...

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