Arena Stage Announces 2016-17 Actors Arena Workshops, Discussions

Arena Stage announces the 2016/17 programming for Actors Arena, a membership-based forum for professional D.C.-area actors.

Now entering its eighth year, the program features monthly workshops, master classes and roundtable conversations with nationally-renowned theater artists at the Mead Center for American Theater, providing experienced artists the opportunity to hone and develop skills, explore relevant issues and deepen their artistry. Actors Arena aims to provide a space for dialogue and artistic growth, with the goal of inspiring, rejuvenating and strengthening the D.C. theater community.

Programming for the upcoming year features participation from guest artists including Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz; Forum Theatre Producing Artistic Director Michael Dove; dancer, choreographer and director Christopher d'Amboise; director David Catlin and choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi; directors Jackie Maxwell, Shana Cooper and Timothy Douglas; actor, writer and director Eugene Lee; and actors Chris Bloch, Rick Foucheux, Naomi Jacobson and Holly Twyford.

"Actors Arena is a group effort, run in collaboration with the artists themselves to provide opportunities for established actors to continue to learn, from each other and other area artists," says Smith. "Washington, D.C. is so rich with artists, and Arena is pleased to provide this opportunity to bring these artists together to explore ideas and hone their crafts."

Actors Arena held its first meeting in 2009 and has since served more than 500 professional D.C.-area actors. Smith, Arena Stage Director of Community Engagement Anita Maynard-Losh and local actress Naomi Jacobson conceived the initiative as a way to address the needs of the D.C. artistic community, specifically addressing what actors wanted in terms of resources and connecting with other local artists. The current steering committee consists of Naomi Jacobson, Sean-Maurice Lynch, Larry Redmond, Jefferson Russell, Stephen F. Schmidt, Dorea Schmidt and Kimberly Schraf.

Previous events hosted by Actors Arena have covered topics including on-camera techniques, classical acting, hip-hop theater, filmed auditions, musical theater, writing and improvisation, Actors' Equity, body image, artistic stamina, the Alexander Technique, stage combat, character development, audience integration principles, movement work and improvisation.

Professional actors interested in requesting an application for Actors Arena should email actorsarena@arenastage.org.

Actors Arena 2016/17 Schedule

Greenroom Discussion with Molly Smith
September 2016
Sit down with Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith as she speaks on the importance of creating a professional development program, such as Actors Arena, for the Washington, D.C. arts community.

Moving Story Workshop with Christopher d'Amboise
October 2016
Moving Story is a choreographic exploration of movement, gesture, emotion and abstraction focused on expanding the awareness of expression of emotion, character, story and mood in theatrical context. Guests are welcome to participate or observe.

Greenroom Discussion with Howard Shalwitz and Michael Dove
November 2016
Join Artistic Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Howard Shalwitz and Forum Theatre Producing Artistic Director Michael Dove as they share insight on creating and portraying character.

The Actors Gymnasium Discussion & Workshop with David Catlin and Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi
November 2016
Meet the award-winning team that created Moby Dick. Join Adaptor/Director David Catlin and Aerial/Acrobatic Choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi of The Actors Gymnasium as they discuss the value of collaborative art, the importance of being a multi-disciplinary performer and the maintenance needed to keep a long-term professional partnership. The Actors Gymnasium uses a distinctive multi-disciplinary, ensemble-based process to create their critically acclaimed and award-winning shows.

Scene Investigation of Classic Plays Workshop with Jackie Maxwell
January 2017
This hands-on workshop with director Jackie Maxwell will focus on how to build and orchestrate long and intricate scenes from early/mid-century classic plays, including Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine and The Little Foxes.

World at Large Greenroom Discussion, Ten Chimneys Foundation
February 2017
Join local actors, including Chris Block, Rick Foucheux, Naomi Jacobson and Holly Twyford, as they discuss their successes and challenges faced performing in the world beyond the D.C. theater community, as well as their experience as Lunt-Fontanne Fellows participating in the Ten Chimneys Experience-Mentoring the Mentors retreat.

Essence Work with Shana Cooper
March 2017
Director Shana Cooper leads a workshop on her core artistic method, "Essence Work," which explores the use of non-verbal performance to challenge the physical, visual and aural landscapes of a play. Through this method, actors will be empowered to operate from instinct impulse and access visceral expressions.

Freeing the Natural Actor Workshop with Timothy Douglas
April 2017
Based on the work of Kristin Linklater, this movement-based lecture/demonstration culminates with select participants being given the opportunity to work on several lines of Shakespearean verse with director Timothy Douglas.

Discussion with Actor, Writer & Director Eugene Lee
May 2017
Actor, writer and director Eugene Lee leads a discussion on what it takes to start and keep a successful career in film and stage. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Lee is considered a "Wilsonian Warrior" for his work as an actor in the plays of August Wilson (he has performed in eight of Wilson's 10 cycles). Lee's credits include work with The Negro Ensemble Company, Goodman Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Arena Stage.

Actors Arena is generously supported by the Actors' Equity Foundation.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays and impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its seventh decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. Visit arenastage.org.

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