OLT OFFERS SUMMER ACTORS WORKSHOP TO PREPARE FOR FALL 30TH ANNIVERSARY BENSON AWARDS SHOW

OLT OFFERS SUMMER ACTORS WORKSHOP TO PREPARE
FOR FALL 30TH ANNIVERSARY BENSON AWARDS SHOW

WHAT: Ouachita Little Theatre (OLT) Summer Actors Workshop offering all of the skills involved in theater performances including auditioning, character development, stage acting, dialog, dialects, costuming, and set design and construction, in preparation for a stage show to commemorate 30 years of OLT plays at the semi-annual Benson Awards celebration

WHEN: July 21 through August 13, Tuesday and Thursday evenings
7:00 9:00 PM

WHERE: Ouachita Little Theatre, 610 Mena St. Mena, AR 71953

PARTICIPANTS: • Anyone interested in acting of any age (children under 8
must be accompanied by an adult at every session)
• OLT and Junior OLT members
• OLT staff directors; acting, dialect, and dialog coaches;
musical director, set design and construction experts

REGISTRATION INFO: $25.00 for non-OLT members, $15.00 for OLT and JOLT members ($5.00 of each registration pays for insurance for participants while in the theater)

Registration form available online at www.oltmena.com (Click on Workshops)

BACKGROUND: OLT actors' workshops help to develop local talent that will become part of the corps of performers in future OLT plays. Examples from last summer's event include Mae Block and Scott Vacca, who went on to perform The Importance of Being Earnest in the statewide community theater competition that won the OLT the 2009-10 state championship, with Vacca winning the Best Actor title.

This year's workshop performance target will be cuttings from popular plays performed at the OLT during the last thirty years, as this year the theater is celebrating that anniversary. The program that is developed in this year's workshop will be performed in September at the semi-annual Benson Awards, OLT's version of the Tony Awards.

The director of the OLT Actors Workshop will be Tim Hesse, another member of the state championship award winning team, who was given a Best Actor award when the team took the play to the regional competition in Kerrville, Texas. OLT's premier set designer and builder, Hesse is a theater school graduate from North Dakota. He will be backed up by a team of OLT's best, including dialect coach Janelle Baldwin; directors Brad Storey, and Best Director winner at the state competition, Larry Block; OLT president and music director, Judy Kropp; Mena High School drama department director Jessica Kropp; acting coach and Best Actress winner at the state competition Rebecca Fuller, and others.

Actors who performed in the plays, originally, are encouraged to attend the workshop and audition to re-create the roles they played in the past in the cuttings which will be picked. All ages may attend, but children under 8 will need to be accompanied by a parent at each session. Registration forms are available online atwww.oltmena.com (click on Workshops)

FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT: Tim Hesse at 479-243-0103, the OLT Information Line at 479-243-0186,
or visit the OLT website, www.oltmena.com