Читать книгу Stratford For All Seasons: Theatre & Arts - Phyllis Hinz - Страница 10

ALTERNATIVE THEATRE WORKS

SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

LOCATION: 15 Church Street and 163 King Street

WEBSITE: www.findglocal.com/CA/Stratford/198136196982116/Alternative-Theatre-Works

HIGHLIGHT: Intimate alternative theatre offered by performing artists living in Stratford

Alternative Theatre Works (ATW) is an independent professional theatre company dedicated to producing theatre outside the mainstream in the Stratford region. The company is a group of professional actors, directors, producers, and educators who live in Stratford, love what they do, and want to share their knowledge and skills with their community. Productions, chosen for their merit as good theatre, are short runs to sold-out houses. You might catch a one-man show, an original play, or an original adaptation of a play. One such production was A Tender Thing by Ben Power, in which Romeo and Juliet did not die but are alive and aging. It’s an alternative take on an ageless story.

In order to provide a full-stage experience, the small company collaborates with other choreographers, musicians, and designers such as Off the Wall, where theatre professionals offer workshops on backstage production. Working together, ATW and Off the Wall mentor emerging artists. Alternative Theatre Works provides performances and post-show talks for elementary and secondary school students when the subject is suitable. This close contact with the artists who work together to put on a production exposes students to the broad scope of performing arts and perhaps a peek at future careers.

The Alternative Theatre Works’ performing spaces, The Hall and Factory163, are intimate. No matter where you sit, you are close to the actors. The dialogue, the movement, and the storytelling easily become personal.