Actors Theatre of Louisville is hosting a summer intensive for local teens called New Voices. An intensive is a rigorous and multidisciplinary performing arts program that combines studies in acting, singing, and movement. New Voices will be hosted in collaboration with Universes, a national Ensemble Theater Company founded in the Bronx in 1995. Comprised of writers and performers of color, Universes combines theater with poetry, dance, jazz, hip-hop, and politics.
New Voices will expand on the success of the Universes show “Slanguage,” written by Steven Sapp, Gamal Chasten, Mildred Ruiz, Flaco Navaja, and Lemon Andersen, and developed and directed by Jo Bonney. Originally performed by Sapp, Chasten, Ruiz, and Ninja, teens who participate in New Voices will have the opportunity to collaborate with Universes in a bilingual workshop. The program will explore creative expression through writing, musically-infused poetic storytelling, rhythm, and dance.
High school students and recent high school graduates ages 14 to 19 who are interested in their own voices being part of the New Voices program are encouraged to apply. English, Spanish, and bilingual English-Spanish speakers will be included.
The intensive is June 18–29, with two-hour meeting sessions Tuesday–Saturday. The final rehearsal and performance onstage at the Bingham Theater is scheduled for the last day of the program, Saturday, June 29 at 4 p.m.
New Voices is supported by the LG&E and KU Foundation and the Norton Foundation, which allows Actors Theatre of Louisville to offer teens admission into the program on a sliding scale from $0 to $400 each. The amount selected by applicants will not effect their acceptance into the program.
Teens who are interested in New Voices should complete the online application with an adult guardian in order to be considered. The application is available on the Actors Theatre of Louisville site now. The deadline is May 24 and participants will be notified of their acceptance on a rolling basis, starting in mid-May.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 7, 2024.
