Wild Thyme Players and Nashville Stagecraft present the Knoxville Pop-Up Theatre Project

KNOXVILLE – A local theatre company will host performing artists from Nashville for a special weekend to kick start a new project that will change the way Knoxville experiences theatre. The Wild Thyme Players will sponsor Nashville Stagecraft for a special seminar and workshop to introduce the Pop-Up Theatre Project. Pop-up theatre veterans from the Nashville group will show workshop attendees how to perform spontaneous short plays and monologues in public spaces around Knoxville.

A seminar on pop-up theatre theory and practice will take place at 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 19 at the Broadway Academy of Performing Arts (BAPA), 706 N Broadway. A workshop on pop-up theatre preparation will take place later that evening at 6:00 PM at BAPA. The combined seminar and workshop fee is $25, or $20 for students/seniors/military members with ID.

Free Pop-Up Theatre Project performances will take place on Saturday, October 19 at 11:00 AM at Sequoyah Park and again Sunday, October 20 at 12:00 PM on Market Square. The public is invited to attend.

Wild Thyme Executive Director, Carolyn Corley, expects the Pop-Up Theatre Project to revolutionize performance art in Knoxville: "We want to expose as many people as possible to our art, so we're bringing the show to them," she says. "We're going to visit under-served areas and demonstrate that you don't have to pay a high ticket price and sit in a darkened room to enjoy a good performance."

"We believe that cross-pollination among theatres and artists rejuvenates and inspires us all," says JP Schuffman, a professional actor and instructor with Nashville Stagecraft, "A vibrant communication within our local theatre community leads to a greater understanding of what our civic community wants from its artists."

The Wild Thyme Players present the Pop-Up Theatre Project with support from an Arts Build Communities Grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, with assistance from the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville.

Nashville Stagecraft is a small group of cross-trained artists specializing in a low-tech approach to theatre. They focus on the fundamentals of performance art, experimenting with movement and improvisation, to produce high quality work with minimal resources. The Pop-Up Theatre Project is designed to make truly accessible theatre available to the community and to learn from immediate and close interactions with the audience.

The Wild Thyme Players offer the Pop-Up Theatre Project seminar and workshop as part of ACT-UP! (Acting & Community Theatre – Uniting Performers!), a weekly, low-cost theatre education program. ACT-UP! provides general interest, drop-in acting classes for artists of all experience levels and teaching opportunities for established artists from around the Knoxville metro area. Classes take place most Sundays at 3:00 PM at BAPA. See wildthymeplayers.org for complete schedule.

The mission of the Wild Thyme Players is to provide collaborative learning opportunities in a process-centered environment for artists of all experience levels and backgrounds, and to encourage appreciation of theatre in our community. The company is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Published August 22, 2013