Spotlight on a New Generation: 2005-2006 Season

Actors Theatre of Louisville

Twelfth Night

Actors Theatre of Louisville, the award-winning State Theatre of Kentucky, has emerged as one of America’s most consistently innovative theater companies. Its education department, now in its fourth year, has several key programs combining in-classroom work with live theater experience; more than 11,000 students participated in education programs provided by Actors Theatre last year through the Actors in the Classroom, Playwriting in the Schools, and Youtheatre programs.

Through [the Shakespeare in American Communities program], Actors Theatre’s program will build new partnerships with schools, the district, and the community…the grant will allow the Theatre to expand student participation by 50%, including the ability to better prepare and educate the nearly 700 Youtheatre participants…[who] are from underserved areas and populations.  - Actors Theatre of Louisville

In September and October 2005, the company conducted educational activities and performances of the comedy Twelfth Night at 20 schools and 16 community venues. In all, 45 performances were given and 112 educational activities conducted, reaching more than 4,000 youths and children. In-school and after-school activities afforded students the opportunity to interact with professional actors and production staff, and included pre- and post-performance workshops emphasizing text analysis, interactive theater exercise, and playwriting. In collaboration with the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the Actors Theatre sent participating teachers and community center coordinators through the Festival’s teacher training institute.

The students’…understanding of Shakespeare grew as they went from seeing the play, then working on scenes from Twelfth Night and rewriting them in their own words that they later got to present to their community. The students were so proud of what they had done and their confidence in being able to understand a difficult subject grew as they got closer to their performance. - Actors Theatre of Louisville

Participating schools and community organizations included:

• Bullitt East High School, Mt. Washington, KY
• Butler Traditional High School, Louisville, KY
• Childplace Children’s Services, Jeffersonville, IN
• Crawford County High School, Marengo, KY
• Eastern High School, Louisville, KY
• Fairdale High Community School, Fairdale, KY
• Floyd County Youth Shelter, New Albany, IN
• Grayson County High School, Leitchfield, KY
• Helping Our Own Kids (HOOK), Louisville, KY
• Home of the Innocents, Louisville, KY
• Iroquois High Community School, Louisville, KY
• Kammerer Middle School, Louisville, KY
• Kentucky Country Day School, Louisville, KY
• Louisville Central Community Center, Louisville, KY
• Lighthouse Community Center, Louisville, KY
• Marion County High School, Lebanon, KY
• Mary Ryan Academy, Louisville, KY
• Maryhurst, Inc., Louisville, KY
• Myers Middle Youth Shelter, Louisville, KY
• Noe Middle School, Noe, KY
• North Bullitt High School, Shepherdsville, KY
• Oldham County High School, Buckner, KY
• Our Saviour Lutheran School, Louisville, KY
• Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Louisville, KY
• Portland Promise Center, Louisville, KY
• St. Albert the Great School, Louisville, KY
• Seneca High School, Louisville, KY
• Silvercrest Children’s Development Center, New Albany, IN
• Trinity High School, Louisville, KY
• Winburn Middle School, Lexington, KY
• YNOW Children’s Services, Louisville, KY