Deathtrap by Ira Levin: A NOT to be missed production!

Having opened last weekend, The Studio Theatre is thrilled about the next two weekends of their run of Ira Levin's Deathtrap. The thriller tells the story of Sidney Bruhl, a once successful murder mystery playwright whose inspiration has run dry. At the end of his rope with money running out, Sidney has invited to his home the fledgling playwright, Clifford, who has sent Sidney his first play for his appraisal. Realizing the plays potential as a sure-fire hit, Sidney proffers the idea of a collaboration to Clifford, but only as a guise. With the help of his wife, Myra, Sidney's plan is to hijack the play for himself. Hijinks and suspense ensue, with each twist of the plot. The crew of this production have out done themselves this go round with a stunning set unmatched by any other production to date at The Studio Theatre. Deathtrap is a comical, suspenseful tale with keyed up, hilarious performances by some of The Company's most talented actors; it is a production not to be missed. Come out and support your fellow actors and the arts here in Atlanta. The show runs October 12th, 13th, and 14th and October 19th, 20th and 21st.  Friday and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30. Come out and have a rollicking good time!

 http://www.thecompanyactingstudio.com/ShowTickets2.html

New Play Reading Club here at The Company Acting Studio!

There's a new and exciting venture we're kick starting here at The Company Acting Studio!  Our first play reading night will take place on Sunday, September 9th at 6 p.m.  In an effort to promote a deeper sense of community among the students in the various levels and to encourage the reading of great plays, we thought it would be a fabulous idea to start play reading nights in which everyone, regardless of level, will be able to participate.  I will be hanging a clipboard up in the lobby where any student may sign up if they're interested in participating. Once I have established how many people are going to participate, I will pick a play. The only requirement for participating is that you bring your own copy of the play to the play reading night. I will add the play to our online store and give you ample time to order it and have it shipped to you. I will try to choose a play that gives everyone an opportunity to read, but that may not always be possible. In the event that there are more people than cast, we will pull names from hats to see who will read on that night. As an actor, there is nothing more important than to be reading great playwrights and learning to analyze the great texts. This will be a fun way to get together as fellow actors and do just that and at the same time you can slowly grow your library of plays. It will take place in The Actor's Store on the theatre side of the studio and we'll have snacks and drinks for sale. So excited to meet those of you that I don't yet know! Look for the clipboard sign up sheet next week!

In Studio and Online Store!

Hello, all! I am happy to announce that I am now running The Actor's Store here at The Company Acting Studio! We carry plays and acting technique books as well as t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, bags and water bottles with The Company Acting Studio logo on them! Get your gear and let everyone know you're an actor and that you are a proud Company Acting Studio student! I've visited the classes over the last couple of weeks and solicited your suggestions for snacks and drinks that you would like to have available in the store. Many of you have thrown your suggestions in the box in the lobby. I will keep that up for any suggestions you may have in the future. By the end of this week, I'll be adding some of those suggested items to the store, so come by before class next week and grab a snack and a drink and look around! If you don't find the play, technique book or t-shirt you're looking for, I am happy to point you in the right direction. I've spent the last few weeks updating our online store and have added upwards of 300 items. You can get to our online store by going to www.thecompanyactingstudio.com and clicking on The Actor's Store link on the left hand side of the homepage or link direct from this page. Every Tony award nominated and Pulitzer Prize winning play is listed within its respective category. There is also another category for recommended plays and a category for technique books. If you'd like me to add a play to our store, please let me know, I am happy to do it!  Not sure where to start looking for that next play to read, come by, I am a self-described theatre fanatic! I love to talk about theatre!!!!

http://www.thecompanyactingstudio.com/TheActorsStore.html

Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel is Coming to The Studio Theatre in August

Rehearsals have started and excitement is in the air as The Studio Theatre's production of Intimate Apparel has begun to take shape under the direction of the insightful and talented Kristen Michelle Walker. I've not yet had the opportunity to sit in on a rehearsal, but I've heard the stirrings and everyone is throwing themselves passionately into this production. Intimate Apparel is the sad yet beautiful tale of Esther, a black woman at the turn of the century who sews fine lingerie for both wealthy women and ill-starred prostitutes. Longing for a companion and dreaming of owning a beauty shop of her own someday, Esther, armed with the optimism and determination of a child, socks away money little by little and writes to a man living 2000 miles away whom she's never met. Set against the backdrop of a time when cultural taboos and prejudice were customary, Intimate Apparel is, in one aspect, a story of the age-old, shared human yearning to connect with one another and the obstacles that prevent that connection. It is Esther's story of unceasing hope. An illuminating and inspiring play that is not to be missed. Tickets are on sale now! Opening night: Friday, August 10th! http://www.thecompanyactingstudio.com/ShowTickets.html

DINAH MANOFF TOMORROW NIGHT!

The weekend I've been anticipating for months has finally arrived! Tomorrow night in The Studio Theatre at The Company Acting Studio, Dinah Manoff will join us as the esteemed guest at the first Inside the Company Acting Studio. I have been an avid fan of Dinah Manoff's work since I first saw her in the supporting role of Karen in the Oscar lauded film Ordinary People. In one potently powerful scene, Ms. Manoff, who at the time was only 21, depicts this tragic character skating on the brink with heartbreaking acuteness. Two years later, she followed with a leading role in the film version of her Tony-winning role in Neil Simon's I Ought to be in Pictures. This film is one of my all time favorite films. I have seen it at least 20 times. As Libby, the buoyant and determined 19 year old who has come to California to pursue her dream of being an actress and connect with the father that left her as a child, Manoff depicts for the audience a complex character who is tough and emotionally impenetrable one minute and transparently vulnerable the next. The performance is poignant, funny and beautiful and one of the reasons I wanted to become an actress. Ms. Manoff has worked consistently throughout her career both in film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. The evening is open to any and everyone who loves film and theatre. It promises to be an insightful and interesting evening with an incredibly talented and successful actor/writer/director. Come join us tomorrow evening! Tickets are still available online or you can buy them at the door!

PETER PAN ARRIVES THIS WEEKEND!

A weekend of enchantment is approaching with The Studio Theatre's delightful production of J.M Barrie's Peter Pan. Opening Friday, May 11th, the opportunity arrives to step into a spellbinding world of flying and pirates and little boys longing for a home. "I flewed!" From Michael's excited exclamation as he lifts into the air, Peter Pan enchants with the magical tale of the Darling children and their yearning for adventure outside the walls of their nursery. As Stage Manager for this fun and energetic production, I have watched as director, assistant director, build crew, costume crew and actors, have tirelessly worked to bring this entrancing tale to life. Just to walk into the theatre is to step into the world of this timeless and moving play about the childlike desire to grow up intermixed with the conflicting desire to stay forever young. Children and adults alike will revel in this affecting and beautiful fairy tale. Come fly to Never Never Land wit us! The show runs May 11th-13th and tickets are selling fast. Get yours NOW! http://www.thecompanyactingstudio.com/ShowTickets2.html

SUPERIOR DONUTS IN TWO WEEKS!

Hello to all my fellow theatre enthusiasts! After a six-week hiatus, I'm back and blogging, and WHAT a six weeks it has been. Immediately following the sensational run of A Song for Coretta, the theatre was bustling again as we began rehearsals for not one, but two shows. First up, though, is the smart, emotive Superior Donuts, by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winning playwright, Tracy Letts. It is a contentious and impassioned story of two men who are fortuitously thrust together, transforming not only each other's lives, but also each other's worldviews. I've watched as the actors began to climb into the skin of their characters, tirelessly working to listen and observe, not only to their fellow actors, but also to what comes up as they are living in the moment with their own characters. I've listened to them work to cultivate the dialect and tone of their character's speech. It's been inspiring to be witness to their dedication. Last weekend our build crew came and spent the day making sure the set was meticulously built out for the actors to live inside of the world of this fantastic play. The costume crew and props crew showed up and our dressing room is now chock full of detailed ensembles and tools to bring the play to life. We here at The Studio Theatre can't wait to share this production with our audiences. For an intelligent and transfiguring night of theatre, Superior Donuts is not to be missed.

Come out and join us for A Song for Coretta's Second Weekend at The Company Acting Studio

Last weekend's audiences traveled with us on the journey through this engaging and telling play. We collectively felt all the emotions that well up in each of the characters as every one of them struggles to find direction through the shared connection to the late Coretta Scott King. Accompanying Helen, Zora, Gwen, Mona Lisa and the tough, yet heartbreaking Keisha, the emotion inevitably arises. The fourth wall having been dissolved early in the evening, by nights end, audience and cast, together, are all laughing, crying, clapping and singing as one. It is a show that I cannot recommend highly enough. Come once. You'll want to come experience it all again!

OPENING NIGHT!

A SONG FOR CORETTA OPENS TONIGHT! There is nothing quite like walking past a dressing room full of costumes hung neatly in their places on the rack; a prop table precisely marked with everything in its place; all the indicators of the start of a run. We had yet another extraordinary week of rehearsals; the actors working diligently for authenticity and truth in this beautiful play, and all the work paid off with last night's spectacular preview. Seeing everyone's hard work come together in front of our first audience was thrilling. Our preview audience couldn't have been more acute and invested in the story of these five women and the woman who inspired them, Mrs. Coretta Scott King. There were tears, laughter, singing and clapping! Do not miss this show! It will move and inspire you! You have four weekends to join us on this historical journey! Tickets on sale now!

REHEARSAL PICS!

Check out the Facebook page for pics from the first rehearsals of A Song for Coretta!

http://www.facebook.com/TheCompanyActingStudio

A Special Kind of People

There is nothing quite like the palpable and ever increasing vitality that surrounds a group of people that are passionate about taking a play from page to stage. The company of people involved in this beautiful production of A Song for Coretta are no exception. From the build crew to the costume crew to the actors, this passionate band of artists takes great pride in the work they are doing to bring this affecting tale to the awaiting audience. Last weekend, we had a fantastic couple of days of set building and the subtle, understated set offers the perfect setting for this poignant story, putting the audience in the world of these five women as they stand outside of Ebenezer Baptist Church, in the rain, waiting to honor the late brave champion of civil rights, Coretta Scott King. The actors have now seamlessly immersed themselves into this new world, resulting in even deeper and more powerful moments happening on stage.

I also had the pleasure of working with three actresses who have written, in collaboration with our director, Lisina Stoneburner, an original piece to be performed prior to the beginning of A Song for Coretta. These talented actors have each written ardent monologues about the impassioned views that each of their diverse characters takes on the subject of Coretta Scott King and the Civil rights movement; offering a history with different points of view. This specially composed passion piece, A Special Kind of People, is not to be missed. Come early and let these characters prepare you for an unforgettable night of theatre. We look forward to seeing you all there and sharing the experience with you! We open February 3rd! Reserve your seats NOW!

Theatre Enthusiasts Everywhere! Welcome to The Studio Theatre Blog!

Hello, fellow theatre lovers! I am ecstatic to be writing my first post for The Studio Theatre blog. I'm Melissa, your official blogger, and we here at The Company Acting Studio are beyond excited to be launching our first FULL season in The Studio Theatre.
The theatre is abuzz with energy as we commence with our first show of the season.
Opening on Friday, February 3rd, The Company Acting Studio presents A Song for Coretta written by Atlanta's own Pearle Cleage.
With February being Black History Month, we thought it only fitting to choose a play that related both the struggles and triumphs of the Civil Rights movement. Cleage's A Song for Coretta does this with both zeal and tenderness. The story is told from the diverse viewpoints of five black women as they stand in line waiting to pay their respects to the late Coretta Scott King. Beliefs and attitudes collide as the five women, all different ages and from different walks of life, converse on the impact Coretta Scott King had on the Civil Rights movement and on their lives. Told with simple but poignant imagery and stirring renditions of song that will move you to the core, this affecting and relatable play is not to be missed.

Director, Lisina Stoneburner, has assembled a sensational cast as passionate about this play as their characters are of their convictions. Rehearsals are underway and as Assistant Director of this play I am witness to the beautiful moments and connections being made even in this early stage of the rehearsal process.

Set build is coming up this weekend, as are more rehearsals. I'll keep you guys posted! It's all so exciting! The muses communicating.....the creativity flowing....... Stay tuned!