Daniel Goldstein, Brian Lowdermilk, et al. Join Primary Stages Staff

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the company's professional training school, has announced its Spring 2012 schedule of classes now open for enrollment. ESPA will offer new classes including Musical Theater Repertoire, Dialects Intensive, Advanced Scene Study: Chekhov in a Contemporary Climate, Musical Theater Collaboration, Directing and Producing for Film, Singing for the Non-Singer, and Solo Performance. New instructors Kelly AuCoin, Jack Doulin, Judy Gold, Daniel Goldstein, and Brian Lowdermilk will join returning faculty members Liz Duffy Adams, David Adjmi, Karen Braga, Bekah Brunstetter, Keith Bunin, Denis Butkus, Kara Lee Corthon, Jane Guyer Fujita, Jackson Gay, Randy Graff, Adam Gwon, Josh Hecht, Lila Rose Kaplan, Kait Kerrigan, Cynthia Mace, Cheri Magid, Rogelio Martinez, Winter Miller, Edwin Sanchez, Julian Sheppard, Saviana Stanescu, Caridad Svich, Daniel Talbott, Richard Topol, Ken Urban, Francine Volpe, Kim Weild, Sheri Wilner, and Primary Stages Literary Manager and Director of ESPA Tessa LaNeve, Associate Artistic Director Michelle Bossy, Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, and Founder and Executive Producer Casey Childs.

Now in its fifth year, ESPA offers classes in acting, writing, and directing taught by a faculty of established artists from all corners of the theater industry. In addition to receiving the highest caliber of artistic education, ESPA students have access to a supportive network of artistic peers, frequent collaborative opportunities, and countless other resources afforded to them by Primary Stages, now in its 27th season producing new works Off-Broadway.

Each session at ESPA offers five- to ten-week classes and weekend workshops, as well as specialty Master Classes with celebrated guest artists who have made profound contributions to the fields of acting, playwriting, and directing. Past Master Class instructors have included Charles Busch, Michael Cerveris, Neil LaBute, and Judith Light.

With the Spring 2012 session, ESPA will launch the Mary Louise Rockwell Work Study Scholarship in honor of extraordinary leader and long-time Primary Stages Board Member Louise Rockwell. Each year, five ESPA students will be selected for this distinguished award based on their commitment to their craft and generosity of spirit toward their peers and the school as a whole. The inaugural Mary Louise Rockwell Scholars are actors Patrice Bell and Anna Nugent, actor/playwrights David Brian Colbert and David Davila, and playwright Kristine M. Reyes.

Each scholarship underwrites the cost of one class in two adjacent semesters beginning in the Spring of 2012, as well as tickets to all Primary Stages productions. Based on their area of study, each recipient is paired with one professional artist each session for whom they will serve as a teaching assistant. Primary Stages has found that fostering strong mentor relationships further enriches students' artistic education while broadening the scope of their professional opportunities.
This Spring also marks the start of the second year of Detention, ESPA's monthly performance series of original theater pieces written, performed, and directed by ESPA students. Each Detention is overseen by a prominent theater artist who serves as guest advisor. Guest advisors for the Spring include Maria Mileaf, Lisa Rothe, Andrew Leynse, and West Hyler.

Enrollment for spring classes is now open to the public. To enroll, visit www.primarystages.org/espa, or contact Director of ESPA Tessa LaNeve at (212) 840-9705 x212 or via email at espa@primarystages.org.

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) is a multidisciplinary school with departments in acting, writing, and directing. Now in its fifth year, ESPA has refined actors who have been seen on and off-Broadway, developed writers whose work has won awards and received workshops and productions, and served as a professional and artistic home for emerging talent. ESPA is defined by its strong commitment to collaboration through programs such as Detention, a monthly performance series that partners ESPA writers, actors, directors, and a faculty advisor in the creation of a unique evening of theater. Having provided a home to nearly 1,400 students, ESPA has become a leader in performing arts education through its excellence in training, unique collaboration and networking opportunities, and strong professional community. ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers.

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. Under the leadership of Founder and Executive Producer Casey Childs, Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, and Managing Director Elliot Fox, we operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing individual playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work.

Primary Stages produces new plays at 59E59 Theaters, where we have been the Resident Theater Company since its inauguration in 2004. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 100 new plays, including Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate (Two 2009 Tony Award® nominations); Brooke Berman's Hunting and Gathering (one of New York Magazine's Top Ten Plays of 2008); Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (starring Nathan Lane and Marian Seldes) and The Stendhal Syndrome (featuring Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas); Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); David Ives' All in the Timing; and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut).

In 2008, Primary Stages was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, which encompasses much more than the plays we produce for the stage. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our two flagship programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group and the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative-connections within the theater community.

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes