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16 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, September 15, 2011 To Be Determined Theatre Company for youth sets up in Acton Actor, director and theatre theoretician Alexandra Lent is opening a new kind of children's theatre, based in Acton this fall. Called the To Be Determined Theatre Company, it will offer workshops, classes, camps and youth and adult theatre productions. Registration is now open for the fall youth theatre production and rehearsing begins at the Heritage Acton Town Hall, starting on Monday, Sept. 19. Lent graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters in Performance Studies and spent the past six years studying and training in Ottawa and New York as a professional actor, director and theoretician in the field of theatre. "I loved watching students realize that they had the ability to learn all their lines on their own and transform themselves into a character of their choice with nothing but their imagination and dedication to the task at hand," said Lent. " It took years of learning the ropes as a performer, a director and teacher for numerous different companies to realize that there was a dire necessity for theatre for youths, ALEXANDRA LENT but maybe not children's theatre as I knew it." The To Be Determined Theatre Company is a combination of all aspects of Lent's teaching, directing and performance experience rolled into what could be the new face of children's theatre, she said. "When planning and designing this company the first thing I did was to remove the word `children' from its slogan. That word holds a connotation of being `just a child, or a kid', instead I chose to use the word youth which advocates for our students the respect of being young people with individual personalities, opinions and skills to offer," said Lent. Youth production program is open to youths aged 10 to early 20s, and this broad age range allows for the students to learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses. It also allows the youths to learn to respect each other for their different contributions to the play, whether they be in helping each other with line memorization, character development or even set or costume design. The first production will be a play-- the sequel to Shakespeare's classic, A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by Kevin Sutton, an established local performance writer and playwright. "Kevin's new play, entitled `A Midsummer Night's Dream II: Titania's Revenge' is not only a witty, enchantingly comedic piece of literature, but it also shows our students that new artists are valued and deserve a place on our stages," said Lent. "Although I will not be directing any revivals of the time honoured `Cats' or crafting with glue sticks any time soon, I am looking forward to a future of youth theatre and a company that will be pursuant of a sense of community and respect within our own community." If you would like to learn more about TBD's programs or register your youth for the fall production of `Midsummer II' visit www.tobedeterminedtheatre.ca or 416-801-0025, alent@ tobedeterminedtheatre.ca