They play a supporting role in the studio (6)

I believe the answer is:

easels

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'they' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are plural nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

I don't understand the rest of the clue.

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(Other definitions for easels that I've seen before include "Artists' tripods" , "Stands for blackboards, artists' paintings etc" , "Leases them out to artists" , "Stands for artists' canvases" , "Supports for paintings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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