LITERACY THROUGH THEATER our weeklong artistic
residencies for middle and high school students. The program is a
cross-curricular exploration of language, visual art, music, design and
acting. Teaching artists lead students in workshops, exercises and
discussions on the historical, cultural and social background of the play;
vocabulary study; improvisation and movement; explorations of plot,
character, and elements of the production. The work emphasizes teamwork,
communication, perspective and making choices rather than correct/incorrect
judgments. Teachers are encouraged to help us tailor the program to their
own and their students’ particular needs and objectives. Teachers experience
drama-based activities that can have a sustained impact on their teaching.
During the Literacy Through Theater program, all disciplines of theater are
explored and brought to life for the students, whose classroom work informs
not only their experience of the play, but also their experience of the
whole art form of theater. It is a rare chance for young people to learn on
several levels simultaneously. Per school: $5,000; Full tour: $250,000.
ADOPT AN ACTOR recognizes an outstanding actor returning to the
Company for a second season whose standard of excellence defines the mission
of the Company. This distinction and the donor’s name, if desired, would be
noted on our website, in printed materials and programs as we tour across
the country. It is not unusual for gifted actors to perform two or more
seasons. Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone began their careers with The Acting
Company, both performing with us for four years. Yearly stipend $50,000.
DIRECTOR'S FUND underwrites the cost of directing one of our two
touring shows per year. The Acting Company uses only the most talented
directors, such as Nicholas Martin who directed our 1999-2000 production of
The Rivals as well as having four other productions on the New York stage.
John Rando directed our 2000-2001 production of Trevor Nunn's musical
version of The Comedy of Errors. John also directed Neil Simon's Broadway
hit The Dinner Party and Urinetown. Yearly stipend $25,000. Sponsorship
would be noted in the programs of the 50-plus cities we play each year,
including New York.
THE ACTING COMPANY TRUCK is a moving billboard -- which travels
approximately 16,000 miles each season to more than 50 communities in over
30 states -- often staying for several days on a college campus or alongside
a downtown theater. The truck can be painted to include a corporate logo and
indicate that, "(corporation) is keeping The Acting Company on the road and
in the schools." Sponsorship $125,000 per five-month touring season.
NEW PLAY SERIES supports the development of new plays based on great
works of American fiction. Last year we presented the acclaimed adaptation
of Willa Cather's classic, O Pioneers! For the 2001-2002 season we presented Mark Twain's
Pudd'nhead Wilson followed in 2003-2004 by Studs Terkel’s American Dreams: Lost and
Found. This year, The Acting Company will produce Murder By Poe,
a new play by Jeffrey Hatcher. Yearly cost $50,000. All such plays would be billed as The Acting
Company production of (name) New Play Series.
ACTING COMPANY ALUMNI PRODUCTIONS feature members of The Acting
Company such as David Ogden Stiers, Shaft's Jeffrey Wright, Tony nominee
Frances Conroy, Law & Order's Jesse L. Martin or Patti LuPone who appeared
in our Alumni production of The Cradle Will Rock. Other alumni productions
include Ten By Tennessee, On the Verge and School for Scandal. These plays
premiere in New York before being added to our repertory and the donor's
name is attached whenever presented. $300,000 per production.
IN-SCHOOL STUDENT WORKSHOP PRODUCTION brings a one-hour performance
and discussion by professional actors into middle schools per year across
the country, reaching 25,000 students aged 10 to 14. Our actors present a
classical play with a "message" geared to pre-teens and teenagers. Last
season, for example, we presented Romeo and Juliet, dealing with
issues such as relationships between parents and children and how to break
the cycle of violence passed down through the generations. All materials,
including study guides, carry donor's name. Yearly underwriting $15,000.
SUMMER THEATRICAL INSTITUTE would train undergraduate acting students
in the rudiments of classical theater, providing them the skills to respond
to all theatrical demands no matter what the medium. Classes would include
text, voice speech, improvisation, movement, stage combat, dance and scene
study. Acting Company Alumni, including major artists from theater and film,
would teach master classes. The Institute is initially envisioned as a
Shakespeare Intensive. Naming opportunity: $1,500,000.
GALA UNDERWRITING provides visibility to sponsoring organizations on
all press materials, invitations, programs and signage while enabling The
Acting Company to direct all income to education programs for disadvantaged
youth in communities across America. The John Houseman Award and Joan
Warburg Humanitarian Award are presented to individuals whose contributions
have profoundly impacted the arts and humanities. The cost of the gala --
attended by 400 social, corporate and entertainment notables -- along with
sponsorship identity is $100,000. Tables for ten are available at $11,000
(includes ad in Program Journal); Corporate tables are $15,000 (prominently
featured full-page ad); $25,000 (cover ad) and $30,000 (outside cover ad)
including a prime table for ten.
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