Sondra Morton's Act Too Players Gears Up for a 2012 Jam-Packed With New Classes and Shows

With the start of a new year, things are really heating up for the Franklin-based Act Too Players, the training program for younger actors that's affiliated with Boiler Room Theatre, the First Night Award-winning Outstanding Theatre Company of 2011, and run by Sondra Morton (who does double duty as operations manager at BRT). Already, Morton and her team of actors, artisans, designers and all manner of creative types are hard at work on a trio of productions that usher in 2012 and looking ahead to so much more on the horizon in the new year.

Which begs the question: How does she do it? Seriously, how does Sondra Morton manage to keep all those plates spinning, all those balls in the air and all those fledgling egos in check? Somehow, she found some time to sit down and answer our questions about Act Too and what all goes into her own creative process-and how the mother of two is able to do so gracefully and efficiently…

So, what's in store at Act Too this year? Act Too Players has seen great growth in numbers since our move to the Factory at Franklin with this growth has come increased interest in classes other than our well known musical theatre production classes.

Beginning with our Spring Semester we have added classes on Saturday with some being open to adults. The summer marks our 10th year in existence a fact that we are very proud about especially with such economic hardships being felt in the community. Quite frankly, our hope for Act Too is continued growth: in student numbers and class offerings. Our goal is to continue to offer the premier musical theatre experience in Williamson County.   

We have Musical Theatre Classes for All Ages. These classes are full production classes with students having the opportunity to experience all that goes into mounting a fully staged show. The students will experience everything from auditioning to technical rehearsals to productions open to the public. We will be offering The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley for ages 7-9. We will be offering You're a Good Man Charlie Brown for ages 10-13. We will be offering Sweeney Todd: School Edition for grades 9-12 and Forbidden Broadway will be for ages 14 and up.

We are offering Musical Theatre Dance, Beginning Tap, and Beginning Jazz Class. Every actor strives to become a "triple threat"-someone who can act, sing, and dance! We are also offering Acting Techniques, Costume Design, Scenic Painting/Design, and Comedy Improv taught by some of Nashville's best. This spring semester we have class offerings on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

How do you make decisions about what you'll be doing in a given year? How do you select shows, for example? Oftentimes our decision come down to what shows have been recently released. We also try to keep an eye out for what shows are happening in the area. The kids also play a big factor into which shows are chosen. We want to produce works and classes that they are interested in so we do take the time to hear why they think a certain show would be good choice for our youth theatre program. Of course there are times that we choose a show just because we like the show which was certainly the case for our Spring Show for our teens. We choose both Forbidden Broadway and Sweeney Todd School Edition because we love the book and music for Sweeney Todd and that Forbidden Broadway would balance out the intensity of Sweeney. 

The classes that are offered are a combination of what we think the kids should be learning and what they want to take. We are still developing the best times for our class offerings but we hope to see a great many students in our doors that may not want to be a part of a full musical production. 

Are there any new classes or instructors joining the gang in 2012? We have several new teachers joining us this Spring including the wonderful Pam Atha, who is a well-known Nashville choreographer. She has been a force in Nashville for many years and her skill and talent are a sizable addition to our program.  We are extremely lucky and proud to have Pam on board with us. She will be teach a jazz and tap class for teens and adults. 

Our dance instructors (Bakari King and Pam Atha) represent some of the best working musical theatre choreographers in the Nashville Area. These instructors are consistently working and receiving accolades for their intense, creative, and skillful choreography. Every actor strives to become a "triple threat" of someone who can sing, act, and dance! To help you become a better dance and to get through that next "Dance Callback." take this class and learn some skills that will help you land that dream role. 

Katie Delaney is coming on board. Her costume design credits include designing for theatres such as Boiler Room Theatre, Hangar Theatre, and Orpheus Theatre.We are thrilled to have someone with her talent and abilities to join our program to teach our two design classes. She will be teaching a Scenic Painting/Set Design Class and a Costume Design/Construction class on Saturdays. Our Production Classes will have pratical application as designs will be used in actual Act Too Players productions. Students will be actively involved in selecting design elements and construction. 

Georgia Hemrick will also be joining our team. She is a graduate from Middle Tennessee State University where she received a degree in Theatre Performances and more recently a degree in Education. She will be teaching an Acting Techniques/Scene Prep class. Our Acting Classes are developed to hone an actor's skill on stage. We offer classes for every level of development from Audition, Monologue, and Scene Work.

Our current instructors are all still teaching this Spring which include Bakari King (Musical Theatre Dance, Choreographer, and Comedy Improv!), Jamey Green (Musical Direction in Sweeney Todd), and myself (Musical Theatre Classes). 

How do you manage to put up multiple shows at essentially the same time? A lot of planning goes into to managing all of the elements required to mount a production for multiple classes. Our Spring Classes and Shows were planned last September and we are currently working on scheduling our our 2012 Fall Semester. 

I am fortunate to have an parent organization that is involved with Act Too Players and they are called the Parent Stagers. The Parent Stagers have been incredibly vital to keeping the prop, costume, and scenic design all on task. The head of Parent Stagers, Laura Dyra, is great personal friend, who  has learned how to track me down in order to find out answers about props and deadlines. With the growth of Act Too they have been invaluable to maintaining the order of everything. 

How many kids have gone through the program since you started? Since 2002, I have had hundreds of kids pass through the program. Many of these kids are families and repeat students. One of my favorite things about Act Too is the community. We have many families and repeat students year after year and Act Too truly becomes a home away from home. One student, Addison said that "You don't come to Act Too looking for friends, friends are here waiting for you" which is something I am most proud of. 

 

Are your own kids involved?  I have two children and they are both involved in Act Too Players. My daughter, Alexondra, 10, has been participating in Act Too Players since she was 5 and it has been a true blessing to see her grow and mature not only as a performer but also as an individual. She has been in shows every semester and says "that it's the greatest place to be." My son, Logan (6) has only been in the summer show, but is hoping to attempt to participate again this Spring. He does tae-kwon-do and football, but he is often at so many rehearsals that he usually learns the show too and now just wants to be able to do the show on stage with all of his friends. 

For more information about Act Too Players' 2012 offerings, visit the company website at www.acttooplayers.com

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