Discover Your Next
Theatre Experience

Step behind the curtain and discover the magic of Actors Theatre of Louisville, a National Historical landmark. Explore our three distinct performance spaces, learn fascinating theatrical history, and glimpse the creative process that brings productions to life. Our guided tours offer an exclusive backstage experience you don't want to miss.

Scene Study: Presence, Connection, and Creative Play

Step into a supportive space to build confidence, explore characters, and develop emotional versatility as an actor. This four-week class is designed for anyone interested in acting, whether you’re preparing for auditions, looking to sharpen your skills, or simply curious about exploring performance.

Each week, you’ll work with scene partners, experiment with text, and engage in Meisner-inspired exercises to strengthen presence, emotional openness, and authentic connection. Together, we’ll break down scenes, explore character motivations, and play with different approaches to acting; all in a fun, safe, and welcoming environment that encourages you to show up as you are.

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What You’ll Get:

·  In-the-room scene work guided by experienced teaching artists

·  Practical tools for text and character development

·  Exercises to build emotional versatility and presence

·  Encouraging feedback in a supportive, collaborative environment

·  Skills that transfer to everyday life; communication, collaboration, and creative confidence

No prior experience required—just curiosity, openness, and a willingness to play.

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Teaching Artists:

• Julia Estrada (she/her): Broadway performer (Hamilton), organizational psychology consultant, and co-founder of AlloImpact
• Devin McCarthy (she/her): TV/film actor and founder of The Oracle’s Daughters, a creative studio focused on storytelling and ritual

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Class Details:

• When: Weekly on Tuesday Evenings
• Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Location: Actors Theatre of Louisville
• Who: Adults, 18+

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Current and Upcoming Sessions:

‍Session 1

• Class 1: August 26
• Class 2: September 2
• Class 3: September 9
• Class 4: September 16
  **NO class on Sept. 23

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Session 2

• Class 1: September 30
• Class 2: October 7
• Class 3: October 14
• Class 4: October 21
  **NO class on Oct. 28

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Session 3

• Class 1: November 4
• Class 2: November 11
• Class 3: November 18
• Class 4: November 25
  **NO class on Dec. 2

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Session 4

• Class 1: December 9
• Class 2: December 16
  **BREAK FOR HOLIDAY
• Class 3: January 6
• Class 4: January 13
  

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Tuition:

• $200 for students (Tuition covers the full four-week series)

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Space is limited. This is an intimate, actor-centered experience designed for trust, focus, and growth. Join us and keep the scene alive.

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For more information, please email lace@actorstheatre.org.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt hosted a cocktail hour nearly every day at the White House, welcoming folks from different backgrounds to sip martinis, laugh, and connect. Inspired by FDR’s love of stirring up drinks and lively conversation to unwind in challenging times, this immersive new play mixes humor and history to build on this tradition for our era, asking how the 32nd President’s triumphs and failures might illuminate our own civic health. As FDR invites us to ponder life, a complicated legacy, and the pursuit of community, strangers become friends—and perhaps, together, we can find ways to talk with our neighbors again.

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This project prioritizes exploring the creation of an accessible experience for the fullest human spectrum possible. Open Captioning, ASL Interpretation, Audio Description, and design of the physical space for wheelchair access are part of the show. (FDR used a wheelchair, after all.)

Friday, October 24, 2025
Peterson-Dumesnil House
301 S Peterson Ave, Louisville, KY 40206

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Ghost Light Gala

Join us for Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Ghost Light Gala, a fundraising celebration set in the elegantly eerie Peterson-Dumesnil House. Guests are invited to dress in all-white haunt couture, inspired by their favorite theatrical ghost, for a night of creativity and community.

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The evening features cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a decadent dinner, dancing, and plenty of spectral surprises—all while raising essential funds to keep the (ghost)lights shining at Actors Theatre.

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Schedule

• 5:00 PM – Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres (pre-registered)
• 6:00 PM – Dinner (pre-registered)

• 8:00 PM – After(life) Party (click for tickets below)

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Interested in purchasing a table at the Gala?

Contact:
Emily Tarquin, Managing Director
📧 etarquin@actorstheatre.org
📞 502-284-1265 x3017

* Please note: Tables of 10 are $3,500. Limited individual tickets are available for $350 each.

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After(life) Party

When the curtain falls on the Ghost Light Gala, the real haunting begins. At 8:00 PM, the doors open for the After(life) Party, a ghoulish celebration for all.

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What to Expect

• A lively dance floor
• Creative cocktails and tempting desserts
• Hauntingly chic décor and surprises around every corner

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Details

• Date: Friday, October 24, 2025
• Time: 8-10 p.m.
• Dress Code: All white, inspired by your favorite theatrical ghost
• Ticket Price: $85

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Your After(life) Party ticket supports Actors Theatre’s bold storytelling and community programs all year long.

Space is limited so secure your spot before the spirits do!

Take a journey through the underworld, a dark realm filled with glittering light and mystery where the dead are very much alive. In this fantastical adventure infused with astonishing puppetry, humor, music, and magical visual effects, two skeleton friends, a dodo and a boy, are drawn into the epic battle between existence and extinction as they fight to stay together. Experience this mesmerizing odyssey from the Obie Award-winning company Wakka Wakka, international leaders in stretching the boundaries of theatrical imagination.

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A hit from the 2025 Under the Radar Festival that’s been called “dazzling” (Theatermania) and “ceaselessly inventive” (The New York Times), Dead as a Dodo will amaze grown-ups and kids alike.

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“From a formal perspective, it is among the most ceaselessly inventive theatre pieces I have seen in the past year….It immerses the audience in a fantastical universe—at one point, plunging underneath the fiery river Styx—thanks to outlandishly inventive puppetry, projections, lighting, and audio….The bigger story here is concerned with new beginnings, and it is told gorgeously.”

                    —The New York Times

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“A beautifully imagined, sweet-natured, kid-friendly show…by the extraordinary Wakka Wakka puppetry collective.”

                    —The New Yorker

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“Spectacular….Wakka Wakka, based in New York and Oslo, has been astounding audiences for years with innovative stories and mind-blowing puppetry. Dead as a Dodo will blow your mind too….[the show is] about exploring theatre magic and seeing what kinds of stories are possible to tell onstage….One eye-popping scene follows another, and the show’s 80 minutes fly by.”

                    —Theatermania

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Scrooge is back in all of his humbug glory! His disdain for Christmas is no match for visits from enchanting ghosts, a lively ensemble of characters, and the music of the season. Honoring Dickens’ classic tale, this acclaimed adaptation embraces generosity, community, and second chances. Bring your friends and family to Actors Theatre of Louisville for a new production celebrating this beloved tradition.

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“Jadhwani’s well-crafted adaptation combines the famous dialogue that audiences have become accustomed to and has weaved more intricate and lyrical phrases from the novel into the piece. Thus elevating the experience that the audience is given…there is no doubt that it will bring joy, merriment, and entertainment to all who experience it.”

                           —Broadway World

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“This new adaptation by Lavina Jadhwani stays true to the original story, telling it succinctly and effectively, emphasizing Scrooge’s willing participation in his transformation.”

                           —Cherry and Spoon

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Post-Show Conversation: Disability Representation

‍Following the December 10th performance of A Christmas Carol,  join us for a post-show conversation exploring disability representation in Dickens’ works, including this holiday classic.

Emma Woodhouse is clever, educated, and energetic…and in imminent danger of going mad with idleness. In a time when respectable ladies are expected to sit quietly at home, she desperately needs projects—and prides herself on matchmaking, much to the chagrin of her friend Mr. Knightley. But where Emma’s considerable energies focus, screwball comedy follows… A fresh feminist take on a treasured classic, this Emma breaks down convention, expectation, and even the fourth wall with vibrant comic flair—leading audiences “forward, onward, and upward!"

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Tickets on sale to the public 11/1/25

Actors Theatre of Louisville welcomes back New York-based company Fiasco Theater as they combine their joyful, actor-driven approach to Shakespeare with the ingenuity of The Saunders Collective—a family of multi-talented performers, singers, composers and producers. Featuring original music, this collaboration breathes magical new life into the classic madcap farce about two pairs of identical twins, separated in a shipwreck, whose day roaming the same city leads to mistaken identities, cascading misadventures, and gloriously silly comic confusion.
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“Fiasco is doing justice to Shakespeare in a wholly and excitingly contemporary way…Among its tools are careful compression, deep investigation of character, a pleasure in the gestalt of ensemble work, and a firm believe the that plays are meant to be, well, accessible fun.”

                     —The Washington Post

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“The Saunders family taps a compelling vein within the genre of musical theater.”

                     —Theatermania

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