Atlantic Theater Company
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The Atlantic Theater Company runs an off-Broadway theater in a converted church in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The Atlantic also runs a state-of-the-art, 99-seat off-off-Broadway theater known as Stage 2. The Atlantic has had a long string of theatrical successes. Most recently, its hit musical Spring Awakening began a successful Broadway run. Past successes include The Voysey Inheritance, Celebration and The Room, Blue Orange, Trafficking in Broken Hearts, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, the Lieutenant of Inishmore, and many others. Neil Pepe is the artistic director, and Andy Hamingson is managing director.
The company also runs one of the nation's preeminent acting conservatories. The foundation of the school is an acting technique called Practical Aesthetics, originally developed by David Mamet and William H. Macy. The Atlantic Theater Company has its own two-year conservatory program, and is also part of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Its acting technique promotes a deep and rigorous dedication to truthfulness on stage. Actors are encouraged to pursue objectives based on their characters' wants, and generate their performance out of the way this pursuit affects them and the other actors on stage. Prominent actors trained in the Atlantic Theater Company include Felicity Huffman, Jessica Alba, Heather Burns, Rose Byrne, Eddie Cahill, Peter Facinelli, Matthew Fox, Bryan Greenberg, Clark Gregg, Kristen Johnston, Joey Kern, Camryn Manheim, Matt McGrath, Jesse Merz, Jason Ritter, Skeet Ulrich, Diane Neal, and many more. The executive director of the school is Mary McCann. Steven Hawley and Kate Blumberg are co-associate directors. Geoff Berman is the artistic director of school productions. Heather Baird is the admissions director.
Some theater companies/performing groups to come out of the Atlantic Acting School include: Mobius Group Productions, Bar Hoppers, Thirsty Turtle Productions, Harvard Sailing Team, The Group B Project The Fifteenth Minute, The Ateh Theater Company, The Production Company, Hair of the Dog, EBE, Riot, and The Management.
