I asked Adrian Alexander to send a letter of introduction about atsactors so that we can continue to grow that email list. If you're presently studying at ATS or used to study here, email Adrian. Shoot, if you're thinking about studying here or just consider yourself an ATS friend, send him a note. AG

ATS Actors,

The atsactors online discussion group was established to provide students at the Actor Training School with current audition information for plays, films, etc. around the KC area. The site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atsactors/) can also be used as a discussion forum for questions related to the acting process or the KC theater/film scene.

Studio Manager Jeff Fellin suggested a long time ago that we should record podcasts on what we do at the Actor Training Studio. And we've finally done one. We talk about that ATS staple, the Open Scene on this first one. We'd be happy to entertain suggestions for other topics -- personally I'd like those to be craft related rather than career related, but would listen to anything.

Jeff's been good enough to place the podcast on his site. Here's the link:

Books referenced in this podcast are: Bill Howey's The Actor's Menu, available at www.actorsmenu.com or at Amazon;

KC Stage asked ATS actor Curtis Smith to interview me to mark the 10th anniversary of the studio! Here it is. You can find out more about the Kansas City performing arts community at www.kcstage.com AG

My Dinner With Andy - Reflections on Ten Years of The Actor Training Studio - Curtis Smith
Posted: Mon, Dec 31 2007, 7:23 PM

Ten years ago, I decided to get into some community theater to see how I'd do, being that I had experience in high school, and try to meet some people, which was a fantastic decision in hind sight. It was clear early on that despite the fun I was having, I couldn't really hang without training, so I started taking classes at the Actor Training Studio under the tutelage of Andy Garrison, who I found to be tall, friendly, and of the sort I could get away with trusting. His studio had just opened a couple months earlier. I started taking classes, and he has ever since been my mentor and "go to" guy in all things acting. He's also a damn good friend.

Stone, former flatfoot now detective, is hired to find the daughter of the powerful millionaire Luther Kingsley while Luther’s wife is doing her best to seduce Stone.

Busy dodging thugs and trying to convince his former partner Manny Munoz he is not guilty of murder, Stone works his private detective job.

It’s just another day in Hollywood of the 1940's world of powerful film studios and flimsy negligees.

All this set in a movie within a musical; something like The Maltese Falcon meets The Producers.

Here's the review we received in the Johnson County Sun Newspaper. Note -- the number at the end of the article should read 816-674-5601. AG

Cynicism, social drama, musical on area stages
BY: Russ Simmons, Theater Reviewer
Thursday, June 21, 2007 10:11 AM CDT

SPEED-THE-PLOW

A production of one of David Mamet's most cynical and observant plays marks the theatrical return of a homegrown actor who hasn't made a stage appearance in 30 years.

Jeff East, the local boy who became a star in the 1970s in movies such as “Tom Sawyer” and “Superman,” is currently appearing in the Down Every Street/Actor's Training Studio production of “Speed-the-Plow.”

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Local Stage Production to Feature Superman Star

Jeff East, star of television and film, including Superman: The Movie and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, appears in a local production of Speed-the-Plow, by David Mamet. Speed-the-Plow is presented by Down Every Street Productions in collaboration with the Actor Training Studio. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM, June 14 through June 30 at the Black Box Theatre in the Carlsen Center at the Johnson County Community College.