The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Tony-nominated alumna makes ACES ECA homecoming
NEW HAVEN — Students at ACES Educational Center for the Arts dreaming of careers in theater were introduced to a face to which they can grow accustomed Wednesday.
Television and stage actress Lauren Ambrose, a 1996 alumna of the arts magnet school in New Haven, was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical at the 2018 Tony Awards for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in the “My Fair Lady” revival on Broadway. She stopped by the program to run a workshop for students.
“My goal is to make (the workshop) an exercise in making the work as personal as possible,” Ambrose said. “I want to talk about making sure they know that they are enough and they are unique. Because that’s what we need.”
Ambrose said she was excited to work with the high school students because they have feelings and emotions “in every pore of their skin,” something she knew she could harness and develop. When she was a student, she said, she was grateful to the program for giving her somewhere to “harness” and “develop” her own feelings.
Ingrid Schaeffer, chairwoman of the school’s theater department, said she remembers Ambrose from her days as a student as being “passionate and incredibly creative” with a strong “emotional instrument.”
Ambrose said she was always intent on a career in theater, and she credits ACES ECA for pushing her outside of her comfort zone and instilling in her the fundamentals of acting.
“When I was here, it was a crumbling synagogue,” she said, marveling at the building’s facade.
Schaeffer said the program grew grown from 24 students to 60 in the time since Ambrose graduated.
Several of the students in Ambrose’s Wednesday workshop expressed emotions ranging from humility to excitement at being able to hear from the actor.
“I haven’t met a lot of people who have been on Broadway,” said New Haven sophomore Sam Crumlish.
Senior Elena Keogh from Madison said it was an honor to meet someone she had seen on the Tony Awards.
“It’s nice that we have that alumni connection and support,” she said.
The timing of having the lead actor in “My Fair Lady” visit the school just as they are rehearsing a production of the same musical was optimal, Crumlish and Keogh said.
Hannah Stein and Justyn Velez, both juniors from Wallingford , said they recognized studying under Ambrose would be a great experience.
“I saw her in ‘My Fair Lady’ this summer and met her after and we talked about what it was like at ECA,” Stein said. “She’s someone who is now a star.”
Velez said he felt Wednesday’s exercise was an opportunity to be “part of something great.”
“It’s really wonderful for them to hear her story and to learn what’s possible to do if they apply themselves,” said ECA instructor Carolyn Ladd. “It’s an opportunity to ask questions about what her world is like.”
In addition to her Broadway role, Ambrose is known for her role as Claire Fisher in the HBO series “Six Feet Under,” Denise Fleming in “Can’t Hardly Wait” and Jilly Kitzinger in the TV series “Torchwood.” She has also had roles in “Party of Five,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The X-Files.”