Tag Archives: Anna Fraley Kimmell

Spring classes for Arkansas Rep announced

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Image may contain: textArkansas Repertory Theatre’s Education Department announces a four-week minimester of theatre classes this April for students ages 5+.

“Whether you’re new to The Rep or continuing your theatre studies, we’ve got something fun for everyone this April,” said Anna Kimmell, Director of Education. “We create a fun, high-energy creative environment where artists of all ages can learn, discover, and grow.”

Spring classes run April 1-29 and include training in musical theatre, improvisation, Shakespeare, theatre dance, tap dance, stage combat, and audition prep for students of all ages and abilities. Scholarships are available.

The Rep provides a professional and encouraging environment for artists of all ages and abilities. With new material every semester, classes can be taken multiple times.

Faculty members include Kimmell, TJ Medel, Kevin Brown, Courtney Baker, Molly Emerson, Joi Hester, Matt Boyce, and Stephen Stone.

Each year, The Rep reaches more than 7,500 Arkansas students through classes, workshops with guest artists, summer programs, community outreach, and the Student Matinee Program. More than $18,000 in scholarships were awarded in 2017-2018 to students for theatre training at The Rep.

The full class schedule, online registration and info on teaching artists can be found therep.org/education

18 Cultural Events from 2018 – Arkansas Rep announces pause in operations

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In April the Arkansas Rep announced it was immediately suspending operations. It cancelled the final production of the season and laid off much of its staff.  The 2018-2019 season which had been announced only weeks earlier was also cancelled.

The financial woes were a result of lagging ticket sales and donations coupled with raising expenses and mounting debt. The Rep had four pieces of real estate which caused a financial strain on the organization.

Longtime Rep Board members Ruth Shepherd and Bill Rector stepped in as unpaid practically full-time staff members to help run the theatre.  Rep founder Cliff Baker served as an artistic advisor.

A rally in early May, organized by Skip Rutherford, Stacy Sells, and others, not only raised some money for the Rep, but also rallied spirits.  Later in May, the Windgate Foundation announced a challenge match program for the Rep.

The Rep Board also worked to shore up its finances by selling off one of its properties and consolidating the debt.

Throughout the summer, a skeleton crew on staff continued to work.  The summer education programming continued which kept a literal sense of excitement going in the Rep’s facilities. (Kudos to Anna Fraley Kimmell and her merry band of cohorts!) By August, the Rep announced it had achieved some of its milestones and would be moving forward with announcing a 2019 season.  In November 2018, the plans for the 2019 season were announced.  More announcements about Rep staffing are forthcoming.

Just as the Rep was making headway, founder Cliff Baker fell ill and shortly thereafter died. There will be a separate entry about that later in this chronological countdown.

Education at The Rep announces Fall Classes

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It is August.  The month the Rep is supposed to announce plans for its future.

While no white smoke has emerged from the chimney yet, the Rep’s Education branch did kick off the week with a big announcement.

We will move forward with Fall Classes at The Rep for students ages kindergarten through adult! Be on the lookout for the full schedule, announced very soon.

Thank you for your energy and support. We are thrilled for the opportunity to continue our mission of sharing theatre with Arkansas students of all ages.

This portends a continuation of the Rep and should be harbinger for a positive announcement for future plans.

Stay tuned….

Repertorium Praeter Theatrum

Repertorium Praeter Theatrum

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It was two weeks ago yesterday that the Arkansas Rep announced suspension of operations.  It was a week ago yesterday that the Rally at the Rep was held which raised money and community spirit for the Rep.

Supporters of the Rep have made a good start in donating over $113,000 towards the goal of $750,000.  The John & Robyn Horn and Windgate Charitable Foundations have generously extended matching grants to make donated dollars stretch even further.  It does not mean the money woes are eliminated. It just means there is a clearer pathway to reaching the goal.

Yesterday was the final day of employment at the Rep for many folks.  These are good people.  Some grew up here. Others came here to work.  All became a part of Arkansas in addition to becoming part of the Arkansas Rep.

A few staff members remain.  Even when operations are in suspension, there are still tasks to accomplish.

And excitingly the Rep’s Education Department is continuing its summer programming under the leadership of Anna Kimmell.  From June 18 through August 3, there will be a series of age-based sessions for kids ranging in age from kindergarten up to 2018 high school graduates.

The education programming illustrates a key reason the Rep is important.  Yes, the final two-week program is geared toward high school kids and offers a conservatory-style training. It is a wonderful opportunity for those who think they might be interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts.

But a key aspect of all the sessions is the use of the performing arts as forms of self-expression.  Even if the students never set foot on stage again, they have learned confidence. They have learned arts appreciation. They have learned to respect themselves and others.

This is what theatre does. This is what the arts do.

Last weekend, I was in the Rep’s auditorium for the Ballet Arkansas performance.  After it was over, I unexpectedly found myself lingering in the space.  I then realized why.  I wanted to soak in the atmosphere of the room.  So I went up to the lower balcony and walked around.  I snapped the photos which accompany this entry.

I hope I am back in the space for a performance in the coming months.  But I realized it could be even longer in the future.  So I relished the chance to wander around.  And wonder about the future.

In the coming weeks, key supporters of the Rep will be working out a vision for the future of the institution.  Many tough discussions will be had. Many difficult decisions will be made. What will the future look like? Only St. Genesius probably knows. And as the patron saint of actors and comedians, he is not yet telling.

It is said (though it is likely apocryphal) that the Roman Senator Cato the Elder ended each of his speeches with “Ceterum censeo Carthaginem delendam esse” or some variation. Meaning, of course, Carthage must be destroyed.

Since learning that fact from my mother sometime in elementary school (that’s what happens when your mother is a world history teacher), I have been fascinated by Latin phrases.   (When I grow up, I want to be Jed Bartlet who can spout the proper Latin phrase at the right time.)

I especially like the idea of a battle cry in Latin.  It somehow seems more forceful.

So I end this entry, and plan on ending future entries about the Rep with the Latin for “Save the Repertory Theatre” (sorry, Arkansas does not translate well into Latin.)

Repertorium Praeter Theatrum