Visiting UK actors on April 1.

Hi casts,

I would strongly urge all of you to carve out the time to attend this workshop next Friday between 10 and noon in Masonic by two colleagues from the UK. In such an isolated community, the program needs to exploit every opportunity to expose you to alternative professional practices. Alison, Tim and myself are Associate Directors of AFTLS, an actor-managed company formed by Patrick Stewart that has toured five-man shows around the states for more than forty years. Tim and Alison -- a husband and wife team -- have enormous experience, and I will especially prepare them to deal with some of the concerns you raise in rehearsal. So, please take advantage of them and come prepared to play.

Many thanks,

Matt

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Alison Skilbeck is an actor whose long and busy career includes performing Shakespeare all over the US for AFTLS (Actors From the London Stage), of which she is an Associate Director. She was Paulina et al in The Winter's Tale, and Rosalind et al in As you Like It. She has appeared in theatre throughout the UK, in the West End and in Europe. Career highlights include five years with Sir Alan Ayckbourn's Scarborough company, where she appeared in premieres of six of his plays; performing Pinter in Morocco, Beckett in Edinburgh, and now her solo show 'Are There More of You' (which she also wrote) in the UK regions and on the Edinburgh Fringe. She was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School in London for her work there in the '80s, but for the past twenty years most of her directing and teaching has been at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), where she is an Associate Director, specializing in Shakespeare. Her latest production there was 'Antony and Cleopatra' last December. She is also a member of the RADA Admissions Panel and coaches the third year students for their final Agents' presentation.

Tim Hardy is an actor-director who has worked extensively with the major classical companies following his training at RADA. Productions at the RSC include Sir Peter Hall’s Henry V and Peter Brook’s Marat/Sade. Numerous West End credits include Lysistrata and The Spartan at the Old Vic and the Wyndhams, Hostpur and Henry V at the Roundhouse, as well as Petruchio at the Open Space for Charles Marrowitz. Tim has traveled the world as both an actor and a director, appearing throughout America for AFTLS (for which he is also an Associate Director), in Hong Kong, Norway and Greece, and for the English speaking theaters of Vienna and Frankfurt. Aside from touring his one-man show, The Trials of Galileo, across the States, Tim has mounted Shakespeare productions on various campuses, including Wesleyan, Notre Dame and Michigan Tech, and has just finished a stint as artist-in-residence at Butler University in Indianapolis. Having joined the RADA faculty in 1994, he is currently a member of their Admissions Panel.