Raising the bar for local talented youth in the performing arts
By Anna Byerley Photos by Kathryn Harrington After noticing a lack of next-level training for young actors in Louisville, Founder and Director of ACT Louisville Productions, Beth Hall, and Producer of ACT Louisville Productions, Randy Blevins, have continued their focus to give the talented youth in our community opportunities to train with the best top talent and working professionals in the theatre and entertainment industry. “We noticed that there’s a lot of opportunity in Louisville to have experience with the arts, but when someone decides to pursue their talent and go down the road of becoming a better performer, they have to go out of town to get that training and that’s ridiculous,” said Blevins. ACT Louisville Production’s goal is to offer a level of performance that is incomparable while also staying local right in our Louisville community. “Our mission is access and opportunity for everyone and then raising the bar because, when you raise the bar, people will meet it,” Blevins said. Access and opportunity for everyone means providing opportunities to young talent who may not otherwise have access to this training. ACT Louisville Productions brings arts to the community by holding auditions at multiple community centers throughout the Metro Louisville area. For its 2021 season, ACT Louisville Productions awarded 10 young actors scholarships to its camp. During the intensive camps, for those who have already discovered their love for performing, they work on singing, acting and dancing, while also learning what it means to be professional and how to market and represent themselves well. “There are so many unspoken skills to be learned in the art world. There’s a lot of sitting down and waiting, a lot of learning by observing and then there’s that active learning,” Hall explained. “I really sat back and asked my questions, like what are the things that make the learning curve so high for kids when they’re starting out in the arts, those unspoken rules that they should know? All of those things that are demanded from a young performer are the exact same things that are demanded from an adult performer and you don’t water that down. This camp is great because it’s encouraging them to take risks, to fall on their faces and pick themselves up again and try a new way of doing it and it gears them for success.” They also get to work alongside some of the most successful names in the business, including Sara Gettelfinger, Associate Producer and Choreographer, and Corwyn Hodge, Assistant Musical Director and Vocal Coach. Both Gettlefinger and Hodge bring their wealth of experience in musicals, Broadway and professional contacts to help train the young performers at a much higher level. ACT Louisville Productions is also bringing the arts back to Iroquois Amphitheatre with its pilot program that helps elevate the training options available for youth in the community. This summer they are presenting The Wizard of Oz musical from July 30 - August 2. For more information about the program and tickets for the show, please visit actlouisville.com. ACT Louisville Productions 3900 Shelbyville Road Louisville, KY 40207 actlouisville.com502.536.7891
