Wilmette’s Actors Training Center is giving North Shore kids the opportunity to become well-rounded professional actors—and they love it. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR
Fresh, energetic, and openly in love with the tasks at hand is a wonderful description of the 12 teenagers who performed in the Wilmette-based Actors Training Center’s (ATC) annual Professional Summer Intensive Showcase in mid-August.
It is riveting to have a front-row seat (and in this reporter’s case, literally) to the passionate and exuberant enthusiasm with which teenagers embraced the object of their affection—their performance.
Lifelong actress Carole Dibo founded ATC in 2007. ATC is dedicated to not only acting on camera and on stage, but also preparing young performers for the day-to-day realities of developing a professional career.
“Our tagline is ‘We Train to Work,’” says Dibo. “And that’s exactly what we do. We teach auditioning skills, how to walk into a room, who agents and casting directors are, and what they do and what they expect.” Students leave ATC having completed what might be called Professional Acting 101, with headshots, a resume, and the basic skills of interacting with industry professionals.
Sanaa Sayyed of Simon Casting, who also attended the showcase, says, “I’m impressed that ATC covers all aspects of acting. What I love is that Carole is able to produce a full, well-rounded teenage actor, which is very rare.”
The intense two-week period involves working directly with 16 industry professionals, all of whom are actively working in the Chicago film and stage community. “These kids are hearing directly from people on the front line,” says Dibo.
And few young performers are on the “front line” to the degree that ATC grad Rachel Brosnahan is. An Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominee for the Netflix original series House of Cards, she started training at ATC at 16 years old. Brosnahan has been recently cast in Woody Allen’s new original series for Amazon, and is set to play Desdemona on stage opposite Daniel Craig in Othello. This year’s crop of teens was in for a treat when Brosnahan Facetimed with them for two hours.
Dibo is Brosnahan’s manager and through the Carole Dibo Talent Manager Company, Dibo has helped develop the actress’ career along with Innovative Artists New York agent Ken Lee. “She’s on fire, my girl,” says Dibo.
Are all ATC grads bound for stardom? If not, they are certainly prepared to work, says Lynne Hamilton, of the Shirley Hamilton Talent agency.
“When I take on a kid from Carole, they are professional from the very, very beginning,” she says. “I don’t have to teach them anything. I just have to make sure that they do the best that they are capable of, because Carole brings out the best in all of her kids.”
That is not lost on parents, either. Mitch and Elaine Wexler’s 15-year-old daughter Jessica was one of this year’s teens. “She loved it and came home the first day and said, ‘We are all BFFs,’” adds Elaine.
Mitch believes that the entire ATC experience made a major impression on his daughter. “She was up at 6 a.m., ready to go.” When asked if that was out of character for their daughter, Elaine answered with a flat, unequivocal, “Yes.”
Jessica, a charmer who radiates enthusiasm about her ATC experience, says “I have never met a group of people more accepting and just overall wonderful to be around. There are so many things that we did that I never would have had a chance to do if I had not participated in this program.”
And that is Dibo’s aim. “Really, that’s the thing,” she says. “They don’t get this in their middle, junior high, or high schools. They just don’t. I feel very lucky and very grateful that I can give this experience to them.”
Being the professional that she is, Dibo also imparts another crucial point. “I always say to my kids that my allegiance is to my industry. I’m not just going to give you opportunities, you must earn them. And they get it. The kids are amazing. ATC has a great vibe. It’s a great place.”
For more information, visit actorstrainingcenter.org
