HAYES GORDON AO OBE & THE ENSEMBLE ACTING STUDIOS

Born on 25th February 1920 in Boston, USA, Hayes Gordon qualified as a biochemist and pharmacist, but soon left this to start a theatrical career. He studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner in New York and performed in the original productions of Oklahoma, Brigadoon, Sleepy Hollow, Small Wonder, Along 5th Avenue and in the third revival of Showboat. During his army career in WWII, he appeared in Moss Hart's propaganda piece for the war, Winged Victory.

In 1952 he was brought to Australia by the J.C. Williamson company to star in Kiss me Kate. In 1953 he starred in Annie Get Your Gun, and also did a season as Curly in Oklahomain Perth. In 1956 he starred in Kismet. After a long break while he established the Ensemble Theatre, he returned to the stage in 1967 in Fiddler on the Roof, which ran for three years. He reprised his performance for the Australian Opera in 1984-1985. In 1979-80 he starred as Daddy Warbucks in Annie and in 1988 he performed in his only non-musical play in Australia, Broadway Bound.

Hayes taught acting from the time he arrived in Australia, starting backstage with the cast of Kiss me Kate. Many of the actors were avid for instruction in the techniques Hayes studied in New York and which he clearly demonstrated while performing in the show. At that time many, if not most, Australian actors who wanted to improve their skills went overseas. So, when a deputation of cast members asked for lessons, Hayes began on matinee days between the afternoon and evening performances. Classes were soaked up enthusiastically, since Hayes was not only a brilliant practitioner of the art, but also an excellent communicator and teacher. He was able to provide his students with a clear and concise syntax of acting, to pinpoint problems, develop insight and strategies to fix them and generally inspire his students with a desire to work on their craft and improve their skills to the highest of their ability. Finding no shortage of talent in Australia, Hayes was confident the techniques developed overseas would benefit his new found theatrical community – including techniques adopted in the U.S. during the great flowering of creativity associated with The Group Theatre (so called ‘Method Acting’).

After starring in Kismet in 1956, Hayes conducted classes in his home while pursuing his career in radio and television. When the legendary actress Dame Sybil Thorndyke visited Australia in 1958 she was invited to view the work of the young actors in Hayes' living room. Dame Sybil was very moved by what she saw and said "These people must be seen by the public". The small band of actors included Lorraine Bayly, Reg Livermore, Clarissa Kaye, Pat Hill and Jon Ewing, among others. Together with Hayes, as their leader and director, they hired the Cammeray Childrens' Library and presented a series of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays (or ‘studies’ as Hayes referred to them) over two Sunday nights in May 1958. Later in the year, premises were rented in Berry Street, North Sydney where the one-acters were re-presented, followed by The Man and Orpheus Descending. Audiences were stunned by the ‘realness’ of the acting and the fact that they were in such close proximity to the actors. That proximity demanded the highest standards of acting and one critic wrote how intrigued he was to be able "to hear the sound of the actress's (real) tears falling on the floor."

These performances eventually grew into the Ensemble Theatre, which Hayes established in 1958 (1960 at its present location in Milson's Point) and in 1973 he formalised the classes and established the school, The Ensemble Acting Studios.

Hayes directed over 60 productions for the Ensemble Theatre. His directing credits also include two Royal pageants, international festivals (eg, the Festival of the South Pacific in 1973) and a production of Royal Hunt of the Sun for the opening of the Christchurch Festival Theatre in New Zealand. In 1992 he published his comprehensive book on acting, Acting and Performing. He was awarded the OBE in 1979 and the AO in 1997. His numerous acting and theatre awards include the Erik Award (1967), The Cobb & Co Theatre Award (1970), the Glugs award for 21 years of devoted service to theatre (1981), The Sydney Theatre Critics' Circle Award (1989) and the Glugs Life Achievement Award (1996).

The acting classes were held at The Ensemble Theatre at the weekends. At this time the lessons were in acting theory, conducted solely by Hayes. Students were expected to find their own teachers for voice and movement. Actors attending Hayes' classes provided virtually all the casts in Ensemble Theatre productions.

In 1967, when Hayes took leave of absence from the Ensemble Theatre to star in the musical Fiddler on the Roof for the J.C. Williamson Company, he left the teaching of the theory classes in the hands of Zika Nester, a student in the classes since 1958. Hayes was impressed with Zika's grasp of the theory (she had read all of Stanislavsky's works in the original Russian), by her perception and her ability to pinpoint problems.

Hayes finished the Fiddler run in 1970 and embarked on an overseas tour, attending theatre and acting schools across the United States and Europe. In 1972, Zika Nester and Lorraine Bayly embarked on a follow-up tour that included a month at the famous Moscow Art Theatre school in Russia. Like Hayes, Zika didn't see any revolutionary new methods of training that both she and Hayes had not examined or were already using. Hayes' dream was to establish a school providing instruction in all subjects pertaining to acting and performing. Specialist teachers were employed to teach Speech, Movement, Dance and Fencing as part of a three-year certificate course. Hayes was the Principal and Chief Tutor and Zika took the roles of Registrar and Tutor in Acting. More subjects were introduced including Mime, Jazz Ballet, History of Theatre and others.

To this day, the acting theory classes remain at the Ensemble Theatre. It recognises the link with the theatre company and provides students with the opportunity to absorb the atmosphere of a working professional theatre.

On Hayes' death in 1999, Zika Nester became Principal of the school. She is committed to ensuring that the school carries on the fine tradition of excellence in acting training established 50 years ago by Hayes Gordon. Zika is enthusiastically supported by Hayes’ widow, Helen Gordon, Lorraine Bayly AM – who agreed in 2003 to become patron of the Ensemble Studios – and by the teachers and employees of the school.