By Joseph Yeargain, 3rd year National Theatre Conservatory student

Tartuffe (cast)

Well, it’s my birthday and I’m heading into Showcase class at 10am; heading to the gym from 10:30-Noon; from Noon to 4pm, I’m in dress rehearsal for Tartuffe; from 4pm to about 5pm, we’re changing sets from Tartuffe to Hamlet; and from 6:30pm to 10:30pm we’ll be rehearsing Hamlet.

Not that I’m complaining. I most certainly am not. I recall the first time I came to Denver for callback weekend, watching the first off-book rehearsal of Elephant Man and saying to myself I want to be doing this in three years. (Luckily, I was accepted to this top-five program, and my dream is now a reality.) 

This has been a great, fulfilling rehearsal process for me, being able to work with such visionary directors and being able to work with the extraordinary ensemble that is the NTC Class of 2010 one final time. With each pass, a new layer is added to each of the shows, and the news that they are close to being sold-out (i.e. get your tickets NOW, if you haven’t purchased them already) is a testament to the thorough direction we’re receiving and the thorough teaching that the NTC has given us over the past three years. And I cannot wait to share our work with all of you!

It’s been rough-going since we received notice that the NTC will close its doors after the Class of 2012 completes its training. After much deliberation, I still cannot see the logic in closing a top-five graduate acting program. To be honest, I think that with the team that’s assembled here, in short time, we would be at least in the top three.

I was watching Etoiles, a documentary on the Parisian Ballet Company, and one of the dancers was asked why hisw company was the most renowned in the world. He responded that it was because of the school attached to the company. Without it, the standard of work would not be as high, and the unique challenges that each choreographer brought about would not be achieved with such ease.

By closing the NTC, the DCTC will lose a vital organ. And we alums will lose an ever-expanding family with a common language and experience that strengthens American theatre and film.

I understand that board members look at the bottom line. But at 2 percent of their budget, closure of the NTC seems like an extremely ineffectual move. There is a desire to get the next generation of theatre-goers into the theatre. By severing the very body that develops the next generation of theatre artists, how do they expect to achieve this goal?

With Hamlet we are appealing to the very generation that they desire to woo. Done as a living graphic novel, I need only describe a few events of the play to peak a potential audience member’s interest. And if they love Hamlet, they will want to go to the theatre the next time they have the option: play or movie (especially if they can say to their friends that they know that actor, a highly doubtful scenario with film).

With Tartuffe, I think it sad that a play written in the 1600s is still so timely with the recent revelations of problem priests and preachers and false gurus, using their influence for personal gain. Nonetheless, it is a great play, and with nontraditional casting, we are pushing boundaries that need to toppled, while expanding our abilities as actors.

In short, if you’ve already purchased your tickets for these two shows, you’re in for a treat. If not, get them today as we are close to sold out. And after you see the shows write to the Denver Center or your local paper and spread the word. The NTC should not be closed. It is a vital organ, not only to the DCTC, but to the American theatre in general.

But now for sleep, I have a big day tomorrow!

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