Traveling Players Ensemble Brings Innovative Actor Training to DC Metro Area, High School Students Enroll Now

Traveling Players Ensemble trains actors like no other theatre in the DC metro region. Their programs are innovative, inclusive, and super fun! And transformative, too.

Their mission, to bring great theatre into the great outdoors, means high school actors perform "Shakespeare in the Park" in Shenandoah National Park while backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. These actors don't just create a show, but have adventures they will remember for the rest of their lives.

You may not have heard of Traveling Players, but people who know about actor training do. The National Endowment for the Arts named Traveling Players one of the nation's top 25 Summer Schools in the Arts and recommends that others follow their comprehensive curriculum as a model. Most other summer programs are simply too short to make the same kind of deep impact, or too large to offer the same level of individualized attention and challenges.

The Washington Post called them "a summer gem." Artistic Director Jeanne Harrison has taught at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Folger Shakespeare Library, and various universities. By focusing on classical theatre (Shakespeare, Moliere, and Commedia dell'Arte), Traveling Players trains performers who are bold, resourceful, and skilled. It's said that if you can act Shakespeare, you can act anything. If this is true, a summer at Traveling Players Ensemble trains you to act not just anything...but anywhere.

All the world is a stage, and this company travels with it's oldest students. The tours perform all over Virginia and beyond, combining high-profile venues like Colonial Williamsburg and Lime Kiln Amphitheater with state parks, summer camps, retirement homes, and children's hospitals, giving the actors unforgettable experiences - and community service hours!

Traveling Players specializes in the immersive experience, which is when transformations happen. Working in small ensembles of only 13 students, a trio of directors stage a classic, supported by a design team. Directors craft their rehearsals around their cast to ensure they build skills on stage -- and off. The ensemble nature of the program allows students to practice life skills that will allow them to be successful no matter what career route they ultimately choose. This holistic approach is unique in theatre circles.

The camp offers a range of programs for grades 3 to 12, ranging from one or two-week programs for the younger actors, to programs of four to seven weeks for teens.

This weekend Traveling Players will host auditions for its pre-professional programs, the Traveling Troupe and Commedia Troupe. These are the only programs that require an audition.

Did we mention that Traveling Players is local to the DC metro area? Its day camp is in residence at The Madeira School in McLean, VA. They provide transportation - on purple buses! - which is included in tuition. Once a week the actors pitch tents, cook over an open fire, and sleep under the stars. Whether bonding over s'mores or bringing 400 year-old Shakespearean stories to life, friendships are kindled, confidence nurtured, and actors transformed.

For more information, visit www.travelingplayers.org, call 703-987-1712, or email info@travelingplayers.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.