Traveling Players Brings Two Family-Friendly Comedies To Tysons Corner

Traveling Players Ensemble will present four public performances of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Tysons Corner Center on Saturday and Sunday, March 14, 15, 21 and 22.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory centers on Charlie Bucket, a young boy who loves chocolate. Mr. Willy Wonka, the most wondrous inventor in the world, is opening the gates of his amazing chocolate factory to five lucky children with golden tickets. And Charlie got the last golden ticket! But what he finds inside the factory is beyond even his wildest dreams... The 45-minute performance is a professionally directed and designed show with elementary and middle school actors who participated in Traveling Players winter classes.

A Midsummer Night's Dream follows four young lovers who evade parental rule and city law by escaping into the forest, only to be transformed by mischievous fairies. Reality and illusion interchange in the woods, as do love and hate, clarity and confusion. As the tricks are reversed and the couples reunite, we delight in their wedding entertainment provided by a set of bumbling actors. The 90-minute performance is a professionally directed and designed show with high school actors who participated in Traveling Players winter classes.

Tickets are $5 for children (5 and under), $10 for adults. Group rates are available. For more information, visit www.travelingplayers.org or email outreach@travelingplayers.org

In April, Traveling Players will launch a brand-new Spring Break Acting Intensive Camp. Students in grades 6-8 who want to deepen their acting training or get to know Traveling Players better will spend the week in scene study workshops where they will delve into the core of scenes through rehearsals and improvisational games that teach foundational acting skills.

Beginning this summer, Traveling Players has expanded their award-winning offerings of auditioned programs. Performers, new and returning, in grades 4-8 now have the option of either registering for camp as normal or auditioning for a faster paced, more in-depth training. High School Students in grades 8-12 can audition for the elite pre-college programs: four-week Shakespeare Ensemble or seven-week Shakespeare Troupe. The next round of auditions are March 28 in the Studio at Tysons Corner Center.

Selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of 25 model "Summer Schools in the Arts" Traveling Players is dedicated to training students (grades 3-12) in classical theatre. Traveling Players programs offer expert training in acting, character creation, physical comedy, stage combat, improvisation, and text analysis.

Students at Traveling Players work in small, dedicated ensembles of 13 performers led by professional directors. With a 1:4 faculty to student ratio, every young actor receives individualized attention and customized training.

The ensemble ethos that permeates Traveling Players means that everyone is essential to the show. The actors also assume technical roles while in performance, and the dual responsibilities students take on allow them to become more resilient and resourceful leaders and team players.

Traveling Players Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, incorporated in 2003.

For more information, visit www.travelingplayers.org or call 703-987-1712