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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.

Sixth Day of Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program Inspires Public

July 18, 2009

LFFP Photos by Jim Brozek Photography © Ten Chimneys Foundation

Notes from Sean Malone – President, Ten Chimneys Foundation
Saturday, July 18, 11:52 p.m.

The sixth day of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program saw the final two master class sessions with Lynn Redgrave and the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, as they returned to the scenes from the first part of the week and continued their intensive monologue work, both in the Lunts’ mural-filled Drawing Room and in the Lunt-Fontanne Program Center.

Saturday night was the “Concluding Presentation” of the program, with another packed house. In introducing the presentation, I started by thanking all of the volunteers, donors, and friends who have made the program possible, with explicit thanks to the representatives of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for their generous and insightful lead grant; without their support, the program would not have happened. I went on to share a little about why Ten Chimneys Foundation created this program. Many in the room knew that Ten Chimneys was saved by the late Joseph Garton. Even though we have only been open to the public for six years, Joe founded the organization almost exactly 13 years ago this week. Joe started this all with his vision and belief that a restored Ten Chimneys could be a true inspiration and resource for actors and theatre professionals – that it could change the future of American theatre for the better. This past week at Ten Chimneys has been a realization of that vision. Lynn Redgrave expressed it well when she said “This is such a talented group of master actors from around the country. And what Ten Chimneys Foundation is doing with this program is simply astounding. This kind of opportunity simply hasn’t existed before, anywhere. And it’s so important; it’s so meaningful.”

Before offering the audience a glimpse of the work that she and the Fellows were doing all week, Lynn pointed out the one empty chair on the stage, honoring inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellow Donald Griffin (Alliance Theatre). “Don had to return to Atlanta early for health reasons,” Lynn explained, “but he gave us all a wonderful night sharing his talents with us on our second night together. We are all thinking of him, and are pleased to have had the time with him we did.”

Lynn then talked to the audience about the kind of work that she and the Fellows did together, and the Fellows shared a sampling of the scenes and monologues they’d worked on throughout the week. The presentation started with five scenes from Hamlet. Lee Ernst (Milwaukee Rep), Jon Gentry (Arizona Theatre Co.), and Francis Guinan (Steppenwolf) all shared Hamlet monologues; Dan Donohue (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and Jack Willis (American Conservatory Theater) shared the “Ghost” scene between Hamlet and his dead father; and Mary Beth Fisher (Goodman) shared Gertrude’s monologue when she tells Laertes about his sister Ophelia’s death.

After the Hamlet pieces, the Fellows lightened things up with two comic monologues – Dan Donohue shared a piece from As You Like It and Naomi Jacobson (Arena Stage) shared a piece from Pericles. Next came two pieces from The War of the Roses: Henry VI, part 3 with Mary Beth Fisher, Lee Ernst, Suzanne Bouchard (Seattle Rep), and Jack Willis; and Richard III with Jon Gentry and Kim Staunton (Denver Center). The first half of the presentation concluded with Francis Guinan sharing a Leontes monologue from Winter’s Tale.

The second half of the presentation started with two comic monologues from The Merry Wives of Windsor, with Mary Beth Fisher as Quickly and Jack Willis as Falstaff. Next came King Lear: a “Goneril scene” with Naomi Jacobson, Francis Guinan, Dan Donohue, and Kim Staunton; and a monologue with Suzanne Bouchard as Regan. Kim Staunton shared a monologue of Lady Macbeth. And Lee Ernst and Suzanne Bouchard shared a scene from Antony and Cleopatra. To close the Shakespeare portion of the evening, Lynn Redgrave explained to the audience that she and Naomi Jacobson would give a deeper glimpse of what the week entailed by offering a “live class,” using Cleopatra’s monologue after Antony is dead. Naomi worked through the monologue with a few starts and stops, at one point bringing on Francis Guinan up with her to be Dolabella (the character on stage in the play during Cleopatra’s monologue). Lynn shared a few thoughts and ideas with Naomi, in front of the audience, concluding with the question, “what if Dolabella was trying to take you away from Antony’s body? Naomi did the monologue again, with Francis as Dolabella trying to pull Cleopatra away in her grief – at first gently and then more physically. The transformation of the (already impressive) piece in front of the entire audience was intensely powerful – and truly revelatory.

Following the scene work, Lynn and the Fellows shared a few thoughts about how important this week was to them, and how important this type of program is to American theatre. Many shared that the program has been transformational, that they are leaving Ten Chimneys changed – and inspired. One expressed her feelings by saying that she was looking at her career and her life, now, as “pre Ten Chimneys or post Ten Chimneys.” The rest of the Fellows and Lynn Redgrave voiced their agreement. As the evening came to a close, I was deeply touched when Lynn and the Fellows presented me with a framed copy of the evening’s program – with inscriptions from all of them. They shared that the gift was a symbol of their commitment to passionately “pass on” what they have gained here at Ten Chimneys when they return to their home communities – to embrace their roles as mentors and to embody the spirit of Ten Chimneys and the Lunts. I’ll cherish the memento they gave me. And I’ll cherish their promise even more – because it means that, this week, Ten Chimneys changed American theatre forever.

Lynn closed the evening with a beautiful recitation, reminding us all that:

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d tow’rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

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