Guthrie Theater's Summer Training Program For M.F.A. Actors Resumes In 2022

The Guthrie Theater today announced the return of its summer acting program, A Guthrie Experience, following a four-year hiatus. Founded in 1997 under the leadership of Kenneth Washington, A Guthrie Experience brings M.F.A. actors from around the country to the Twin Cities for a seven-week intensive and performance experience.

Designed to cultivate future leaders of the American theater, the experience includes voice, movement and acting, professional mentorship, cultural immersion in the vibrant Twin Cities theater community and an opportunity to develop a bold, new work for the stage. Notable alumni include Mahershala Ali (1999), Sterling K. Brown (2000), Ricardo Chavira (1999) and Emily Swallow (2003), among others. The renowned program is now led by Guthrie Director of Education and Professional Training Maija García.

Artistic Director Joseph Haj said, "Thanks to the visionary leadership of former Director of Company Development Kenneth Washington and Artistic Director Joe Dowling, A Guthrie Experience has had a profound impact on the careers of dozens of stage actors and on our field. After a multi-year hiatus, it is an absolute joy to welcome these vibrant artists into our theater community and witness this vital program reemerge with ingenuity and intention in Maija García's hands."

"This experience offers serious artists a unique opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas, interrogate practices and hone their craft," said Maija García. "We invited many of the Twin Cities' most influential artists into our creative process. It's a thrill to be in such smart company as we engage in a play by the most prolific female playwright of the Spanish Golden Age."

The 2022 Guthrie Experience program will culminate with five public performances of the plot-twisting drama Valor by Ana Caro de Mallén y Soto, translated by Barbara Fuchs and Diversifying the Classics/UCLA, and directed and adapted by Maija García. In Valor, Caro - a celebrated poet and playwright of the Spanish Golden Age - captures the spirit of comedy and the rapture of romance while interrogating the 17th-century notions of masculinity, nobility and honor through a radical vision of women's agency.

The 2022 Guthrie Experience participants include Clew (Brown University/Trinity Rep), Myka Cue (Brown University/Trinity Rep), Rodd Cyrus (The Julliard School), Oye Ehikhamhen (UCLA), Noelle Franco (UCLA), Junior Nyong'o (University of California San Diego), Abigail C. Onwunali (Yale University), Nick Saxton (Columbia University), Jeremy Spektor (California Institute of the Arts), Rachel Towne (New York University).

The creative team for Valor includes Maija García (Director), Mina Kinukawa (Scenic Designer), Sara Bahr (Costume Designer), Karin Olson (Lighting Designer), Jaime Lupercio (Sound Designer), JD Steele (Music Director), Annie Enneking (Fight Choreographer), Julia Cervera (Props Designer), Miko S. Simmons (Design Consultant), Carla Steen (Resident Dramaturg), and Abigail C. Onwunali (Assistant Director).

Valor will play August 3-7, 2022, in the Dowling Studio. Tickets are $20 and on sale now through the Box Office at 612.377.2224, 1.877.447.8243 (toll-free) or online at guthrietheater.org. An ASL-interpreted and audio-described performance will be available.

All audience members, regardless of age, must wear a mask that securely covers the nose and mouth (no bandanas, neck gaiters or face shields) when entering and inside the Dowling Studio. A complete list of Guthrie requirements is available at www.guthrietheater.org/health.

The Guthrie Theater acknowledges that it resides on the traditional land of the Dakota People and honors with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations, including the Ojibwe and other Indigenous nations.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) is an American center for theater performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to producing a mix of classic and contemporary plays and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Under Haj's leadership, the Guthrie is guided by four core values: Artistic Excellence; Community; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; and Fiscal Responsibility.

Since its founding in 1963, the theater has continued to set a national standard for excellence in the field and serve the people of Minnesota as a vital cultural resource. The Guthrie houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms, restaurants and dramatic public spaces. guthrietheater.org

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