For Immediate Release
Contact: Theresa M. MacNaughton, tmacnaughton@hartfordstage.org
Office: 860-520-7114

Education @ Hartford Stage to launch Youth Acting Program in Avon in September    

HARTFORD, CT — August 27, 2018 — Education @ Hartford Stage will launch a new series of acting classes for youth at The Complete Actor Studio, located at the Riverdale Farms Shoppes in Avon, next month. Three classes for youth ages 7 to 14 will be offered at the new location, which will provide convenience and increased access for families residing in northern Hartford County towns – including Avon, Canton, Granby and Simsbury – to Education @ Hartford Stage programming. 

The creation of this new program sprung from a longstanding relationship with The Complete Actor Studio’s owner and artistic director Erica Lubonta. The youth acting classes at Lubonta’s studio, which will be led by Hartford Stage teaching artists, will help introduce new students to the rich resources both organizations have to offer.

“We are so excited to be working with Erica and The Complete Actor Studio in this new capacity. Erica has taught in our Studio for several years, and we quickly discovered that the way we approach theatre education is quite similar,” said Jennifer Roberts, Director of Education for Hartford Stage. “This new partnership came out of the conversation: how can we work together to make our programs accessible to as many kids as possible? Our hope is that these classes introduce new students and families to both studios.”

Lubonta said, "I am very excited about this relationship.  Hartford Stage has always been synonymous with excellence. As a teaching artist for the Education department, I have worked with the best professionals around.  I know they will bring quality performing arts experiences that will greatly benefit families in the area."  

The Complete Actor Studio is located at 136 Simsbury Road, Building 16, in Avon. For more information on the new youth acting program, visit https://www.hartfordstage.org/education/youth-studio-classes/#fall-avon, or call Grace Clark, Education Enrollment and Marketing Coordinator, at 860-520-7244. 

HARTFORD STAGE

Now in our 55th season, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 21,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.    

# # #