Queens Theatre's Training Program For Actors With Disabilities Returns In October

Applications are being accepted now through September 23rd for the fifth round of Queens Theatre's Theatre For All (TFA) Professional Actor Training Program. The free, two-week program will run virtually this season, from Monday, October 17th through Friday, October 28th and is open to Deaf or Disabled performers, aged 18 and over. Through intensive workshops over the two weeks, students will build skills, as well as their networks.

Workshops will be taught by disabled and non-disabled industry professionals, including: Tony Award Winner Tonya Pinkins ("Women of the Movement", "Madam Secretary", "Red Pill", "Caroline or Change", Jelly's Last Jam); Brigid Brady (Broadway: "The Phantom of the Opera" "Gossip Girl"); The Second City alumnae Pat Shay ("FBI", "The Blacklist", "Girls 5 Eva") and Mary Theresa Archbold ("Inventing Anna", "Girls 5 Eva", "Bull", "Law & Order: SVU"); leading disability advocate and performer Christine Bruno ("Public Servant", "Best Summer Ever", "Law & Order", The Actors Studio); and Roundabout Director Group member Evan T Cummings (Director, Lincoln Center: An Evening of Short Plays). Additional instructors will be announced soon. The intensive will focus on auditioning, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, voice, and movement. The program will have three tracks, designed for actors of varying levels of experience: Entry Level, Early Career, and Working Actor.

The program will culminate with a live-streamed industry showcase performance for the Early Career and Working Actor-level programs.

"By hosting the intensive virtually we can reach a much broader community of artists. Often artists with disabilities who don't reside in a major city such as Los Angeles or New York City struggle to find accessible training. In TFA, we provide all forms of accommodation support allowing all artists to get what they need - an accessible room to focus on their craft," said TFA Program Manager Mary Theresa Archbold.

For more information about the program and to apply click: https://www.queenstheatre.org/tfa-2022

The TFA Professional Actor Training Program is part of Queens Theatre's larger Theatre For All initiative, launched in 2018, to advance the inclusion of Deaf/Disabled performers in the performing arts - as performers, audience members, students and cultural workers. Six years ago, Queens Theatre formed an Advisory Board comprised of an integrated group of Disabled and non-Disabled performers with backgrounds in theater, activism, academia, and arts administration to lead TFA. In addition to professional training for early career actors, Queens Theatre has produced short plays by Disabled playwrights (a selection of the TFA plays was recently published by Next Stage Press), in-school performance programs for children and teens with disabilities, expanded accessibility services at the theater, hosted a National Disability in Theatre Convening (2019) and most recently, presented the Forward Festival for the Arts, a multi-week, multi-disciplinary festival of artists and companies that center performers with disabilities.

This year Queens Theatre announced a fundraising campaign to support the Theatre for All Professional Actor Training Program. Stage and screen star Vincent D'Onofrio, best known for his roles in the drama Full Metal Jacket, the hit television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Netflix series Daredevil was an early champion of Theatre for All (TFA) and has committed to matching the first $15,000 raised to support the fifth installment of the program.

There's still time to support the campaign! Click HERE to learn more and donate. Donations can also be made by texting TFAMATCH to 44-321 (you'll receive a link to donate).

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