Alfred Molina to Lead Ten Chimneys' 2017 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced accomplished, London-born actor Alfred Molina will lead the prestigious Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program at Ten Chimneys.

During the week of July 9-16th, Mr. Molina will work with ten of the country's top actors, the "best of the best" in regional theatre, for an intensive class at the National Historic Landmark estate of theatre legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

Alfred Molina can currently be seen on the hit FX series Feud opposite Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, and recently closed "A Long Day's Journey into Night" where he revisited his theatre roots in Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. His diverse and distinguishEd Gallery of performances has led to a lengthy and triumphant career. Effortlessly moving between film, TV, and theatre, Molina is an authentic artist who is able to morph into a diverse mix of nationalities and personalities.

Some of his most unforgettable performances include portraying hedonistic Mexican muralist Diego Rivera in "Frida" (2002 / SAG Awards nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role), Jewish milkman Teyve in the 2004 Broadway revival of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" (Tony nominated for Best Actor), deranged drug dealer Rahad Jackson in the critically acclaimed film "Boogie Nights" (1997), comic book villain Doc Ock in the blockbuster hit sequel "Spider-Man 2" (2004) and the John Logan play "Red" (2009-2010 / Tony Award nominated for Best Lead Actor) in which Molina portrayed the artist Mark Rothko. He can also be seen in the hit movies "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "Chocolat" (2000), "The Da Vinci Code" (2006), and "The Truth About Emmanuel" (2013) along with many other films, TV, theatre, and animation.

The ten actors that have been selected as Ten Chimneys Foundation's 2017 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, and their nominating theatres, are:

Hugo Armstrong - Center Theatre Group

Cherise Boothe - Manhattan Theatre Club

Denise Cormier - Asolo Repertory Theatre

Bethany Anne Lind - ALLIANCE THEATRE

Zonya Love - Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Robert Neal - Indiana Repertory Theatre

Daniel Pearce - The Public Theater

Stephen Pelinski - Resident Ensemble Players

Keith Randolph Smith - Manhattan Theatre Club

Michael Winters - Seattle Repertory Theatre

During their week at Ten Chimneys, the actors will focus on developing fresh ways into character work through text analysis and casting against type.

"The prospect of working in such a memorable and historic place of theatre with devoted and experienced actors is both humbling and inspiring," Alfred Molina (2017 Master Teacher) said.

Since its inception in 2009, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program has brought the nation's top regional theatre actors to Ten Chimneys to work with a world-renowned Master Teacher. The illustrious list of Master Teachers includes Lynn Redgrave, Barry Edelstein, Olympia Dukakis, Joel Grey, Alan Alda, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, and Jason Alexander. Ten Chimneys Foundation is thrilled to welcome Alfred Molina to this distinguished company.

"Alfred Molina is undoubtedly one of the great actors of today. We've watched him morph into many powerful characters through the years. His insight, combined with the strength of our ten Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, will lead to an exciting week of enrichment and growth at Ten Chimneys. The Saturday night presentation, when Mr. Molina and the actors take the stage together, is going to be explosive, and an evening not to be missed," said Randy Bryant, Ten Chimneys Foundation President & CEO.

PUBLIC OPPORTUNITIES:

At the close of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program guests are invited to attend two public programs. On Friday, July 14th, Ten Chimneys Foundation will present A Conversation with Alfred Molina, an intimate evening during which Mr. Molina will share stories about his life and career, and will take questions from the audience.

On Saturday, July 15th, Mr. Molina, and the ten 2017 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will take the stage together for a Concluding Presentation, a rare look at the work they explored during their week at Ten Chimneys, as well as a one-night-only program highlighting the remarkable actors chosen as 2017 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 26th, at 9am. More information, including ticket prices and program details, can be found at www.tenchimneys.org, or by calling (262) 968-4110. Seating is limited and designated by the best available at the time of the reservation.

Recently Alfred Molina showed off his chops in the Ryan Murphy directed HBO film "The Normal Heart" (2014 / Emmy Nominated for Outstanding Best Supporting Actor), HBO's critically acclaimed miniseries "Show Me a Hero" (2015) for director Paul Haggis, TBS comedy series "Angie Tribeca" (2016), Paramount Pictures feature "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (2016) co-starring with Tina Fey, Tom Holloway's play "And No More Shall We Part" for the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize winning drama "A Long Day's Journey into Night" for the Geffen Playhouse, indie feature "Sister Cities" for director Sean Hanish, and most recently British period drama miniseries "Close to the Enemy" opposite Jim Sturgess and Freddie Highmore for the BBC. Currently, he can be seen in the Ryan Murphy produced FX series "Feud" opposite Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.

Still in the pipeline are Showtime's comedy-drama series "I'm Dying Up Here," indie features: "Message from the King" opposite Teresa Palmer and Luke Evans and "The Headhunter's Calling" opposite Gerard Butler, feature films: "Road to Capri" opposite Virginia Madsen, an adaptation of the Janet Fitch novel "Paint it Black," and "Breakable You" opposite Tony Shalhoub, Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin, and animated films: "Henchman" for Bron Studios and "Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie" for Nickelodeon.

The one-of-a-kind Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program takes place at Ten Chimneys - the National Historic Landmark estate lovingly created by theatre legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, widely considered the greatest acting couple in the history of American theatre. This beguiling Wisconsin landmark offers a one-of-a-kind environment for the work of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program.

Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne constructed Ten Chimneys to be the perfect working retreat for themselves and a circle of friends comprising the best-of-the-best in American theatre. This historic context and the inherent inspiration of Ten Chimneys is why Ten Chimneys Foundation's inaugural Master Teacher, Lynn Redgrave, said that "this program simply couldn't happen anywhere else," and why participating Fellows have all talked about the experience being "transformative." Today, Ten Chimneys is open to the public as a House Museum and a national resource for American theatre.

Ten Chimneys is a proud recipient of funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.