Detroit Repertory Theatre Receives $10,000 Grant to Fund Actors Workshop

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $10,000 to support the Actors' Workshop at the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

"The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America's artists and arts organizations," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the Detroit Repertory Theatre, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences."

Workshop classes for adults will teach voice and diction, scene study, character development, movement and improvisation. The workshop will be offered at no cost to low-income people who reside in Detroit and to paying students from the greater metro area. Some students may go on to careers as actors, all deepen their appreciation of theater, and discover their own creativity. Past participants have reported an improvement in their job interviews, the ability to express themselves, and in their reading skills. The DRT will broaden student access to live theater by providing complimentary tickets.

Professional actor Casaundra Freeman was once a student and is now a teacher of the DRT Actors Workshop. She most recently received unanimous rave reviews for her performance as the bigger than life street person "Gertie" in Countdown to the Happy Day at the Detroit Rep Theatre. "The Detroit Repertory Theatre Acting Workshop is a transcendent experience. The training and exposure to the craft of acting is unparalleled in both quality and affordability. They learn from working actors who have resumes that boast credits from small professional theatres to big budget films. I owe my professional acting career to having been a student of the Detroit Repertory Theater Acting Workshop. Now being a teacher of the workshop is an honor beyond description."

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov . More information about the Actors' Workshop may be found at www.detroitreptheatre.com.

About the Rep
The oldest professional (Union) non-profit theatre in the State of Michigan, the Detroit Repertory Theatre's mission is guided by the belief that the sense of community is stronger than the forces that splinter and that efforts to preserve unity deserve the same attention and support as the justly cultivated efforts to retain diversity. The implicit goal in all the theatre's efforts is to produce the best possible professional theatre while fostering cultural democratization of the arts, and fighting by example, the disturbing level of racism that still exists.

Detroit Repertory Theatre is located in the geographical heart of the city at 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, MI 48238 Parking is Attended, Lighted, Fenced-In and Free. (313) 868-1347 www.detroitreptheatre.com.

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