Actors Theatre of Louisville, in partnership with the Louisville Tool Library, presents Stagecraft Tools For The Apocalypse, a once-monthly learning series of purposeful, hands-on workshops. The goal of this series is to teach skills acquired through experience in theatre that would be handy to know during an apocalypse. Sewing is the hot topic on April 13, or more specifically, how to sew on a button, mend a tear, and add decorative patches. Each monthly session will train a new expertise and the steps to hone that skill for your future (apocalyptic) reference. The workshop is free for members of Actors Theatre of Louisville or the Louisville Tool Library and is only $10 for non-members.
Actors Theatre Interim Artistic Director Amelia Acosta Powell came up with the idea for the series. The Actors’ team and community feedback have been highlighting many are struggling with feelings of isolation, disconnection, and uncertainty about the future. The theatre team inherently is a group with a wide range of skills that can be applied to other areas of life beyond the stage, so they came up with three categories: sustainability, survival, and joy for the workshop series. While the language of “apocalypse” could sound extreme or dramatic, mutual aid and skills sharing have been critical to our region when events occur like the recent extreme weather or even the onset of the COVID pandemic, and the group felt this series would serve the community well.
The workshops are geared towards adults 18+ and all are welcome – no special skills are necessary, and facilitators are available to assist with more advanced projects.
Actors Theatre partnered with the Louisville Tool Library to present this series. Emily Tarquin, Interim Managing Director of Louisville Tool Library, shared that “It is clear as someone deeply involved with both organizations, that there is alignment between the Louisville Tool Library and Actors Theatre of Louisville. When LTL surveyed Members, classes and workshops were at the top of the list of what people wanted more, and unlocking human potential through lifelong learning is one of the aspirations of ATL. If you mashed up our missions you would get one focused on community, education, and access and together we can combine our resources and serve our collective communities even more!”
Workshop details:
Sunday, April 13 – Hand Sewing Basics
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Louisville Tool Library
1227 Logan Street
Are you tired of fast fashion but don’t know how to make the most of the clothes already in your closet? Or perhaps you found a rare vintage gem while thrifting, but it’s missing a couple of buttons, and you’re afraid to attempt a repair? Join Actors Theatre Costume Shop Supervisor Anna Jenny, Props Supervisor Katelin Ashcraft, and Production Technician Jessica Hughes to learn how to sew a button, create a travel sewing kit, and mend an item with a decorative patch. Drop in for one tutorial, or hang out for the full afternoon and experience all three. All necessary supplies are provided on-site, but participants are welcome to bring personal projects and receive support.
Upcoming event at Actors Theatre:
A new, audience-interactive show called FDR’s Very Happy Hour, running April 23-26 is up next. Inspired by FDR’s love of stirring up drinks and lively conversation to unwind in challenging times, this immersive new play mixes humor and history to build on this tradition for our era, asking how the 32nd President’s triumphs and failures might illuminate our own civic health. This project prioritizes exploring the creation of an accessible experience for the fullest human spectrum possible. Captioning, ASL Interpretation, and design of the physical space for wheelchair access are part of the show. This workshop is part of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Storytelling (r) Evolution Lab, which is a space of artistic experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and new play development. FDR’s Very Happy Hour will receive support through a two-week workshop culminating in several work-in-progress sharings, where audiences will be invited into the process to experience this new play in development.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2025.