Acting companies on tour, did you say? Or soldiers? (6)
I believe the answer is:
troops
'soldiers?' is the definition.
(a troop is a group of soldiers)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for troops that I've seen before include "Soldiers, armed forces" , "Bodies of soldiers" , "Groups of soldiers" , "Military forces" , "Army" .)