The Language Project at American Players Theatre

Upcoming Sessions

December 2025 Session

Monday, December 1 - Sunday, December 14, 2025

January 2026 Session

Thursday, January 1 - Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Application Information and Dates

Currently, applicants must be nominated and invited to apply to The Language Project.

We are eager to find artists who are curious about language and dedicated to continual artistic growth. TLP has developed relationships with theater training programs around the country that nominate students and recent graduates who, in their view, would benefit from TLP.

Once invited to apply, applicants submit a video and short written application.

Fee

$1,500*

Includes tuition, class materials, furnished housing in shared apartment, local transportation.
Note: participants are responsible for meals and for travel to and from Spring Green

*APT and TLP are committed to providing an equitable experience for all participants. Full and partial scholarships are available for students for whom the cost is a barrier.

Tracy Michelle Arnold
(she/her/hers)

Tracy has been acting professionally since 1990, but knew herself to be an actor from the moment she stepped onto a stage at age 15. She holds an MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University and has spent 25 seasons with American Players Theatre, where she is a member of its Core Acting Company. During her years at APT, she has also worked as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has led acting workshops at other universities and has worked as a private acting coach. Her acting career includes over 100 productions at theatres across the country, including The Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers, Northlight, Steppenwolf, Indiana Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Asolo Rep and Forward Theater, among others. Her experience with Shakespeare includes over 35 productions, comprised of 8 tragedies, 11 histories and 14 comedies. Her work has also encompassed the plays of Shaw, Sheridan, Wilde, Coward, Chekhov, Ibsen, Ionesco, Pinter, Miller, and Williams, all of whom use heightened, poetic language to explore the human condition. Her collaboration with such luminaries continually challenges and expands her understanding of the craft of acting, and she is delighted to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with the next generation of theatre makers.

James Ridge
(he/him/his)

Way back in 1986, as a college senior with his BA in Business and English Secondary Ed almost within reach, Jim found himself in a theater watching a one-actor performance of Hamlet. He was mesmerized. And an appetite was born to create for others a similar experience. Almost forty years later, the excitement of that pursuit has matured and deepened. Now a member of the Core Acting Company at American Players Theatre, Jim has spent 27 years with the outdoor, rotating repertory ensemble, performing in Shakespeare, Molière, Goldsmith, Chekhov, Shaw, Beckett, Ionesco, Stoppard, Williams, and Mamet. He has taught workshops covering heightened language at actor-training programs, coached private acting students in the use of text-based acting, and taught/choreographed stage combat in theaters, universities, and certification workshops. A self-professed word-nerd and student of the craft of acting, Jim believes that the way to the heart is through the ear, and he maintains a deep curiosity for specific and imaginative acting choices based on the architecture devised by the playwright.

"This is the most inspired I’ve felt in the work in a very long time, and I cannot wait to keep working in this way.”

"The Language Project was the perfect haven to practice the craft. The work was recontextualized for me in many ways: how I think about the text and the arguments within it, and how I approach them. The intensive provided the time and space to learn new tools and refine and sharpen pre-existing tools, all in the context of a laboratory setting where the purpose was to practice, not perform. I found this to be one of the most rewarding aspects of The Language Project.”

"The rigor and fervor of the instructors was infectious. Their zeal for words and clarity of thoughts coupled with the intensive work we did in the room every day really cultivated a tenacity in us. This tenacity lives with me still and I suspect it will forever.”

"This work helps actors to be in relationship with the playwright, and to try to understand their vision. It has taught me to stay curious, to stay open, and to be a detective (of language).”

“I didn’t realize just how deep you can go. In slowing down, we’ve really been able to get into the text and right into what Shakespeare was trying to get across. It just opens up universe on universe of what’s there to be discovered.”

"Even in a conservatory-style education setting, the day is filled with distractions, diversions, and outside responsibilities that demand time and attention. Being able to use The Language Project as an opportunity to dive deep into text and text only was engaging, rejuvenating, and deeply satisfying.”