This week, we welcomed a new group of members into Shakespeare in Prison.

The room was incredibly full when we arrived, and there was an immediate sense of excitement. Some of our new members were encountering SIP for the first time, while others already had connections to the program. One new member even recognized Kyle from The Taming of the Shrew in 2015 and shared that she had participated in theatre outside of SIP. When we asked who had seen an SIP performance before, most of the new members had attended our recent SIP & Beyond performance.

We began where every new ensemble begins: with our information packet, our values, and a conversation about what exactly it means to be an ensemble.

As we worked through the packet, I asked the room, “What is an ensemble?”

Answers immediately came from around the circle: “A team.” “A group.” “Performance group.” One ensemble member expanded on it: “A team with a common goal.”

Then one of our new members had a realization: “I just realized I’m part of the ensemble — I don’t have to try out!”

It was a funny moment, but it also captured something fundamental about the way SIP works. Becoming part of this ensemble is not about proving that you are the best actor in the room. The work begins with the understanding that everyone who enters the ensemble has something to contribute. The goal is not to compete for a place within it, but to figure out how we create something together.

That idea became even more important when a new member asked about Shakespeare’s language and whether we were going to get into the “thees and thous.” As we transitioned from orientation into monologue work, questions about Shakespeare’s language—and who gets to speak it—became a central theme of the evening.

One participant began with Antony. She initially performed the speech with a light British accent and found herself drawn to its humor. “I like the mockery. It brought out the humor, it was sarcastic,” she reflected.

We dug further into what Antony is actually doing in the speech, particularly the repetition of words like “ambitious” and “honourable.” Kyle challenged her to abandon the character voice entirely: “I dare you to do it in your own voice.”

She did.

As she worked through the speech again, snaps of encouragement began coming from around the circle. Afterward, she immediately recognized the difference. “I felt like I was this guy. The mockery was louder. I could praise Caesar.”

That discovery opened a larger conversation about the idea that Shakespeare needs to sound a particular way. We talked about the misconception that because Shakespeare is old, the language must automatically be royal, fancy, or performed with a particular accent. Character voices can absolutely be part of the work, but they aren’t a requirement for making Shakespeare sound like Shakespeare.

For one of our new members, that was a relief. “That’s comforting to me,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘Can I do a crazy voice or is my voice enough?’”

Her voice is enough.

Later, another participant took on Juliet. When Stefania asked why she had chosen the monologue, she explained, “When I read it I thought it would be fun. I relate to it. Being in here and having a good man waiting for me.”

Once again, Shakespeare became less about performing language correctly and more about finding the place where the text connects to the person speaking it. After learning more about Juliet’s circumstances and performing the monologue again, the participant described what she had discovered in the character: “She’s anxious. She can’t wait.”

Throughout the night, nearly every new member found some way to enter the work. Some read sections of the packet. Some asked questions. Some contributed to discussions. Some were already eager to begin exploring Shakespeare. They did not all participate in the same way or at the same level, and they did not need to.

This was their first night.

We ended by teaching our new members the closing ring, completing the same ritual that had welcomed them into the room earlier that evening.

There will be plenty of time this season to wrestle with King Lear, Shakespeare’s language, characters, objectives, performances, and all of the challenges that come with creating a play together. But before any of that can happen, we have to build an ensemble.

And sometimes that begins with the realization that you don’t have to audition to belong.