Fall Theatre Program Featured At Beechmont Community Center

Photo: Beechmont Community Center

A program offered at the Beechmont Community Center will introduce storytelling and acting to youths ages 8-13 and culminate in a performance at the center on Friday, August 31. Led by actor and director Tony Dingman, the Beechmont Theatre will cultivate confidence, cooperation, compassion and joyful learning in its students through imaginative play and storytelling.

Dingman is the Co-Artistic Director of Louisville’s Think Tank Theatre and previously Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  He has been building new works for the stage for more than 12 years. He has directed and taught young actors at Missoula Children’s Theatre, Kentucky Shakespeare, Walden Theatre and the Frazier Museum.

“Theatre is unique in the way it can tell a story, and there is a magic in it,” Dingman said. “It is a shared moment that can’t be reproduced, where the audience and actors are counting on each other to help build a world. I hope to help ignite the imagination of young people and give them tools to create and share their stories, the ones that they think are exciting and fun.”

The 8-week program begins on Monday, July 10, and the group will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. through August 31 at the newly renovated theatre area at the Beechmont Community Center, located at 205 Wellington Avenue.

The class size is limited to 15 students, and the program fee is $145 and includes a free meal each night. The Beechmont Theatre Showcase will end the class’s run on Friday, August 31 at 7 p.m., and family, friends and the public are invited to attend.

Metro Parks and Recreation has recently renovated the basement at Beechmont into a theatre space, including new paint, floor tiles, a stage, curtains and sound system, as well as a colorful mural created with the help of the Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program.