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Mission

Ten Chimneys Foundation’s Mission

  • Preserve and Share the buildings, furnishings, collections, and grounds of a national treasure – Ten Chimneys, the estate created by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.
  • Serve as a continuing resource and powerful inspiration for theatre, the arts, and the art of living.
  • Offer public programs consistent with the Lunts’ varied interests and core values, while maintaining the integrity and intimacy of this extraordinary estate.

Ten Chimneys is a National Historic Landmark, a “Save America’s Treasures” project site, and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. Ten Chimneys is owned by the non-profit 501(C)3 organization Ten Chimneys Foundation, Inc.

Lynn Redgrave to be first Master Teacher of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows

January 02, 2008

On the heels of a remarkably successful 2007, Ten Chimneys is launching our first national program to serve American theatre. Beloved and deeply-respected actress Lynn Redgrave will teach an intensive multi-day Master Class for ten of the most accomplished and talented regional theatre actors in the country, as part of the inaugural year of the annual Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program.

For much of the 20th century, Ten Chimneys was considered “the center of the theatrical universe” – an important place for actors to retreat, recharge, collaborate, and develop as artists. In particular, the Lunts were known for their dedication to the next generation of actors. They reveled in mentoring young actors. Luminaries such as Laurence Olivier, Uta Hagen, Montgomery Clift, and Julie Harris proudly considered themselves protégés of the Lunts. (Laurence Olivier often said, “Everything I know about acting, I learned from Alfred Lunt.”)

The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program continues that tradition of mentorship at Ten Chimneys, serving contemporary generations of theatre artists in the same way it did the Lunts’ generation.

In 2008, professional regional theatres across the country will be invited to nominate actors to become Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. Ten of the nominated actors will be selected to receive Lunt-Fontanne Fellowships. The selected Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will have earned a reputation for exceptional talent, dedication to craft, attention to detail, and pursuit of excellence – the qualities for which Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were so revered. (A new class of ten Fellows will be nominated and selected every year.)

In 2009, the first class of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will be invited to participate in an exclusive, intensive, multi-day master class at Ten Chimneys with Lynn Redgrave. (Every year, the program will be held with a different renowned and respected Master Teacher.) The Fellows will be immersed in the beauty and inspiration of Ten Chimneys – literally walking (and acting) in the footsteps of the Lunts, Coward, Hayes, Hepburn, Olivier, Leigh, Gielgud, and the like.

Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will receive a cash stipend/fellowship, making it possible for working actors to commit to a multi-day immersion experience (as the winning Fellows would not be available for rehearsals or performances during their time at Ten Chimneys). In addition, all travel and related expenses will be covered as part of their fellowship. Portions of the Master Class will be documented on film, for use in a future documentary or educational series, and the program will likely culminate with a public presentation including the Master Teacher and all of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

After the Master Class concludes each year, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will return to their home communities across the country, bringing to the broader theatre community everything they gained artistically as part of the experience, along with renewed energy and a deepened commitment to mentorship. With ten Lunt-Fontanne Fellows a year, all actively working at theatres around the country, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship program will quickly become an important modern-day resource and inspiration for American theatre.

Actors or regional theatres wishing to be kept informed about this exciting new program should send their contact information to Lunt-Fontanne-Fellowship@tenchimneys.org or write us at Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, Ten Chimneys, PO Box 225, Genesee Depot, WI 53127.

GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION MAKES LUNT-FONTANNE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM POSSIBLE

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation has made a generous leadership grant to make this exciting new national program possible. The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program will cost $100,000 a year, including all stipends, travel, accommodations and food, professional filming, public presentations, and other related expenses. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation has committed to $50,000 a year for the first two years of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. The other half of the funding will be sought from donor-advised funds at the GMF and from existing Ten Chimneys Foundation donors who are interested in supporting this program in addition to their annual contribution to preserve Ten Chimneys and sustain our overall programs and activities (without which, national programs like this would not be possible).

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It is particularly meaningful for Ten Chimneys Foundation to welcome Lynn Redgrave as the very first Master Teacher at Ten Chimneys (since the Lunts themselves) since Ms. Redgrave was named in honor of Lynn Fontanne.

When World War II broke out, the Lunts reached out to their friends the Redgraves – Michael and Rachel. Lynn and Alfred offered to give the children – Vanessa and Corin – a safe haven at Ten Chimneys, in case the whole family wasn’t planning to leave London. Since the Redgraves were expecting their third child, they did choose to leave London during the height of the war. However, Michael and Rachel were so touched by the Lunts’ generosity and thoughtfulness, they decided to name their new daughter Lynn, in honor of Lynn Fontanne. So it is with great pleasure that Ten Chimneys Foundation welcomes Lynn Redgrave to the retreat created by her
namesake.

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