We are delighted to announce Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will serve as the Master Teacher for our 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. From July 12-19th, Ms. Rashad will lead ten of our nation's top regional theatre actors in an intensive, weeklong master class and immersion at Ten Chimneys.

 

The ten actors who have been selected as the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, with their nominating theatres, are:
 

 

Our 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Class will delve into roles that are "against type" and will allow our ten Fellows to engage in parts that differentiate from the characters they may typically play.

 

"In my experience, teaching and directing have one great thing in common: I never know what is going to happen until I am in the room with the people. But, one thing is certain: As surely as we hold the intention to explore the truth of human behavior, the results are astonishing." - Phylicia Rashad, 2015 Master Teacher

 

Since its inception in 2009, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, conceived and executed by Ten Chimneys Foundation, has brought the nation's top regional theatre actors to Ten Chimneys to work with a world renowned Master Teacher. Past Master Teachers include Lynn Redgrave, Barry Edelstein, Olympia Dukakis, Joel Grey, Alan Alda, and David Hyde Pierce.

 

"The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is the preeminent program for our country's top regional theatre actors; the celebrated mentors of their communities, the best-of-the-best. Ten Chimneys Foundation is honored to welcome Ms. Phylicia Rashad to our distinguished list of Master Class teachers.  We've been watching Ms. Rashad's career for years; she is highly respected within the theatre community as an award-winning actor/director and masterful teacher - we're thrilled she will be sharing her expertise with our 2015 Fellows.  She possesses the high standards and compliments of skills that make for a magnificent teacher.  I'm looking forward to another memorable week at Ten Chimneys that will transcend all boundaries as our actors explore "against type".

- Randy Bryant, President & CEO, Ten Chimneys Foundation 

BE A PART OF THIS EXCITING WEEK AT TEN CHIMNEYS

 

Conversations at Ten Chimneys with Phylicia Rashad

Friday, July 17th at 8pm

Phylicia Rashad will share stories about her career spanning television, film, and theatre, and will answer questions from the audience.

 

The Concluding Presentation

Saturday, July 18th at 8pm

Ms. Rashad and all ten of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will share a glimpse into the work they accomplished during their week at Ten Chimneys.

 

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 7th. Tickets for each of these programs: $40/50/75/100/150. To reserve,  please call: (262) 968-4110. Seating is limited and designated by the best available at the time of the reservation. 

2015 Master Teacher - Phylicia Rashad

 

Ms. Phylicia Rashad became a household name for her portrayal of Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, a character whose appeal has earned her accolades for over two decades. While TV was a catalyst in the rise of her career, she has been a constant force on the stage. Ms. Rashad received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her riveting performance as Lena Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Her Broadway theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (a role that she reprised on the London Stage), August Osage County, Cymbeline, Gem of the Ocean (Tony Award nomination), Jelly's Last Jam, Into the Woods, Dreamgirls, and The Wiz. Her off-Broadway theatre credits include Bernarda Alba, Helen, The Story, Everybody's Ruby, Puppet Play, Zooman and the Sign, Sons and Fathers of Sons, In an Upstate Motel, Weep Not for Me, The Great MacDaddy, The Duplex, and The Sirens. Ms. Rashad has received rave reviews for her directorial work, including Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and Fences. Her film credits include Tyler Perry's Good Deeds, and Perry's highly acclaimed film version of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

 

Respected in the academic world, Ms. Rashad was the first recipient of the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University. She holds Honorary Doctorates from Fordham University, Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University, Providence College, Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Barber Scotia College, St. Augustine College, Brown University, and Spelman College. She has been awarded numerous honors including the 2015 BET Honors Theatrical Arts Award, Texas Medal of Arts, the National Council of Negro Women's Dorothy L. Height Dreammaker Award, AFTRA's AMEE Award for Excellence in Entertainment, the Board of Directors of New York Women In Film and Television's Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement, Dallas Women In Film Topaz Award, Peoples' Choice Awards, several NAACP Image Awards, and the Pan African Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Rashad serves on the Advisory Board of the PRASAD Project and the Board of Directors of True Colors Theatre, the Broadway Inspirational Voices, The Actors Center, the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, and the ADEPT Center- which is steering the restoration of the historic Brainerd Institute. 

 
Olympia Dukakis A CONVERSATION
with Olympia Dukakis
Friday, March 20th at 8pm
 
We are honored to welcome back Academy Award-winning actress and 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program Master Teacher, Olympia Dukakis. On Friday, March 20th, Ms. Dukakis will share anecdotes about her remarkable life and career, and will answer questions from the audience - a rare and intimate opportunity.
 
Tickets are on sale now. For more information please visit www.tenchimneys.org or call (262) 968-4110.