Actors rehearse a scene for the showcase.
March 7–09, 2025 @ Tusculum University
GREENEVILLE– See young talent begin their theater journey or take their skills to the next level during an upcoming production atTusculum University.
Tusculum Arts Outreachholds the Young Actors Studio Showcase Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in Behan Arena Theatre. Community members are invited to watch 51 students, ages 8-19, perform plays and readings featuring the writings of a couple of local students as well as renowned authors, such as Agatha Christie, and playwright William Shakespeare.
“These students have worked extremely hard and have teamed with their directors to prepare nice shows for the audience,” said Steve Schultz, Arts Outreach’s director. “For about a quarter of these students, the showcase will be the first time they have performed in front of an audience, so it will be valuable learning experience for them. We also have many other performers who have served in the casts of Tusculum and community theater productions, so it will be nice mix.”
Each day’s show will feature 10 segments, eight of which will be plays and two of which will be staged readings. Each segment will last five to 15 minutes. It will give the first-time participants an outlet to test the waters of acting to determine whether they want to move forward with performing as part of their life.
Arts Outreach has held the showcase in varying forms for more than 30 years. In some years, the event has consisted solely of plays or poetry readings. For 2025, Schultz has opted for a blend of segments.
The scripts for two of the 10 segments have been written by local high school students Evan Litchfield and Noah Beddingfield. Litchfield has written “Final Judgment,” and Beddingfield is the author of “Writer’s Block.”
The show’s directors are Dodger Kirkland, Isaac Kitsteiner, Josie Norton, Andy Ross, Sam Schultz, Steve Schultz and Todd Wallin. Erin Schultz, Tusculum’s costume director, is overseeing the costumes for all segments.
Here are the segments, all of which are plays unless otherwise noted:
·“Mad Tea Party”
·“Jabberwocky” (staged reading)
·“Don Quixote”
·“The Hollow”
·“Stone Soup”
·“Twelfth Night”
·“Myth of Demeter and Persephone, Revisited”
·“Plucky Wives of Henry VIII” (staged reading)
·“Writers Block”
·“Final Judgment”
“We look forward to welcoming audiences to our performances so they can support our wonderful young actors,” Schultz said. “These students will thrive from the energy they derive from people in attendance, so we encourage people to see these students in action on the stage.”
Participants in the showcase are members of Tusculum Young Actors Studio, a group that meets weekly at the university to study performance and inspire other students to find excitement and interest in reading. Marilyn duBrisk previously nurtured the program when she served as Tusculum’s artist-in-residence. Schultz carries on the tradition and has grown the number of participants to about 80 this year.
Tickets for the showcase are $10 and can be purchased at our.show/TYAS2025 or by visitinghttps://www.onthestage.tickets/tusculum-university.
The production is funded with support from the Katherine Davis Moore and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Davis Foundation. The Costume Shop receives support from a Tennessee Arts Commission grant.
Questions about the show and the Young Actors Studio can be directed to Schultz atsschultz@tusculum.edu. More information about the university is available atwww.tusculum.edu.
Category: Theatre, Youth and Family