8/19/96
Contact: Toni Dorfman (614/593-4814) or Liz Shaw (614/593-9355) at Ohio University; Ed Stern, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park producing artistic director, (513/345-2242)
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio University School of Theater MFA professional actor training program and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park have launched a new partnership.
The Cincinnati program will serve as the new year-long internship for third-year MFA acting students. The eight to 10 students will form the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park/Ohio University Intern Company, serving as resident artists at the Playhouse, which typically brings in outside professional actors for its productions. Ohio University students began rehearsals in Cincinnati Aug. 5.
"For two years, they work hard and undergo systematic training here on campus, and then they get a solid year of performing in a major regional playhouse," said Toni Dorfman, director of the School of Theater.
The students will serve as understudies, participate in the company's outreach touring company, and participate in a two-week, 14-performance rotating repertory of two shows. The students will continue their training under Bert Goldstein, the organization's new director of education and programming, and visiting national and international professionals such as New York talent agent Nancy Curtis, who will offer a unit on auditions. Students also will study stage combat techniques with renowned combat training expert Drew Fracher.
"It's an outstanding professional experience for our students. As any internship should, it will serve as an important bridge between the academic and professional worlds," said Barbara Redmond, associate professor of theater and head of the MFA professional actor training program. "We feel very confident about putting our students under the wing of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. We know they'll do the right thing by our students."
Several Ohio University students already have been cast in the season opener, "The Notebook of Trigorin," which will feature actress Lynn Redgrave. The play is Tennessee Williams' adaptation of Chekhov's "The Seagull." The performance is the U.S. premiere of the play, which has been guarded by Williams' estate since his death in 1983. The show runs Sept. 5 to Oct. 4. Tony Award-winning stage designer Ming Cho Lee will design the set for the production.
The internship program will allow the Playhouse to expand its programming, according to Ed Stern, producing artistic director. Initial plans to add at least three new outreach programs for youth will extend the organization's reach far beyond the current 22,000 children who see the company's performances each year.
"Having students with their aliveness and eagerness to learn is always positive for any arts organization," Stern said. "It sharpens our wits, and makes us eager to learn more and impart more."
The partnership marks the acting internship program's move from the Cleveland Play House, which established a similar partnership with the School of Theater in 1990. The move follows changes in the Cleveland company's collaborative arrangements, Dorfman said. Stage management and design students will continue to serve internships at the Cleveland Play House as well as at other locations, including New York, Cincinnati and the Royal National Theatre.
In its 37th season, the not-for-profit Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park offers 11 productions during a 10-month season and attracts more than 192,000 people annually to its two theaters, the 629-seat Robert S. Marx Theatre and the 220-seat Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre. One of the country's first regional theaters, the Playhouse is known nationally for drawing prestigious actors to its stage, including Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Cicely Tyson, Henry Winkler and Patty Duke.