Saturday, June 17, 2023

Children’s Theatre Company Announces Janely Rodriguez to join CTC Acting Company


Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is pleased to announce that Janely Rodriguez will join CTC’s Acting Company, beginning with the 2023-2024 Season.

Janely Rodriguez (she/they/he) has enjoyed roles in Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; Annie; Cinderella; Spamtown; and Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical at Children’s Theatre Company. Janely has also performed in productions with other organizations in the Twin Cities, including Hello, Dolly! (Theater Latté Da) and Iphigenia at Aulis (Ten Thousand Things). Other credits include Man of La Mancha (Asolo Repertory Theatre); Nick’s Famingo Grill and The Ghosts of Lote Bravo (Alliance Theatre); and Thumbelita and Schoolhouse Rock Live! (Birmingham Children’s Theatre). They hold a B.F.A. from Brenau University. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Janely Rodriguez into our Children’s Theatre Company Acting Company,” said Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. “Janely started at CTC as a performing apprentice and has since been cast again and again. She brings a huge talent, an incredible energy and a giant heart to all of her work and we are delighted to welcome her.”

“As one of the very few theatres in the entire country to support and maintain a professional acting company,” continued Brosius, “we know well the gift of having an ensemble who work so brilliantly together, trust each other, challenge themselves and our actors, mentor and guide our apprentices and our student actors and bring powerful and delight theatre to our audiences year after year. The history of so much of the greatest theatre in our history from Shakespeare’s Globe to the present day is the history of committed and dedicated ensembles. We are proud to have an Acting Company that brings so much to our audiences and our community.”

CTC’s 2023-2024 Season of seven productions features two world premieres, Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress and Babble Lab, the international sensation Cookin’ from South Korea, the only Minnesota stop of the national tour of The Carp Who Would Not Quit and Other Animal Stories from Honolulu Theatre for Youth, the return of last year’s sold out production of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the 3-time Tony Award®-nominated musical A Year With Frog and Toad, and the wildly inventive Alice in Wonderland.

Janely’s specific roles within the 2023-2024 Season, as well as complete casting and creative team information, will be announced at a later date.

I had a chance to interview Janely to learn more.

Can you share a little bit about what brought you to the CTC?
I was working for the Alliance Theatre when I caught wind of the Performing Apprenticeship for the 2019-2020. After a great audition, I asked my former classmate Dwight Leslie how he enjoyed his time with CTC (he was a PA during the 2017-2019 season) and he had nothing but praise. So, I took a leap of faith, moved out of Georgia and have been in Minneapolis ever since.

What are you looking forward to in this new role?
I’m looking forward to being part of a company with such amazing actors. To be held in the same regard as the people that I look up to is truly an honor. Not to mention, now that CTC revisiting classics like Alice in Wonderland and Frog & Toad, I can’t wait to see how I’ll fit into the puzzle.

Why is it important for families to have access to theater experiences?
Theater has such a way of making the hard conversations easier. We don’t give kids enough credit when it comes to their understanding of what one might consider difficult or complicated concepts. CTC isn’t afraid to bring these topics to the forefront of their season, whether it be worker’s rights, police brutality, or queer-coded stories.
 
What advice would you have for kids who love to be involved in theater?
Always advocate for yourself. I think both kids and adults alike have this notion that because we’re older, adults know best. But I can tell you as a (semi) functioning adult, that this is far from the truth. Never be afraid to make your boundaries clear and speak up for yourself. We all have our limitations, and we can’t make great theatre unless everyone feels safe.


Full season subscriptions and renewals for the 2023-2024 Season are now on sale and can be purchased online at https://childrenstheatre.org/shows-and-tickets/subscribe-and-save/ or by calling the ticket office at 612.874.0400.

Currently, the World Premiere of An American Tail the Musical is playing at CTC’s UnitedHealth Group Stage thru June 18, 2023. Tickets may be purchase online at childrenstheatre.org/AmericanTail or by calling the ticket office at 612.874.0400. Ticket prices start at $15.

Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people and serves a multigenerational audience. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire for more than 250,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the coveted Tony Award® for regional theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony® nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to creating world-class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

CTC’s engagement and learning programs annually serve more than 93,000 young people and their communities through Theatre Arts Training, student matinees, Neighborhood Bridges, and early childhood arts education programs. ACT One is CTC’s comprehensive platform for access, diversity, and inclusion in our audiences, programs, staff, and board that strives to ensure the theatre is a home for all people, all families, reflective of our community. childrenstheatre.org

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