About Ninefold

 

Ninefold is a Sydney-based theatre ensemble. Founded by Shy Magsalin in 2012, Ninefold aims to investigate highly rigorous ensemble performance-making and create a sustainable culture for artists who want to explore the possibility of ongoing ensemble work.

​Ninefold’s works are known to be intense, precise and imaginatively rich which a signature style honed by a commitment to cultivating a shared language through regular physical performance training. Strong sonic and visual elements are crucial to the group’s aesthetic. These explored alongside physical devising result in sensorily harmonic shows that envelope audiences with their operatic grandeur. “This is a truly thrilling ensemble to watch..." (Lisa Thatcher, reviewer). "The company’s image-making is as visually striking as it is disciplined.” (Jason Blake, Audrey Journal)

Included in the company repertoire: The Tragedy of Antigone (2016), Wyrd: The Season of the Witch (2018), A Murder Story Retold (2019/2020), The Gaslight Project (2019).

​Ninefold was one of PACT's resident companies from 2018-19. The ensemble also engaged with a creative exchange partnership with Stanton Library in North Sydney to activate the Don Bank Museum with unique contemporary performances. Our artists teach the Suzuki Method of Actor Training at universities across Sydney and provide ongoing training opportunities for emerging and established artists.

 

ABOUT SHY MAGSALIN

 

Shy Magsalin is a theatre-maker and performer. She is head of the ensemble Ninefold in Sydney and works and trains regularly with the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) in Japan. Shy graduated from UWS with a Bachelor of Performance (Theatremaking) before continuing to study the Suzuki Method of Actor Training with Zen Zen Zo (Brisbane), OzFrank Theatre (Brisbane), SITI Company in New York (2007, 2009) and, SCOT in Japan (2008, 2012-current). She has directed and performed locally, interstate and internationally.

Projects include ‘The Whistling Man’ (imPACT Ensemble, 2016), 'The Blue Book' (International Theatre Ensemble, Sweden 2009), 'Macbeth: 9 Scenes Rehearsed' (Sydney, 2014), 'Room' (Earthcrosser Company/PACT Vacant Room, 2014), 'The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria' (I-SCOT, Japan 2014), 'Kachi Kachi Yama' (SCOT, Japan 2016), 'The Tragedy of Antigone' (Ninefold/PACT Axis Sydney 2016) and ‘Greetings from the Edge of the Earth’ (SCOT, Japan 2017) and 'Wyrd: The Season of the Witch' (Ninefold/PACT 2018), 'A Murder Story Retold' (Ninefold/FlyingNun 2019), 'Sauvage (Wild)' (BATCH Festival, Griffin Theatre), 'The Blue Bird' (I- SCOT, Japan 2016-19), 'The Gaslight Project' (Ninefold/PACT 2019).

Shy has been officially approved by Tadashi Suzuki to teach the Suzuki Method of Actor Training and teaches across various institutions such as Actors Centre Australia, NIDA Open, The HubStudio, Riverside Theatres and Sydney Theatre School.

 

Training

 
 

Ninefold is Sydney’s only contemporary theatre ensemble that works exclusively with the Suzuki Method of Actor Training to create performances. The group investigate the application of this training in an Australian context by making work that is unrelentingly intense, physically precise and imaginatively rich.

The Suzuki Method of Actor Training​

The Suzuki Method of Actor Training serves to strengthen an actor’s physical and vocal sensibilities and develop a highly articulate body capable of expressing and communicating with power and precision. It comprises of six basic physical exercises to train the actor and address challenges that arise in performance.

The Suzuki Company of Toga in Japan make work unlike anything else on the contemporary stage. A core component of their work is an ongoing investment in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training. Its principles are deeply rooted in traditional Japanese art forms and the result is a performance that offers up a unique world view to an audience. In a theatre landscape dominated by naturalism, SCOT’s work truly hits in a visceral way.

For more information on the training go to: scot-suzukicompany.com/en/

​For information on upcoming training workshops with Ninefold, go to the events page on our website or join our mailing list.

 

COMPANY Manifesto

 
 
 

As an ensemble, we:

  1. Strive to support long-term artistic development and ensemble growth.
    Our ensemble is built around a core activity of actor training which offers:

    • a chance to develop and deepen a shared language as a group.​

    • stability, consistency and confidence for artists in their developing practice.​

    • space for artists to challenge limits and push the expressive capabilities of body and voice beyond the every day into a highly imaginative and fantastical space.​

  2. Explore alternative ways of supporting a sustainable arts practice.
    In response to our need for independence, flexibility and freedom of our creativity, time and finances in a challenging arts environment, we:

    • Value quality over quantity: Limit the number of projects focused on and give new works a longer, slow-burn time frame for creative development.

    • Experiment with a developing repertoire: Avoid putting ourselves under constant time and financial pressures by always starting projects from scratch. Use repetition as a tool to interrogate how works grow and change over time.

    • Work with a budget and aesthetic that reflects our performer-focused mission: Be realistic about our financial means as an independent company. Explore how such restrictions breed creativity.
       

  3. Offer a high energy, rigorous, playful and stylised performance aesthetic. 
    We are devoted to refining our expressionistic, atmospheric and non-naturalistic style of performance.