Louisville, KY – Actors Theatre of Louisville is proud to introduce the 2018-2019 Professional Training Company. Each year, Actors Theatre of Louisville invites talented and motivated early-career theatre professionals to undertake a nine-month long training program that combines hands-on practical experience with professional development opportunities. Entering its 47th Season, the Professional Training Company is one of the oldest pre-professional training programs in the nation, and has built a legacy of supporting the long-term vitality of American theatre through the mentorship and fostering rising talent in the field.
Managing Director Kevin E. Moore shares, “on behalf of the whole Actors Theatre team, we’re thrilled to greet this new crop of talented young professionals and play our part in cultivating the next generation of theatre artists and leaders. We welcome them to our family and to Louisville!”
Selected from more than 2,000 applicants from across the nation, the 2018-2019 Professional Training Company consists of 42 young professionals. Through their participation in the season-long program, the apprentice corps receives practical training, the opportunity to work with celebrated artists and a firsthand look at the inner workings of one of the nation’s leading regional theatres. The company will also mount a number of productions, including new work by nationally-renowned playwrights and original creations developed by the members of the company themselves.
This year’s Company will join a robust network of Professional Training Company alumni across the arts and culture industry, as the program has launched the careers of many leaders in the industry. Notable alumni include: Timothy Busfield (Thirtysomething, The West Wing), Lila Neugebauer (Director of The Wolves, Everybody, Signature Plays), Jenny Robertson (Bull Durham, Role Models), Brendan Pelsue (Playwright of Wellesley Girl), Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town, Quantico), Sarah Lunnie (Literary Director at Playwrights Horizons), Jefferson White (How to Get Away with Murder, House of Cards), Mirirai Sithole (Master of None, The Death of the Last Black Man…), Chris Boneau (Publicist and Co-Founder of Boneau/Bryan-Brown), Lisa McNulty (Producing Artistic Director at Women’s Project Theater), Anna Kull (Director of Communications and People at The Lark Play Development Center), Alex Hernandez (Mafia 3, Unreal), Neil Pepe (Artistic Director of the Atlantic Theater Company), Jason Butler Harner (Ray Donovan, Blacklist, Changeling), Kristen Jackson (Connectivity Director of Wooly Mammoth Theatre), Charles Haugland (Director of New Work at Huntington Theatre Company) , Stowe Nelson (New York Innovative Theatre Award winning and Drama Desk Award-nominated Sound Designer), Jason Pacella (Stage Manager for NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar) and Actors Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director Meredith McDonough.
Actors Theatre’s Professional Training Company is generously supported by a significant grant from The Roy Cockrum Foundation. The $1.2 million award supports grants over a ten-year period for each apprentice during the nine-month program, and enables year-round employment for the program’s leadership. Founded by Roy Cockrum, the Foundation supports world-class performing arts projects in not-for-profit professional theatres throughout the United States. The Foundation considers grants by invitation only and is dedicated to helping nonprofit theaters reach beyond their normal scope of activities and undertake ambitious and creative productions.
Members of the 2018-2019 Professional Training Company:
Charlotte Allen Stephens, Marketing (Decherd, TN)
Amber Avant, Acting (New York, NY)
David Ball, Acting (New York, NY)
Rachel Bischoff, Education (Prospect, KY)
Silvia Bond, Acting (Brooklyn, NY)
Andrea Burns, Stage Management (Decatur, IL)
Kelly Carr, Development (Kalamazoo, MI)
Kayla Carroll, Properties (Indianapolis, IN)
Laura Caudill, Acting (Seattle, WA)
Avery Deutsch, Acting (New York, NY)
Shareef Elkady, Directing (Ladson, SC)
Annalise Fosnight, Stage Management (Windham, NH)
Rebecca Foster, Acting (Portland, OR)
Joshua Fulton, Acting (New York, NY)
Lizzy Gordon, Stage Management (Reading, MA)
Ashley Hildreth, Acting (New York, NY)
Rasell Holt, Acting (Chicago, IL)
Emily Hornbeck, Stage Management (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Henrietta Key, Festival and Events Management (York, ME)
Jessica Land, Costumes (Allentown, PA)
Emma Leff, Education (Chicago, IL)
Emma Maltby, Acting (New York, NY)
Emily Moler, Directing (Brooklyn, NY)
Laura Mullaney, Communications (Randolph, NJ)
Kevin O’Connell, Acting (Chicago, IL)
Jonathan Olivares, Acting (Asheboro, NC)
Ben Otten, Artistic and Company Management (Lexington, KY)
Ashley Patlan, Acting (Sandy, UT)
Kayla Peters, Acting (Chaska, MN)
Alonna Ray, Dramaturgy and Literary Management (Irving, TX)
Rebecca Redman, Producing and Casting (Santa Monica, CA)
Angelica Santiago, Acting ( New York, NY)
Brett Schultz, Acting (Birmingham, AL)
Julian Socha, Acting (Norman, OK)
Seun Soyemi, Acting (Smyrna, GA)
Russell Sperberg, Acting (Brooklyn, NY)
Petra Stoppel, Scenic Painting (Detroit, MI)
Reagan Stovenour, Acting (Brentwood, TN)
Seth Torres, Lighting (Portage, MI)
Bryn Weiler, Production Management (Oberlin, OH)
Susan Yassky, Dramaturgy and Literary Management (Brooklyn, NY)
Cheyenne Zuck, Sound (Winston-Salem, NC)
