Training the Young Actors of Theatre Ashbury
How Good Do You Want to Be? And What Are You Going to Do About It?
Introducing an innovative approach to youth theater, Training the Young Actors of Theatre Ashbury is an inspiring educator’s guide.
Gregory H. Simpson’s inspiring book Training the Young Actors of Theatre Ashbury describes the successes and challenges of a school theater program that sought to equip students to stage professional-caliber productions on provocative topics.
Part manual, part reflection, the book introduces an innovative approach to youth theater implemented for thirty years at Ashbury College, a private day and boarding school in Canada. There, teachers instruct students to think about social issues while developing their excellence in all aspects of theatrical production. The program’s ethics and mission are named before the book moves on to anecdotes and case studies illustrating the level of education and attention needed to support students staging plays involving subjects like rape, suicide, domestic violence, and the Holocaust. Matthew Perry, an Ashbury alumnus, acted in the first school production based on the Theatre of Education approach, and the story of the play’s rehearsal and staging involves most program tenets and the key to the program director’s role: “My responsibility was to teach them in a safe manner. They needed to learn the reasons behind the behaviors.”
To make it a useful instructional resource for those aiming to replicate the school’s model, the book first introduces basic class rules and aims, in addition to addressing dramatic skills, conflict resolution, accountability, and education on a play’s themes. Experts whom the students consulted, including professional actors, doctors, sex workers, parolees, and Holocaust survivors, are given their due. The program’s workshops, exercises, and games are detailed next, followed by an exploration of self-talk, an in-depth personal presentation to help students connect with their characters’ emotions and to help casts develop trust.
The nitty-gritty of the Ashbury process, down to costuming, prop checks, warm-ups, and cues, is covered in depth before the book moves on to its case studies of individual plays and challenging students. Each case study explains the interior work required of students for that particular play, the experts involved, and adaptations made to support the students’ emotional and mental health. Here, the depth and breadth of Theatre Ashbury’s productions, including the challenges from teachers who wanted a “typical high school” theater program, is brought to life. Serious opposition to the program is covered thereafter. Portions of columbinus, identified as the program’s signature play, appear throughout the book. The case-study chapter on the play, which is about the Columbine school massacre, details the actors’ immersion in news clips and autopsy reports; they even designed a memorial to the students who died.
With its blend of educational philosophy, practical tips, and case studies, Training the Young Actors of Theatre Ashbury is an intriguing resource for those leading youth theater programs.
Reviewed by
Lynne Jensen Lampe
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
