The New Acting Company

The New York Times raves that The New Acting Company is..."scrupulously faithful...completely original...and will easily appeal to theater goers!"

Laurel Graeber of the New York Times says of 2008's Alice In Wonderland
..."this production is so visually rich and energized that children unused to unadulterated Alice-isms aren’t likely to mind that a lot of the dialogue is jabber — or “Jabberwocky,” ...The Caterpillar alone is worth the price of admission..."

"Best Sources for New York Families" -New York Family Guide

"The New Acting Company embodies the best kind of children’s theater." -Martin Denton, NYtheatre.com

Proudly featured in:

• The New York Times
• Time Out New York
• NY-1 television 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2008
• and OffOffOnline.com
• New York Family
• New York Post
• New York Magazine

A message from the Artistic Director:

Stephen Michael Rondel

Welcome to The New Acting Company and our 10th Season Anniversary

Nine years ago I was hired by The Children’s Aid Society to create a “new” theater program. I began to restructure and design our progressive theatrical curriculum based on building the audiences of tomorrow by enriching the children of today. Back then, our student base was 50 and we employed two teachers. Today we serve over 120 students a semester at The Philip Coltoff Center and have a staff of 12. Every year we execute a year round after school program and produce an annual professional production that celebrates our most talented young actors by affording them the opportunity to work with professional adults for an Off-Broadway theatrical run. This year, we are proud to announce The New Acting Company will be officially expanding it’s programming into the African American Male Initiative and The Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. We envision a multi-site, multi-year expansion plan that will eventually replicate our quality theater arts programming throughout Children’s Aid. The New Acting Company has consistently been recognized by The New York Times, Time-Out New York, New York One News-Parenting Report, New York Magazine, The Villager, The New York Post, Talkin’ Broadway, Big Apple Parent and New York Family, as an outstanding theater company and school producing top quality family theater for all ages in the heart of Greenwich Village.

All of our instructors, assistants and designers are highly trained theater professionals who bring considerable teaching, acting and production experience to each class. By working closely with members of the industry, we provide our students with the truest sense of life in the theater. In fact, one of our past students, trained exclusively from our acting school, went on to co-star in the Tony nominated Broadway production of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart. Many of our past students have graduated from our program to attend LaGuardia Arts, a prestigious public high school specializing in Music, Art and the Performing Arts.

We continue to research and develop our lively after-school and evening acting programs. Our classes are designed to grow with your child’s age and skill level. For example, a student starts our program at age three with Storybook Theater, then progresses to Young Actors Workshop, Intermediate Acting, Theater Games and finally to Advanced Acting and Pre-Teen Showcase. In addition, hundreds of adults have attended our extremely popular Adult Acting Series and participated in our annual professional Off-Broadway productions. Our adaptations of The Jungle Book and Once Upon A Pandora’s Box, written by our Resident Playwright, Monica Flory, have been published by Playscripts, Inc. Another confirmation we are producing new and vital dramatic works. Celebrate our 10th season of classic plays and original adaptations of children’s literature for family and school audiences. Watch as our 2009-2010 season once again promises to entertain, educate and enrich.

Thank you to all of our returning members for supporting our program for the past ten years and a sincere welcome to our new patrons. The New Acting Company is proud to be a fun, safe and creative place for students of all ages to explore the world of acting.

Stephen Michael Rondel
Artistic Director