Company Information

 ACT Objectives

The purpose of Artists Collaborative Theatre, Inc. (ACT) is to provide the Greater Appalachian area with cultural experiences for both artists and audience attendees through the genre of outdoor theatre drama.  It will provide the public an access to the arts with the opportunity to enhance their appreciation of the arts and, hopefully, will result in a positive outgrowth of enhancement, local pride, self-esteem, confidence, and compassion.  It can enhance community development by providing accessible, high-quality, cost effective programs and services and will encourage life enrichment opportunities that can contribute to the advantages for Appalachian people in an increasingly competitive world.  This corporation through its activities will offer and encourage cultural growth, understanding, and exposure to people of differing ethnic, socio-economic, educational, and cultural experiences. Through the inclusion of and working more closely with area and local educational communities the underserved population of eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia will have the opportunity for community participation and positive learning experiences not usually available to the residents of our area.   

ACT was incorporated on March 22, 2001.  Our first production was The Kentucky Cycle in the Breaks Interstate Park in July 2002.  Individual, community and artistic interest and involvement in ACT’s production of The Kentucky Cycle became so powerful and awe-inspiring that establishing ACT as a corporation was the next logical step to continue and advance the arts and tourism initiative in the Appalachian area.  Community volunteers led the way as actors, costumers, set designers, musicians, cooks, and audience members. There is talent and interest in these mountains as well as the desire and work ethic to fulfill this community dream.

 The goals of ACT, are to offer and encourage cultural growth, understanding, and exposure to people of differing ethnic, socio-economic, educational, and cultural experiences through the arts. Through the inclusion of and working more closely with area and local educational communities, the under-served population of eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia will have the opportunity for community participation and positive learning experiences seldom available to the residents of our area.

Our artistic objective is to support Artists Collaborative Theatre, Inc. as an on-going year-round theatre production company that offers the following:

§        Continued staging and performances of The Kentucky Cycle

§        Performances based on original scripts from local and regional writers (two of which are being adapted at this time)

§        Productions based on scripts about Appalachian heritage and real life stories

§        Activities that promote the crossing of cultural boundaries through artistic exchanges with other regional/cultural performance groups

§        Local story gathering and presentations

§        Public readings of quality dramatic readings (local and other)

§        Involvement of local people of all age groups including workshops, seminars, summer learning/training sessions with staged productions

§        Continued involvement of local people in staging productions as well as their involvement of the production end of staged performances

Where Are We Located?
The home community of Artists Collaborative Theatre, Inc. is Elkhorn City, KY.  This small town is located on the eastern border of Kentucky and southwestern Virginia.

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 Who do we serve? 

ACT is located on the border of Eastern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia; therefore, we serve Appalachian counties of both states.  The counties being targeted and served by ACT for talent, audiences, and support include, in Kentucky:
Pike, Floyd, Letcher, Martin, Johnson, Perry, and Knott.

 The counties targeted and served by ACT in Virginia include:
Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan, Scott, and Russell.

Our company strives to meet the cultural needs of the Greater Appalachian area providing theatrical experiences for varying ages, genders, ethnicities, and tastes.  In order to serve these groups, ACT relies on the balance of a well-rounded season grounded in quality.  We focus on those who have an interest in Appalachia and /or southern history and/or performing arts.

Elkhorn City is a small community steeped in the rich history and astounding natural beauty of the surrounding area.
According to the 2000 census:
Our community consists of 1060 people and of that total number.
7% are a race other than Caucasian. 
The median age is 44.7 years. 
Male and female are nearly equally divided. 
85% of our residents are below poverty level. 
Families with female as householder, no husband present, 100% are below poverty level.
            Median earnings:  Male full-time -    $30,139.00
                                       Female full-time - $18,750.00

Total audience attendance for all performances of The Kentucky Cycle – Summer 2002, was in excess of 3,000 with an average of 350 in attendance per performance. 

With support, Artists Collaborative Theatre, Inc. can begin to serve the people deep in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and beyond including Lexington, Prestonsburg, and Pikeville.  We can deliver a year-round professional level theatre program that offers an environment of learning, growth, and cultural exchange.  ACT will bring to the mountains authentic Appalachian productions, hard-hitting drama, educational theatre for young people (which is no longer available to them in their public schools), and the opportunity to support and showcase local, regional, national artists and performers. 

Educational focus

Educational theatre is a foundation of ACT.  Theatre is one of the strongest vehicles in which young people can develop self-confidence, discover themselves safely and build strong character in order to become readily prepared to better serve a community, a nation, a world.  ACT is committed to strengthen this option to the youth of Appalachia and to witness the differences in their lives. 

• ACT conducted summer theatre workshops last summer for the communities of Elkhorn City, KY and Haysi,VA. The events were a huge success with the children as well as the parents.
•  ACT developed educational study guides and lesson plans to parallel The Kentucky Cycle and distributed them to each local school.
• ACT casting choices for The Kentucky Cycle showcased the area youth and allowed twelve young people the opportunity to experience and grow in a professional theatre atmosphere. 
• ACT will continue with our commitment to youth theatre as we expand our Educational Summer Program to include a six-week theatre day-camp, working in conjunction with ARCHEI and its coordinator, Aloma Burke, culminating in a final production for the public during the summer 2003. The goals of the workshops will include: concentration, flexibility, vividness of expression, connection of voice and body with written/spoken text, free expression of individual thought and feelings, and finding the free and natural voice. 
• ACT will debut a minimum of two educational tours of one-person shows, which will circulate through the school systems beginning fall 2003. Topics include World War II, illiteracy, and personal heritage celebration.

ACT has joined with ARCHEI (Appalachian Rural Cultural Heritage Education Initiative) and its other partners to work on the START Project (KY Arts Council), which will play a significant role in building participation in the arts in eastern Kentucky and southwesternVirginia with a particular focus on the outreach/underserved communities. The primary goal of this project is to develop and implement the Summer 2003 Youth Theatre Institute/Workshop. This Initiative will provide the opportunity for local and area youth to participate in theatre workshops.

ACT’s Fall Educational Touring Program will take our program into the school systems. This will allow us to introduce topics that will enhance the education in the humanities and the development of our youth.

From Country Boy to Combat Medic is an adaptation of a local man in his journey from the mountains of Southwestern Virginia to the battlefields of World War II as a combat medic.  This history is vital to our identity as a nation, the validation of our veterans, and the development of our youth.  And to see it told as a live theatrical event brings the story to life as it teaches the importance of life and death.  It features a lead actor to be supported by students who will rehearse with the actor and then perform during their school’s production.

The Lyre is a one-woman show bringing the reality of illiteracy to the forefront.  A single mother runs from her truth as her daughter struggles to survive in school and at home.

The Faces of Me (working title) is an autobiographical one-woman show.  It is a celebration of the mountain woman and her heritage.  The story will be told through masks, movement, and text.  A classroom study that accompanies this production will include student mask exploration to discover and celebrate their personal stories.

ACT strongly believes our school children are vital to the survival of our culture and communities.  We are dedicated to providing an artistic outlet for the youth of the mountains. We will be a strong resource to the school systems throughout the region.  We will be available to the families as an alternative activity for the youth and family beyond the schools.  Children with disabilities will be included and nurtured as all other children since all children have needs.

We will also be awarding at least one scholarship to a student involved in the season’s production and is/will be enrolled at an educational institution of higher learning and pursuing a degree in some genre of the theatre arts. The scholarship will be awarded during the semester following the season’s production. 

ACT plans to involve local and area schools in the planning and staging of all theatre productions via providing all interested teachers with printed lesson plans relating to the current planned production and encouraging student involvement in all phases of the productions.

ACT will provide the opportunity for local and area youth to participate in theatre workshops  that will include: jazz dance; modern dance; movement exercises; improvisation/theatre games; voice warm-ups; acting; musical theatre among other theatre activities.