Young Actors Studio presents summer plays at Renaissance Center

Release Date: 6/2/2004. Expired: 7/15/2004

The Renaissance Center’s new Young Actors Studio will present two plays that will be available for field trips during June and July.

Created by Hal Partlow, managing director of the Renaissance Repertory Theatre Company, and Kim Leavitt, former director of Theatre Education, the Young Actors Studio is comprised of theatre interns who will work with the Rep Co. throughout the year as well as present the summer productions.

“With the Young Actors Studio we are emphasizing The Renaissance Center’s role as an educational opportunity for our community as well as a performing arts center,” Partlow said. “These young actors were selected after an audition process similar to our professional actors and will have the opportunity to work with our Rep Co. for a year. They will also be offered classes, workshops and on-the-job experience.”

Participating in the Young Actors Studio are Katherine Jett, Kayleigh Gregg, Matt Romine, Joshua Arnold, Sarah LeJeune, Tory Gunn, Kalli Frey and Heather Funderburg.

The Young Actors Studio will present Young Cherokee and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for field trips and campers from Camp Renaissance. The plays will be available for field trip bookings for summer programs and other groups June 15-17, June 23, June 29-July 1, July 6-8 and July 13-15.

The plays are presented at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, on Wednesdays during that period for campers from Camp Renaissance. Campers spend part of Wednesdays of each camp week at The Renaissance Center, enjoying live theatre and planetarium shows as part of their camp experience.

On the other days that the plays are available, they will be presented only if they are scheduled for a field trip group. Once a group schedules a show, it also is then open to the public. Tickets to scheduled shows are $5 for adults and $3 for students and will be sold only if space is available.

The plays will be presented in the Gaslight Dinner Theatre, so seating is limited.

Young Cherokee is recommended for students in grades K-6. Written by Kathryn Schultz Miller, it tells the great myths and legends of early Native Americans through the eyes of a young Cherokee boy.

“Here are the stories of the Underground Panther and the Great Thunderbird,” said Partlow. “Our hero, Chosen One, must meet and do battle with these traditional foes. Each legend has been thoroughly researched at the Qualla Cherokee Boundary in North Carolina and is told with reverence for the Cherokee culture. Young Cherokee is an excellent adjunct to any project concerning Native Americans. Students of history and culture will find that performances will bring them a deeper understanding of Native American culture.”

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is based on the story by Washington Irving and dramatized by Miller. It is recommended for students in grades 4-7.

It is the familiar story of Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster for Sleepy Hollow, and his love for the fair Katrina as well as his conflict with Brom Bones and the Headless Horseman. The story has been told numerous times in film and animated features.

“Watch as Washington Irving’s American classic and his awkward protagonist fights Brom Bones for Katrina’s affections and runs from the fearful Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow,” Partlow said.

To schedule a group for one of the performances, call (615)740-5566. To determine if tickets are available to the public for a scheduled performance, call (615)740-5570. For more information on theatre programs at The Renaissance Center, call (615)740-5600.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Theatre page for more about community and professional theatre.

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