George Mason University students will have an audience with a notable name in showbiz this week.
Ed Asner will conduct an acting workshop with George Mason School of Theater students at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the de Laski Performing Arts Building TheaterSpace.
Asner will also take questions from students and the public during a Q&A session.
Asner has won 7 Emmy awards, five of which were for his portrayal of Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later on Lou Grant. He also voiced Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's animated film "Up."
Ken Elston, director of Mason’s School of Theater, said he’d moderated discussions with Asner when the 86-year-old visited Mason’s Center for the Arts and the Washington West Film Festival.
Elston saw Asner at the festival again this year and asked him if he would be interested in working with Mason students.
The event is free and open to the public. The Professional Artist Residency in Theater, which is bringing Asner to campus, is supported by donations from Mason’s Friends of Theater group. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts box office.
Asner is kind enough to stick around until Saturday when he’ll be the grand marshal of the 70th Annual Greater Manassas Christmas Parade, said Elston, who is the parade announcer and scriptwriter. Elston is also a member of the Manassas City Council.