Acting out with Kentucky Rep

By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times

HORSE CAVE December 31, 2008 09:26 am

— Kentucky Repertory Theatre will offer six-session workshops in acting and playwriting during the winter and spring.
Acting I, a beginning acting class, will be taught by Donna Freeburn, from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday from Jan. 13 to Feb. 17.
A follow-up to the first class, Acting II, will be a scene study class for both beginning students and those with a little experience. It will be taught also by Freeburn from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday from Feb. 24 to March 31.
Playwriting will be taught by Liz Fentress, a former member of the theater’s acting company. Fentress performed at the theater from 1989 to 1998 and has taught the playwriting class since 2003. Dates for the playwriting workshop will be announced later.
“Part of our mission is education. I think people always think of the young folks when they think of education, but everybody has a story to tell and there are different ways to tell it,” said Robert Brock, artistic director for the theater.
He said people can choose to tell their stories in a variety of ways, whether it be through writing, acting, singing or playwriting.
“It’s just to encourage people to see what they can do,” he said.
Kentucky Rep has been offering a playwriting class for more than 20 years.
“Sometimes out of that class plays have been chosen to be produced in the season, but not always,” Brock said.
The same holds true for the acting classes.
“Another aspect of it is we do use local actors and the acting classes are generally where we find those people,” he said.
Acting classes are taught by members of the theater’s acting company, who have been professionally trained.
“Acting may look simple, but there is a lot to it,” Brock said. “The teachers bring a lot to the class.”
It’s not unusual for some who have taken acting classes at the theater in the past to return to take another one.
“If you wanted to learn to play the piano, even fairly well, would you take one class and figure, ‘Well, I got it?’” he asked. “One class might introduce you to some really basic things about piano, but how far do you get? Repetition deepens everything.”
The acting classes can also help a shy person become more assertive.
Brock said several who have taken the acting classes didn’t take them because they aspired to be an actor.
“They simply wanted to get outside of a shell,” he said. “They felt they were shy and had trouble getting up in front of people.”
Taking an acting class, he said, is a fun way for people to work toward overcoming that obstacle.
Tuition for each workshop is $100. Call (270) 786-1200 after Jan. 4 to register, or for more information.