Five New Spaces Available

In Summer Acting Workshop

FAIRFIELD — Shakespeare Ventures, a professional theatre company on the Fairfield University campus, has opened five new spaces for student actors in its popular Summer Acting Workshop, a month-long program for ages 9 through 19.

The workshop will run weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm, Wednesday, July 5, through Saturday, July 29, at the University’s PepsiCo Theatre. No auditions are necessary for enrollment; actors are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis.

Now in its fourth year, the four-week Shakespeare Ventures workshop provides a welcoming environment for creative thinkers who wish to explore theatre. The program, open to young actors of all skill levels, emphasizes ensemble work and encourages self-exploration.

Workshop activities include movement, improvisation, stage combat and scene work, all with an eye to finding the modern-day relevance of Shakespeare’s text.

The effects of the workshop are far-reaching. Student actors from the program become more poised and confident, while their parents report a stronger focus for schoolwork, as well as better grades.

Workshop staff members are all working theater artists, each with a different specialty. Doug Durlacher’s expertise includes stage combat, Danielle Liccardo is a stage movement specialist, and Kathleen Mooney focuses on improvisation and ensemble building.

This summer, in addition to the workshop, Shakespeare Ventures will present its second professional production, Shakespeare’s comic tour de force Twelfth Night, at the PepsiCo Theatre. Lynne Porter, Artistic Director, will direct the production.

For more information, visit ShakespeareVentures.com or contact Ms Porter at 203-254-4000, extension 3406. Interested students whose schedules make them unavailable to commit to all four weeks should call, as the workshop can sometimes work around arranged absences.