The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is a ground-breaking national program to serve regional-theatre actors and the future of American Theatre. Every year, 8-10 of the top regional theatre actors in the country, each nominated by one of America's premier nonprofit theatres, participate in an intensive weeklong retreat and master class at Ten Chimneys with a world-renowned master teacher. Each of the selected actors will receive a cash fellowship and will participate in an intensive week-long master class and retreat at Ten Chimneys with a world-renowned master teacher. After their week at the inspirational National Historic Landmark, Ten Chimneys, Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will return to their home communities across the country, bringing with them everything they gained artistically as part of the master class, along with renewed energy and a deepened commitment to mentorship.

With 8-10 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows a year, all actively working at theatres and in communities throughout the U.S., the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship program will have a deep and meaningful impact, as Ten Chimneys reassumes its historic role as a powerful national resource and inspiration for American theatre.

For much of the 20th century, Ten Chimneys was the center of the theatrical universe – an important place for the luckiest of artists to retreat, rejuvenate, and collaborate. The Lunts were known for their dedication to the “next generation” of actors. They reveled in mentoring young actors. Legends such as Laurence Olivier, Uta Hagen, Montgomery Clift, and Julie Harris proudly considered themselves protégés of the Lunts. The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program continues that tradition of mentorship at Ten Chimneys.

Defining what it takes to become a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow developed out of the question, Where do the mentors go to be mentored? There are actors in great theatre cities across the country who are – in essence – the “master actors” of their communities. They have 20+ years of experience as professional actors. They are widely respected by audiences, directors, and fellow actors for their talent, dedication to craft, attention to detail, and passionate pursuit of excellence – the qualities for which Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were so revered. These extraordinary artists have few, if any, opportunities to be protégé rather than mentor – to work with a world-renowned and respected master teacher. These theatre artists are the best of the best – widely considered the top actors in their cities. They are their communities’ theatre mentors. These are the actors who will be named as Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

Fall 2009: Ten Chimneys Foundation selected and invited ten of the most prestigious and accomplished regional theatres in the country to serve as Partner Theatres for the second year of this groundbreaking national program to serve regional theatre actors and the future of American theatre.

Winter 2010: Leadership at each Partner Theatre nominated between one and three actors they felt should be considered for recognition as Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. A National Advisory Council consulted with Ten Chimneys Foundation to select the actors to be named as Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

Spring 2010: Ten Chimneys Foundation announces the full “class” of 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows – with one Fellow selected from each Partner Theatre.

Summer 2010: From the time the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows are selected through the start of the 2010 master class and retreat at Ten Chimneys, Ten Chimneys Foundation helps the selected Lunt-Fontanne Fellows connect with each other from across the country, so that their identity and interaction as a group begins before they meet together for the first time at Ten Chimneys. Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will also receive regular updates and additional details regarding the developing content of the master class component of the week at Ten Chimneys, including correspondence with the master teacher (Mr. Edelstein) about preparation in advance of July 11, 2010.

July 11-18, 2010: The weeklong retreat and master class with Barry Edelstein will take place at Ten Chimneys (focusing on Shakespeare). The program has been lengthened from the inaugural year to give Mr. Edelstein and the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows even more time to retreat and to delve into their work together.

Ten Chimneys has been widely hailed as one of the most inspirational historic sites in the country – for people from all walks of life. But it is particularly inspirational for actors. The Lunts specifically and meticulously created Ten Chimneys to be a retreat that would simultaneously rejuvenate theatre artists and inspire them to do extraordinary artistic work together. The Lunts created Ten Chimneys to be a place that nurtured their personal devotion to mentoring the next generation. This historic context and inspiration makes Ten Chimneys the perfect setting for this unique artistic opportunity.

The intensive week-long retreat and master class will include:

INTENSIVE MASTER CLASS: The content and structure of the daily master class activities will be shaped by the expertise of the master teacher. Mr. Edelstein and the 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will focus extensively on Shakespeare; this exciting and challenging work will take place at the historic Ten Chimneys estate and in the state-of-the-art Lunt-Fontanne Program Center.

INSPIRATIONAL RETREAT: Significant time will be set aside for Lunt-Fontanne Fellows to explore the historic estate and grounds, rest, rejuvenate, work with each other between master class “sessions,” and take in the extraordinary spirit and inspiration of Ten Chimneys.

HOSPITALITY: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were passionate about their hospitality. For them, it was about more than “good manners”; making guests feel truly comfortable and sincerely welcome was the foundation for meaningful rejuvenation, inspiration, and substantive work. Ten Chimneys Foundation will offer the same care to Lunt-Fontanne Fellows that the Lunts did for their illustrious guests: first-rate air travel on Midwest Airlines, deluxe accommodations at the luxurious Delafield Hotel near Ten Chimneys, delicious and ample meals, comfortable local transportation, and other amenities – all included as part of the Fellowship.

There are, of course, more than nine “prestigious and accomplished regional theatres” nationwide. So the participating theatres will vary and rotate every year. Following are the Partner Theatres for the inaugural year of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program:

• California Shakespeare Theater (San Francisco Bay Area)
• Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Chicago)
• Goodman Theatre (Chicago)
• Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis)
• Milwaukee Repertory Theater (Milwaukee)
• The Old Globe (San Diego)
• Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.)
• Trinity Repertory Company (Providence, R.I.)
• Wilma Theater (Philadelphia)

Our Partner Theatres for 2009 were:

• Alliance Theatre (Atlanta)
• American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco)
• Arena Stage (Washington , D.C.)
• Arizona Theatre Company (Phoenix and Tucson)
• Denver Center Theatre Company (Denver)
• Goodman Theatre (Chicago)
• Milwaukee Repertory Theater (Milwaukee)
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland)
• Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle)
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago)

HALF-DAY REGIONAL MASTER CLASS: Wednesday, July 14: In addition to his work with the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, Mr. Edelstein will offer a half-day workshop for an invited group or professional local actors. At the same time that we offer this national program to serve the future of American theatre, Ten Chimneys Foundation remains deeply committed to serving the professional actors and theatres here in our own backyard.

CONCLUDING LUNT-FONTANNE FELLOWSHIP PRESENTATION: Saturday, July 17th, at 8:00 PM On the final night of the 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, Mr. Edelstein and the nine Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will offer a glimpse of what took place during their week at Ten Chimneys. Mr. Edelstein will explain how he and the actors approached their work, and why. To illustrate the work that was accomplished, the Fellows will share pieces of the scenes and monologues on which they worked with Mr. Edelstein. (Tickets available now: call 262.968.4110 for reservations or additional information.)

When the on-site program is completed, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will return to their home communities across the country, bringing with them everything they gained artistically as part of the master class, along with renewed energy and a deepened commitment to mentorship. Through a private page on the Ten Chimneys website, regular written updates, and other communication efforts, Ten Chimneys Foundation will help Lunt-Fontanne Fellows stay connected with each other and to connect with subsequent years of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. In particular, Ten Chimneys Foundation will actively encourage Lunt-Fontanne Fellows to engage in mentoring activities in their communities, with students and with younger actors. As Lunt-Fontanne Fellows engage in these mentoring activities, Ten Chimneys Foundation will share their stories and successes with other Lunt-Fontanne Fellows – further encouraging continued mentorship and educational outreach in communities across the country.

We anticipate that a good deal of post-Ten Chimneys interaction will be driven and shaped by the growing community of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. Ten Chimneys Foundation is well-suited to be an effective liaison and facilitator, and is prepared to meet the needs and requests of Fellows that have returned to their home communities.

This exciting new program will reap extensive benefits – both direct and indirect – for individual actors, for participating regional theatres, and for the communities both call home.

DIRECT BENEFITS: Actors participating directly in the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program will grow artistically, renew their passion for their art, form a national community of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, and deepen their commitment to mentorship.

INDIRECT BENEFITS: Direct participants will then exponentially expand the impact of the program when they return to their home communities. Highlights of the “indirect benefits” to communities, individuals, and Partner Theatres include:

• Other actors (particularly younger actors) who work with Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will grow artistically from the results of the participants’ transformative experiences.
• Audiences will benefit from the artistic results of the growth and passion of actors at the Partner Theatres (both direct participants and other actors being indirectly affected).
• Individual theatres will benefit from the artistic results of their actors’ growth and passion (both direct participants and other actors being indirectly affected), from the media attention this national program will generate, and from increased donor and community enthusiasm.
• Students in these communities will benefit from the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows’ deepened commitment to mentorship.

More broadly, American theatre as a whole will benefit from an inspirational program fulfilling a critical and deeply-felt need. Many of the most accomplished and dedicated regional-theatre actors in the country are desperate for this level of opportunity for mentorship and rejuvenation. And it simply hasn’t existed for them… until now. The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program will have a profound and immediate impact – improving the vitality of American theatre and the art-form’s dedication to nurturing the next generation.

The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program is made possible by the generosity of insightful and engaged donors. Ten Chimneys Foundation is actively seeking support to fund this important, unparalleled program. Individual support, combined with the generosity of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and other institutional supporters, makes it possible for us to serve actors, theatres, and communities across the country – as well as the overall vitality and strength of American Theatre – at no cost to actors or Partner Theatres. To contribute to Ten Chimneys Foundation and support the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, click here.

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