Wednesday, January 30, 2008

A very excited young man!

I must say, I am a very excited young man! Alright,maybe not so young anymore since my own heady days as a 2nd Year PAC student but still, I haven't been this excited since I drank that quadruple espresso on a dare!!

And there is a lot to be excited about! This season at PAC is starting off with a bang with the political satire 'We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!' In a presidential election year, with the U.S. economy's future sketchy, and a congress that has voted not to extend economic benefits to those who need them most (again),one could not get more poignant than this satirical politically charged comedy!

Add to that an enthusiastic 2nd Year cast that is straining at the gates to start the season, Guest Artist; Jeffrey Gilpin whom I've had the extreme pleasure of both watching and working with (they don't make actors more fun to work with than Jeff), and Director and faculty member Philip Cuomo; who now that James Brown is gone, has my vote (along with Artistic Director Beth Harper) as the hardest working people in show business and you've got all the ingredients of a must see show!

And did I mention PAC is headed full throttle towards Accreditation? You might ask: "What's akred...accentuation...no...acc...what you said...mean?" I'll tell you what it means! It means government aid availability for students who want to study at PAC, it means more students from more places worldwide coming to PAC, but mostly it means national recognition for what we already know: That the Portland Actors Conservatory is THE BEST professional actors training school in the Northwest and that we produce some of the finest, most well-rounded, most well-prepared actors possible! Am I excited?! HOOAHH! You bet I am! In the immortal words of Beth Harper: "Here we go!"

-Jason Frohnmayer
Class 2003

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Crunch Time: "We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!"

The temperture is rising within the walls of the Historic Firehouse Theatre (home to PAC) as the 2008 Season of Plays is only 2 weeks away! We are swirling and twirling (well, those of us who know how to twirl) and buzzing about like professional theatre folk do. Today is the final designer run thru of the play before the ever-so-pleasurable tech week begins.

Each class of the Conservatory ends their 2- year Actor Training with a season of plays and
"We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!" is the Class of 2008's first. They have a long few weeks ahead of them and we wish them all the best of luck!

Let us all take a moment and BREATHE..........

Monday, January 28, 2008

Monday Morning Ice: No problem class goes on

Snow and ice hit us last night but teacher Barry Hunt arrived early at the Conservatory to prepare for his monday morning Meisner class. Some students were a little late but most were here and ready to work. A testament to the commitment of Conservatory students and faculty.

On the schedule today is the building of the We Won't Pay! set and an evening Level One Acting class.

Stay warm and drive safe.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Portland Actors Conservatory gives birth....

...to a new thing we like to call "The Blog"
 Allow me to introduce myself:  
My name is Sarah Farrell.
I am the Manager of all things Production at the Portland Actors Conservatory. 
Don't ask me what I do.
I can't articulate, I only execute. 
How did I come to find myself at the Portland Actors Conservatory?
Well (pause...sigh...yawn), that is a long story.
But, perhaps this page of blogs will help to tell, not only my story, but many.
So I invite you, who ever you are, to read... and to receive... and to possibly even...respond.
Stay tuned.
I know I will.