I am so excited to finally announce that I have been selected to be one of 10 Acting Apprentices for the Actor's Theatre of Louisville Professional Training Company 2020-2021 Season!!!
I have been keeping this little secret for so long and I am elated to finally be able to share it with you all! It was a lengthy process. I applied back in January with video footage and hadn't heard anything for a while after that, and then of course, Covid happened....
I decided to fly home to Minnesota on March 18th after losing my jobs to Covid, and shortly after that I got an email requesting a Zoom audition. Now this made me super nervous because I had never done any Zoom auditions prior to this, to be honest, I don't love it (however, now I'm learning to). After that audition, I waited a while again and then got invited to formally apply. ATL requests a formal application which requires a written essay and recommendation letters (thank you to my amazing mentors). I compiled all of that and sent it off, again...I waited... The waiting period made me somewhat anxious, but I imagine ATL was also trying to figure out the logistics of running a theatre program during a pandemic.
Eventually I found out I was in the top 40 applicants. Now this didn't mean I was accepted yet, but it meant I had made the first cut. ATL held a Zoom meeting to discuss what would happen from there and the meeting held a lot of uncertainty as far as what the future held. The coordinators said that if we were no longer interested at this time, we could decline, no questions asked and apply next year. I definitely deliberated on whether or not I wanted to do the program I had dreamed about under these circumstances. After many chats with my parents and friends I decided, I don't have much else going on right now, why not spend that time doing what I love and spread joy/knowledge and entertain a world that is hurting right now. So, I kept moving forward in the process.
Now normally the ATL PTC takes 18 acting apprentices. They also have many other apprenticeships like, directing, writing, dramaturgy, stage management, community engagement etc. However, at one point we got an email that they would only be able to take 10 acting apprentices because the program needed to go completely online until at least January. Again, they asked if anyone was no longer interested, and again I chose to move on in the process.
I found out I was accepted a little over a month ago and so far our group has only had one introduction Zoom meeting and we apprentices have been communicating via our Facebook group. I still think there is a lot of uncertainty and I still don't really know what to expect, but I miss acting and I am excited to CREATE again! 2020 has been one WILD ride so far, but this truly is a silver lining and I am continuing to try and see the positive.
I imagine we will have some Zoom performances to share throughout the process (the program goes through April 2021), so keep an eye out here or on my Facebook/Instagram pages for those details.
Also, while I have you here - if you have made it this far - I also wanted to let you know that I started a food/lifestyle blog called, hugh eats with you! during quarantine. I plan to continue with it so make sure to subscribe to the newsletter on the site or subscribe to my YouTube Channel (or both)!
Thanks for your continued support,
Lauren