The Brass Tacks Ensemble Announces Acting and Directing Troupe for 2017 Season

The Brass Tacks Ensemble (Artistic Director James Ingagiola and Executive Director Isaac Ellis) is pleased to announce they have cast the Troupe of actors and assistant directors for the 2017 season, and will be entering the new year as a professional, membership-based, non-Equity theater company.

2017 Troupe members include: Brittany Batell, Amy Bogetto-Weinraub, Mary Conley, Isaac Ellis, Craig Ester, Ethan Gibney,Sara Long, Veronica Long, Kathleen E. Marinan, Maegan Murphy, Amanda Photenhauer, Anne S. Rhoades, Russ Schwartz,Kate Topham, Aaron C. Wade, and Elizabeth Wagner.

Starting in January 2017, this troupe of actors and assistant directors will meet once a week to participate in workshops on basic acting techniques, voice and movement exercises, status exercises, Shakespearean language, and the BTE theater philosophy. The ensemble's work will culminate in three productions over the course of the year--Spring, Summer, and Fall. We are hopeful that all of these actors and directors will be full-fledged members of The Brass Tacks Ensemble by the end of the year!

BTE Members with the potential for earning stipends this year include: Mary Conley, Alexa Ducsay, Elizabeth Wagner, and lifetime members Amanda Barnett, Isaac Ellis, James Ingagiola, Anne S. Rhoades, Robert Sulewski, and Rachel Robbins Toon.

Membership in BTE is points-based. Participants in BTE productions, both onstage and and behind the scenes, are awarded points for each activity completed in support of the company. Examples include acting, directing, designing, ushering, house managing, designing marketing materials, presenting workshops, coordinating events, and much more. After accumulating 50 points in the areas of Administration, Production, and Education, participants are invited to become members of the Ensemble. Members maintain their status by promoting the Ensemble and mentoring new participants through the membership process, and receive stipends for their work on each production as well as an artistic voice within the company.

The Brass Tacks Ensemble's 2017 season productions will include three works by William Shakespeare. The season shows, production dates, and ticket information will be announced in January 2017.

Since 1999, with their inaugural production of King Lear, The Brass Tacks Ensemble has been dedicated to producing shows that strip away the excess and focus on the essentials of theater: Actor. Text. Audience. The Brass Tacks Ensemble is devoted to connecting to the audience through the essential elements of theater to spark the imagination; presenting established and original works with a focus on clarity, universality, and entertainment; and providing actors, directors, designers, and writers the opportunity to develop as artists.