NET Festival 2003

Invitation to All Interested in Ensemble Theater-

Ensemble theater is thriving in many communities across the country. By acting collectively through the Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET), these ensembles are becoming a vibrant movement in America. This summer, NET invites all ensembles from across the continent to come together to celebrate our successes, develop our leadership, and plan our future as a force in American theater - to share work, and to learn from one another. Together we can map our collective future better than we can one by one.

In making this call, NET has joined forces with the KO Festival to offer, from July 21 - 27, 2003, a week of planning and visioning along with performances and workshops on the campus of Amherst College in Massachusetts. The KO Festival, under Artistic Director Sabrina Hamilton, has earned a reputation for presenting inspiring, cutting-edge work.

NET has grown, over the past ten years, from an idea shared between a few of America's most venerable ensembles into a new, national organization. NET is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and expanding the understanding and appreciation of the creative alchemy that occurs when artists continue to collaborate over time to make theater shaped by the context of the specific communities in which we work. Previous NET gatherings in San Francisco and Maine have attracted hundreds of artists from scores of theaters exploring the ensemble process.

Perhaps the most intriguing element of this summer's gathering will be the opportunity all the participants will have to help map the future of the ensemble theater movement, including planning toward the summer of 2004, when NET will mount its own Festival of Ensemble Theater in the Southwest of the United States, perhaps in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

This summer's partnership between the KO Festival and NET will also feature performances and/or workshops by Ruth Maleczech and Sharon Fogarty of Mabou Mines, Laurie McCants of Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Cornerstone Theater, Touchstone Theatre, The Ghost Road Company, Irondale Ensemble Project, NaCl/Strike Anywhere. and more.

Register before July 1, and the cost will be only $540 per person. (If you’re not currently a member of NET the cost is $690.) This fee covers all conference costs including meals, lodging, and admission to all performances and workshops. For an additional cost of $300, consider coming a week early (July 14 - 19) for two intensive workshops from Mabou Mines: Physical Acting with Sharon Fogarty or Acting for Contemporary Performance with Ruth Maleczech; or staying the week after (July 28 - August 2) for the intensive workshop Creating from Documentary Sources with Laurie McCants and Jerry Stropnicky of Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble. (To register for these workshops, visit the KO Festival website.)

The NET Board of Trustees invites all ensemble theater artists, and other interested folks, to come to Amherst for one memorable week in July. Help set the course for the journey we will take together.

For a schedule, click HERE.

For a schedule and description of performances at the KO Festival and the NET Festival, click HERE.