Nathaniel Stampley Honored as One of America’s Top Actors

Nathaniel Stampley has been selected as a 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, nominated by Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Mr. Stampley is one of ten actors in the entire country who will participate in the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. July 12-19, Stampley will join Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad for an intensive weeklong master class at Ten Chimneys, the National Historic Landmark estate of theatre legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

The 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program will focus on roles that are “against type”  and will allow the actors to engage in parts that differentiate from the characters they may typically play.  As a result, the Fellows will return to their home communities more inspired and more inspiring – offering great benefits to other actors, to individual theatres, to students, to communities across the country, and to American theatre as a whole.

Mr. Stampley was nominated by Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Mark Clements, Artistic Director at Milwaukee Rep, said of Stampley:

“Nate Stampley grew up in Milwaukee, the son of a well known minister. He’s made Milwaukee incredibly proud with a career spanning continents and that also includes incredible performances here in Milwaukee. I had the joy and honor of directing Nate in ‘The Color Purple’ earlier this season at MRT. Not only did Nate’s performance as Mister showcase his incredible voice and nuanced acting talent, but he also proved unequivocally that he is a natural and inspirational company leader of the highest caliber. In addition to this, he may just possess the most infectious laugh in our industry. He brought great empathy to a difficult character and approached this role with enormous sensitivity and an openness to his fellow performers. With roles on Broadway, the West End, and a recent national tour of ‘Porgy and Bess’, Nate’s career has taken such exciting turns and I look forward to seeing where he goes next. It is an absolute pleasure to nominate him for the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. I know Nate will embrace this opportunity with his typically open heart & will generously impart his learning and discoveries to all of his colleagues – both in Milwaukee and afar.” – Mark Clements.

The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program has brought the nation’s top regional theatre actors to Ten Chimneys to work with world-renowned master teachers. Past master teachers include Lynn Redgrave, Olympia Dukakis, Barry Edelstein, Joel Grey, Alan Alda, and David Hyde Pierce. Ten Chimneys Foundation is thrilled to welcome Phylicia Rashad to this illustrious list.

“In my experience, teaching and directing have one great thing in common: I never know what is going to happen until I am in the room with the people. But, one thing is certain: As surely as we hold the intention to explore the truth of human behavior, the results are astonishing.” – Phylicia Rashad, 2015 Master Teacher

For a complete list of our 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows, visit www.tenchimneys.org.

PUBLIC OPPORTUNITIES

At the close of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, guests are invited to attend two public programs. On Friday, July 17th, Ten Chimneys Foundation will present A Conversation with Phylicia Rashad, an intimate evening during which Ms. Rashad will share stories about her life and career. On Saturday, July 18th, Ms. Rashad and the ten 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will take the stage together for a Concluding Presentation, a rare look at the work they explored during their week at Ten Chimneys, as well as a one-night only program highlighting the remarkable actors chosen as 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

Tickets are on sale now. More information, including ticket prices and program details, can be found at www.tenchimneys.org, or by calling (262) 968-4110.

ABOUT PHYLICIA RASHAD – 2015 MASTER TEACHER

Ms. Phylicia Rashad became a household name for her portrayal of Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, a character whose appeal has earned her accolades for over two decades. While TV was a catalyst in the rise of her career, she has been a constant force on the stage. Ms. Rashad received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her riveting performance as Lena Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Her Broadway theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (a role that she reprised on the London Stage), August Osage County, Cymbeline, Gem of the Ocean (Tony Award nomination), Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods, Dreamgirls, and The Wiz. Her off-Broadway theatre credits include Bernarda Alba, Helen, The Story, Everybody’s Ruby, Puppet Play, Zooman and the Sign, Sons and Fathers of Sons, In an Upstate Motel, Weep Not for Me, The Great MacDaddy, The Duplex, and The Sirens. Ms. Rashad has received rave reviews for her directorial work, including Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Fences. Her film credits include Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds, and Perry’s highly acclaimed film version of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

Respected in the academic world, Ms. Rashad was the first recipient of the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University. She holds honorary doctorates from Fordham University, Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University, Providence College, Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Barber Scotia College, St. Augustine College, Brown University, and Spelman College. She has been awarded numerous honors including the 2015 BET Honors Theatrical Arts Award, Texas Medal of Arts, the National Council of Negro Women’s Dorothy L. Height Dreammaker Award, AFTRA’s AMEE Award for Excellence in Entertainment, the Board of Directors of New York Women in Film and Television’s Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement, Dallas Women in Film Topaz Award, Peoples’ Choice Awards, several NAACP Image Awards, and the Pan African Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Rashad serves on the Advisory Board of the PRASAD Project and the Board of Directors of True Colors Theatre, the Broadway Inspirational Voices, The Actors Center, the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, and the ADEPT Center- which is steering the restoration of the historic Brainerd Institute.

TEN CHIMNEYS FOUNDATION – PROGRAM HOST

The Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program takes place at Ten Chimneys – the National Historic Landmark estate lovingly created by theatre legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, widely considered the greatest acting couple in the history of American theatre. This beguiling Wisconsin landmark offers a one-of-a-kind environment for the work of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne constructed Ten Chimneys to be the perfect working retreat for themselves and a circle of friends comprising the best-of-the-best in American theatre. That tradition continues today through our Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program.

Ten Chimneys is a proud recipient of funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.