Top Regional Actors Honored As Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, Join Redgrave For Master Class

Nine of the most respected actors in America, representing nine of the nation's premier regional theatres, have just been selected for the prestigious Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a widely acclaimed national program to serve regional theatre actors and the future of American theatre. This summer (July 11-18), these actors will join revered actress Lynn Redgrave for an intensive weeklong master class and retreat at Ten Chimneys, the National Historic Landmark estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee).

"What Ten Chimneys Foundation is accomplishing with this program is truly astounding. This kind of opportunity simply hasn't existed before, anywhere. And it's so important; it's so meaningful. I am proud and excited to be a part of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program." - Lynn Redgrave, 2009 & 2010 Master Teacher

In addition to the distinction of being selected and the immense value of participating, each of the 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will receive a $2,500 cash fellowship in recognition of his or her exceptional contributions to their communities and to the overall quality of American theatre. According to Sean Malone, President of Ten Chimneys Foundation, "The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program celebrates the top actors in America's top theatre communities - widely respected for their talent, dedication to craft, and passionate pursuit of excellence, the qualities for which Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were so revered. We are deeply proud to honor these nine extraordinary artists - the best of the best, our communities' theatre mentors."

For the 2010 Fellowship Program, Ten Chimneys Foundation selected nine of the most prestigious and accomplished regional theatres in the country to serve as Partner Theatres for this groundbreaking program. Each Partner Theatre was invited to nominate the "master actors" of their communities, to be considered for recognition as Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. Selected with the guidance of a National Advisory Board, following are the nine actors who have been selected as the 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, along with their nominating Partner Theatres:
· Stephen Berenson: Trinity Repertory Company (Providence)
· James Carpenter: California Shakespeare Theater (Bay Area)
· Celeste Ciulla: The Old Globe (San Diego)
· Bob Davis: Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis)
· Laura Gordon: Milwaukee Repertory Theater (Milwaukee)
· Andrew Long: Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.)
· Pete Pryor: The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia)
· Jacqueline Williams: Goodman Theatre (Chicago)
· Larry Yando: Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Chicago)

TEN CHIMNEYS FOUNDATION - PROGRAM HOST
Ten Chimneys is the estate lovingly created by Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, widely considered the greatest acting couple in the history of American theatre. With no ropes and nothing under glass, modern-day guests at Ten Chimneys are treated to a VIP guided tour of a National Historic Landmark replete with original furnishings and overflowing with the romance of the 1930s and '40s. The estate is open to the public as a world-class historic site and a national resource for American theatre.

For much of the 20th century, Ten Chimneys was "the center of the theatrical universe" - an important place for the luckiest of artists to retreat, rejuvenate, and collaborate. Luminaries such as Helen Hayes, Noël Coward, Alexander Woollcott, and Katharine Hepburn were all frequent and devoted Ten Chimneys guests. In addition, the Lunts were known for their dedication to the next generation; they reveled in mentoring young actors. Legends such as Laurence Olivier, Uta Hagen, Montgomery Clift, and Julie Harris proudly considered themselves protégés of the Lunts. The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program continues that tradition of mentorship.

ABOUT THE LUNT-FONTANNE FELLOWSHIP
The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program has been created by Ten Chimneys Foundation, and is made possible by a generous lead grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Through this program, the top actors in the country are given a rare and deeply-needed opportunity to grow artistically, renew their passion for their art form, and deepen their commitment to mentorship. Lunt-Fontanne Fellows return to their home communities more inspired, and more inspiring - offering great benefits to other actors, to individual theatres, to students, to communities across the country, and to American theatre as a whole. Ultimately, the program does not exist simply to serve actors; the purpose of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is to strengthen the ability of actors and theatres to enrich people's lives in communities across the country. Lunt-Fontanne Fellows do this as artists, as mentors, as teachers, and as leaders in their communities. As each class of Fellows connects with and inspires hundreds of fellow actors and tens-of-thousands of audience members, year after year, the exponential impact is truly remarkable.

"The extraordinary accomplishments of this groundbreaking program are deeply, deeply important - to actors, to regional theatres, and to our entire field. The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is the kind of innovation, big-thinking, and risk-taking that must be applauded and celebrated. I am not overstating when I say that this program has the potential to transform American theatre." - Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival

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