Children's Theatre of Knoxville
Creative Dramatics Performances, Workshops, and Events
About us
Children’s Theatre of Knoxville, Inc. (CTK) is a newly-formed non-profit corporation, operating under Tennessee State Charter #0561570, that is dedicated to producing meaningful theatrical productions for children and families, providing advanced theatrical instruction for children, and serving the community through drama-related outreach programs. The company was formed by Zack Allen, who serves as the corporation’s Executive Director, and by Jenny Ballard, who serves as Artistic Director.
CTK’s offices are located in Suite 9 at 101 N. Jackson Street. The company will produce six full-length theatre productions for children at various locations around Knoxville in 2008; a full schedule of these productions and other classes and workshops will be published in January. The organization’s inaugural activity was leading a Theatre & Film Camp a month ago at Peninsula Village for eight teenage girls, which resulted in two Public Service Announcements for Peninsula Village and Covenant Health. A grant from Fort Sanders Health Foundation supported this outreach activity.
Our events and programs
CTK is presenting a series of after-school Creative Dramatics workshops for elementary and middle-school aged children called “Imagi-Stage.” Imagi-Stage workshops meet after-school Monday through Friday for two weeks from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. Each 2-week-long Imagi-Stage workshop is centered around a classic children’s story or book and culminates in a full-scale 20-minute theatrical production at 5:30 PM on the final Friday. Children write their own adaptation of the short story, create basic scenery and costumes, and learn the basics of acting and performing through rehearsing the short play.
AUDITIONS FOR "THE PRINCESS & THE PAUPER"
An audition for "The Princess and the Pauper" will be held on Monday, March 24 from 2 PM to 4 PM at Theatre Knoxville Downtown. The theatre is located on the north end of Gay Street, directly across from Regas Restaurant.
We are casting up to seven roles for children ages 9 to 16. You may come anytime between 2 PM and 4 PM. You may perform a 1-minute monologue, and you will be asked to read from the script.
Rehearsals begin Saturday, March 29. There are 20 rehearsals, which will be mostly weekday evenings from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. The play performs on May 2 & 3, May 9 & 10, and May 16 & 17.
The play will be directed by Jenny Ballard. The script is written by Zack Allen and is an updated adaptation of the novel by Mark Twain. This version updates the story from the 1500s to the 1800s, and rather than focusing on Henry Tudor, this play focuses on the childhood of Queen Victoria.
Interested? Call Jenny Ballard at 567-1522, or e-mail info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com
The CTK Instructors
Instructors for Imagi-Stage and Matineé Club Workshops are Jenny Ballard and Zack Allen, who bring over 30 years combined experience in creative dramatics.
Jenny Ballard is one of Knoxville’s busiest actors and directors. She recently performed as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare in the Square and will appear in the upcoming CBT production of Galileo. She has played numerous roles for Actor’s Co-Op and Tennessee Stage Company over the past ten years and has served as Education and Outreach Coordinator for both companies. Her production of “Charlotte’s Web” was named Best Children’s Play by Knoxville Area Theatre Coalition in 2003.
Zack Allen was most recently the Executive Director of Rose Center, a multi-disciplinary cultural arts center in Morristown, TN, which serves as the Designated Agency of the Tennessee Arts Commission for an 8-county area of northeast Tennessee. As a member of the Clarence Brown Theatre Company, Allen performed in over 30 productions there from 1986 to 1996. He also served as Director of Media Relations for the CBT for six years. As a company member of the Actor’s Co-Op, Allen directed Prelude to A Kiss, On the Verge, Cloud 9, and many other plays. He directed Much Ado About Nothing for the Tennessee Stage Company’s Shakespeare in Market Square Series last summer.
