Actors Training Center spreading new mission with drive-in screening Oct. 11, winner-take-all raffle

“Train To Work” is the motto of the Actors Training Center in Wilmette.

But what are trainees working for? That is a question ATC leaders set out to answer as it reworked its mission to fit today’s society.

“ATC amended its mission in response to the recent social justice issues and Black Lives Matter movement,” said Bonnie Schoenberg, ATC’s board president, via email. “… The ATC staff, led by founder Carole Dibo, met as a team and brainstormed ways to use art to create meaningful change in our community and in the world. We believe we are in a unique position to train young artists to be both actors and activists.”

In efforts to “bring awareness to its expanded focus,” the ATC — a nonprofit entity — will present a screening of its summer musical, “Tuck Everlasting,” at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Loft 21 Drive-In in Lincolnshire. Tickets are $100 per car.

Additionally, the group is raffling off what Schoenberg called a “one-of-a-kind” package that is an “actor’s dream.” It includes training, personal consultations, coaching from professional performers, meetings with producers, headshots and more.

See more details on the prize package here. Tickets are $50 or three for $125.

“Not only does (the package) include a free ATC class and photography session with a nationally recognized photographer, but it gives an aspiring actor the opportunity to be coached and mentored by top Chicago and New York industry professionals,” Schoenberg wrote to The Record.

ATC’s summer musical changed this year, too.

Usually, Dibo said, the summer musical takes the stage for three performances at The Edge Theatre in Edgewater. But this year, the show — which was filmed in an ATC board member’s backyard — will be performed outside.

The Actors Training Center is a nonprofit that provides a creative outlet in a professional space for students of all ages. The goal is to give actors the training to audition at the professional level.

The recent update advances ATC’s mission for its students “to effect meaningful change in their communities and the world around them,” Dibo said in an email. “ATC trains students not just for today’s industry, but for the industry that they will build tomorrow.
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