Sunday, May 19
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Registration Required Below
The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series is pleased to host Improv at the Library, where all the world’s a stage and the players are unscripted!
Led by Redding’s Diana Canova, an actress and 40-year resident, high school actors from Troupe Du Jour will be given prompts to spontaneously act out on stage. The result can be touching, challenging or hilarious! Troupe Du Jour was founded in 2010 and includes actors from Joel Barlow High School and the surrounding area.
Don’t miss this chance to see friends and neighbors on stage for an afternoon of fun and surprises!
A reception will be held after the program. Space is limited, so please register early.
About the Performers
Troupe Du Jour was organized in 2010, when a group of Joel Barlow student actors attended an improv troupe show at the Mark Twain Library, produced as part of a Hermes Art Series. After the show, the students approached their teacher, Diana Canova, and asked if she would be willing to teach them improv so they could raise money and fix a hole in the school’s stage curtain.
“What happened next was a wonderful surprise!” Canova said. The high school not only ended up paying for the repair, but more importantly, the journey of the Troupe Du Jour had begun.
From that time, the troupe has performed for many charities, including for the Make a Wish Foundation, for cancer research, and for people in the community. Over the years, Troupe Du Jour has raised thousands of dollars for charity.
“For the actors, the journey has been so positive,” said Canova, herself an experienced actor with a long career appearing on television, the stage and film. “Many talented students with Troupe Du Jour have gone on to become teachers, lawyers, scientists and even professional actors. It all started with a Hermes program!”
The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series was founded in 2003, and is funded by a generous gift the couple donated to the Mark Twain Library. The mission of the series is to enrich the quality of life in the community of Redding by producing and supporting events in the visual, literary, theater and musical arts.