ACTS
began as a branch of the International Dance Project (IDP) in the fall of 1999,
co-founded by Stephanie Mavrides and Jan Kmiec in loving memory of longtime
friend and colleague Stephen Alexander. Prior to Stephen’s untimely death, he
and Stephanie ran IDP, a multicultural dance program in Greece that brought
together American and Greek dance students. ACTS emerged from IDP in honor of
Stephen when some students showed interest in being part of a musical. What
started as a small children’s theatre group has blossomed and grown into a
professional-quality community youth theatre. Now, ACTS presents several
musicals each year, professionally directed and designed, in addition to
offering master classes and workshops with professional artists, weekly dance
classes, special summer shows, alumni cabarets, fundraisers, and other theatre
educational opportunities.
In
2009, ACTS joined the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres
(EMACT) and was adjudicated for the DASH Awards program. We received four
nominations for Les Misérables in 2009 and one for The Wedding Singer in 2010, including nominations for outstanding performances and outstanding set and technical work.
ACTS
is unique because though all of our shows are non-selective (meaning that we do
not make casting cuts), we have attracted some of the finest youth talent in
the area. Many current students and alumni have worked with some of the area’s
top professional theatres, including Reagle Music Theatre, North Shore Music
Theatre, Stoneham Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre,
Turtle Lane Playhouse, Metro Stage Company, and the national tour of Spring Awakening. Many ACTS alumni have also gone
on to pursue performing arts after high school in some of America’s top
colleges and universities.
