“Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty, and meet me tonight in Atlantic City,” writes Bruce Springsteen about a guy who’s constantly rolling snake eyes while trying to come out on top, but as the song goes, “maybe everything that dies, someday comes back.” And that’s how I feel as I embrace the youthful exuberance of Atlantic City Theatre Company, an upstart theatrical production company that put up residence at the historic Dante Hall Theater in the Ducktown neighborhood of AC. The theater itself is a part of Stockton University, as are its founding member, who have taken the 220 seat performing arts center by storm with a Sanford Meisner inspired workshop that is quickly becoming the incubator of great things to come. Founder Jeremy Rotolo promises a full slate of production for the theater, as well as festivals along the boardwalk where actors and theater-goers can get a sense of what is happening just a few blocks away at St. Michaels Catholic Church.
We are a tight-knit family over here, but the safety net is often pulled from under us as we experiment with our craft. It’s a judgment-free zone as our acting guru Jimmy Collins, a Meisner student and adjunct professor challenges the group to reach beyond the minutiae of the mundane in order to embrace the small moments along the journey that make a performance worth watching. We are striving to make something wonderful for our members and our audience, while simultaneously embracing the innuendo of art.
Much like the craft of acting, we’re not sure what will come from our efforts, and that is the exciting part of it all. We don’t know where the road will take us, but we have packed up the family truckster and filled the tank with enough gas to get us somewhere. Anywhere. As Atlantic City enjoys its current resurgence with new casinos, hotels and productions, The Atlantic City Theatre Company is poised to make a significant impact on the community. I’m excited to be a small part of something so big.
Mike Straka
Board Member, ACTC