East Lynne Theater Company Offers Free Acting Classes

On Friday March 23 from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. the award winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company will present an acting class taught by actor/director/writer, Tom Byrn.  

His focus for the class will be improvisation and the basics of scene work. Although the class is free, reservations are recommended – and wear comfortable clothes. The location is The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St. in Cape May, where East Lynne Theater Company (ELTC) is in residence.

Tom was in ELTC's production of "He and She" last summer, receiving an excellent review in "The Wall Street Journal," and was one of the guest teachers for ELTC's Student Summer Workshop.  Also for ELTC, he performed in "The Dictator" and "The Ransom of Red Chief" adapted by artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth. He helped Cape May celebrate its 400th Anniversary by being in "People of Cape May v. Johan van Buren" written by Judge Frank Visser from The Netherlands, and is working on a play, "Historical Spout Offs," based on editorials from local Cape May newspapers printed before 1920.  ELTC has already had two public staged readings of the work.  Currently, he is in rehearsal for "A Wrinkle in Time" at The People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, PA.  Prior to that he directed "The Living Newspaper," a new play with music about the WPA Federal Theater for Mad River Theater in Ohio, and played Caliban/Gonzalo in "The Tempest" at Act II Playhouse in Ambler, PA.  He has worked with many Philadelphia area theater companies, and was an ensemble member at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble for eleven years. Tom is a coeditor of "Letters to the Editor: 200 Years in the Life of an American Town," published by Simon & Schuster.

ELTC is able to offer this class to the Cape May community due to funding from "The Stages Festival."

"The Stages Festival," now in its 15th season, is a month-long, state-wide celebration of theater with discounted and/or free tickets to all events. The organization responsible for this much anticipated program is the New Jersey Theatre Alliance (NJTA): the statewide consortium of professional theaters in the Garden State, of which East Lynne Theater Company is a proud member. For an up-to-the-minute schedule, visit the website at www.stagesfestival.org.

As usual, ELTC provides performances and workshops for "The Stages Festival" both in and out of Cape May County, and all are admission-free except the March 16 and 17 performances of "Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Norwood Builder," and even then, two-for-one tickets are available on Friday March 16.

Also funded through "The Stages Festival" is the student performance of "The Wizard of Oz" on Thursday March 29 at 7:00 p.m. at West Cape May Elementary School, 301 Moore St., in West Cape May, directed by Gayle Stahlhuth.  

To make reservations for the acting class and "The Wizard of Oz," call ELTC at 609-884-5898 or go online towww.eastlynnetheater.org.

ELTC's shows for "The Stages Festival" that are beyond Cape May County include Robert Aberdeen's popular "Victorian Magic" which will appear at libraries at Point Pleasant, Lavallette, and Surf City, and "The Norwood Builder" goes to libraries in Mahwah, Toms River, and Barnegat.

Also in March, Michele LaRue's anti-suffrage satire written 100 years ago, "Someone Must Wash the Dishes," will travel to Wilton, CT, due to The League of Women Voters, a library in Katonah, NY, and several libraries in Illinois. For a complete schedule of all ELTC shows on the road go to: http://eastlynnetheater.org/news.html.

NJTA's "Stages Festival" is a co-sponsored project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Discover Jersey Arts is a Marketing Partner. Additional sponsors are Bank of America and The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. Additional support has been provided by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, The Prudential Foundation, The F.M. Kirby Foundation, The George Ohl, Jr. Foundation, The Grotta Fund for Senior Care of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest of NJ, The HMS Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, and The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement

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