Alan Alda has been named master teacher of the 2013 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Master Class, a theatre mentorship program in Genesee Depot, Wis. serving rising actors from across the country.
Alda, a six-time Golden Globe winner and five-time Emmy Award winner who is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the television show “Mash” and Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing,” will focus on teaching theatre students principles of spontaneity onstage.
“The prospect of working with talented, experienced actors as we explore spontaneity is exciting,” Alda said. “That mysteriously compelling quality of life happening before our eyes is the goal, and I hope to learn as much as they do. This is going to be fun.”
Ten selected theatre actors participate in the fellowship program each year in Genesee Depot on the grounds of Ten Chimneys, the national historic landmark estate belonging to Broadway stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The theatre program was launched in 2009 by the Ten Chimneys Foundation, which oversees the estate and acts as a resource for the broader theatre community.
“The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is a life-altering opportunity for the top theatre actors to expand their creative and mentoring abilities and to give back to their respective communities,” said Randy Bryant, Ten Chimneys Foundation president and chief executive officer. “We are excited about the opportunity to blend our 2013 selected fellows with the talents and mentorship of the acclaimed Alan Alda.”
Actors, selected by the Ten Chimneys Foundation in collaboration with national advisors and theatres from all over the country, spend a week practicing their craft under the direction of a master teacher. Past instructors include Lynn Redgrave, Olympia Dukakis, Joel Grey and Barry Edelstein.
This year’s fellowship program will run from July 21-28.
