The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts, 2010 recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts, announces auditions for its 2011 Honors Conservatory, an intensive, year-long conservatory offering exceptional training for those serious about entering the acting profession.

Accepting only 10 actors annually, the Honors Conservatory at The Theatre Lab is the professional actor training arm of The Theatre Lab School of the Arts, Washington’s largest and most comprehensive theatre education center. Admission is by application and audition. The application deadline is Oct. 15. Auditions for the conservatory, which begins in January, will take place in late October and November.

Over 85 percent of Honors Conservatory graduates have performed professionally within months of completing the program, which began in 2006. Honors Conservatory graduates have been hired to act professionally at such prestigious venues as the Shakespeare Theatre, Folger Theater, Charter Theater, Keegan Theatre, Olney Theatre, Theater J and the Classical Theatre of Harlem.

Members of The Theatre Lab’s first five Honors Conservatories have ranged in age from 19 to mid 60s. Some arrive at auditions as seasoned actors or having already earned advanced degrees in the arts, while others have totally different educational and career experiences. While the application and audition process is competitive, those accepted have included individuals with extensive and broad-based pre-professional performance backgrounds as well as others with little or no experience but plenty of desire and untapped potential.

The Honors Conservatory at The Theatre Lab offers:

• A year to focus intensively on acting, without having to quit one’s day job.
• A truly comprehensive course of study, including theater history
• Advanced training in process and technique
• Extensive access to The Theatre Lab’s award-winning faculty (recipients of 50 Helen Hayes nominations)
• Special workshops and master classes with acclaimed professional actors and directors. Prior master class leaders have included Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern and Helen Hayes winner Rick Foucheux
• Personal and professional guidance and evaluation
• A final showcase for the area’s most influential directors and casting directors

Actors interested in applying and auditioning for the 2011 Honors Conservatory at The Theatre Lab will find more information, audition requirements, and application downloads on The Theatre Lab web site at TheatreLab.org/honors.asp.

By: Contributing Author

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