From David Leong: you dont want to forget these events - Mark your calendars now!

The Bloginator can say...."I knew him when..."

Once more congrats to Mike Farmer - in Orlando, as we speak, enjoying the long weekend as "one of six students from around the world chosen to participate this weekend in an all-expense-paid trip to the Lighting Design International (LDI) tradeshow in Orlando, Fla."

Read ALL about it here.

Scary • Dark • Classic • Haunting Medea

[vampire]Medea opens Thursday, October 27th and runs for only five performances at VCU's Shafer Street Theatre.  Running at about ninety minutes, [v]M is packed with blood, violence, shouting, tenderness, and poetry.

It is a world premier production at VCU crafted almost entirely in the theatre department and featuring original music.  With a cast ranging from sophomores to second-year graduate students, and directed by Augustin J Correro, [v]M juxtaposes modern sensibilities about the value of women, innocence, fidelity, and other-ness with Shakespeare's immortal language and Euripides' timeless story...all set in a world of darkness rife with things that go bump in the night!

Check out [vampire]Medea for a great treat on your Halloween Weekend!

Performances are:
Thurs Oct 27 @ 8pm
Fri Oct 28 @ 8pm & 11:59 (show time 12:30, pre-show reception from midnight)
Sat Oct 29 @ 8pm
Sun Oct 30 @ 2pm

What's in YOUR lobby?

We've got GREASED LIGHTIN'!!!

Twelve days until GREASE!!

Attn: ALL Theatre VCU students - Special Student Opening Saturday November 5.

Attn: Theatre VCU community Nov. 4 Opening Night - SOLD OUT!

Theatre VCU shined for the Stars!!

For the last couple of weekends our undergraduate Performance Majors had two opportunities to entertain the university community.

First was the Gala celebrating President Rao's inauguration - mentioned in the blog here for the first time.

Here is just one of the letters we received about that celebration:

David and Patti, Your students gave a terrific performance at the Inaugural Gala! Thanks so much for sharing their multiple talents with us.
Michael Davis
Professor and Interim Dean
School of Education
Virginia Commonwealth University

AND...

I want to thank you for such wonderful entertainment last evening. Your song selection and choreography were truly outstanding.... And our students were fabulous.


Thank you for all that you do to make VCU such a special place, and many thanks for the hard work that went into the production last night.

Bravo!
Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D., FACSM
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs


Then last Friday Theatre VCU supplied the entertainment for the Alumni Stars Banquet held at the Sheraton.

Here's what we heard from Professor Davis about that evening's entertainmnent:

WOW! Your students were fantastic! The folks at my table (including Dale Kalkoffen, the SOE Alumni Star) could not stop talking about their talent and energy. My wife and I are looking forward to Grease.
Michael Davis
Professor and Interim Dean
School of Education
Virginia Commonwealth University

AND...

On behalf of the MCV Alumni Association, thank you both so much for the amazing performance which you all produced for the alumni stars program on Friday night. I heard so many compliments from our guests who were completely blown away by the flawless numbers perfectly executed by your talented students. The personalization of the songs really added a special, memorable touch to the evening. It was great meeting you, David and it was great seeing you again, Patti.


Thanks again for making our alumni associations look so good....

Appreciative,
Barbara J. Payton
Executive Director
Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of VCU

Congratulations to Patti D'Beck, Justin Amellio and all our students for their hard work!

Mea Culpa & Kudos

In yesterday's post the bloginator totally forgot to mention several key players in Richmond Triangle Theatre's production of Suddenly Last Summer:

There was the lovely Ms. Sarah Jamillah Johnson, a alumnus of Theatre VCU, who played the put-upon Miss Foxhill.

Miss Becky Brooks, a fourth-year Lighting major, who designed the lighting and works every show.

Ms. Maura Cravey, a faculty member who specializes in wig and make-up here at Theatre VCU and was the costume designer for this production.

Mr. Tommy Callan, who graduated last year with a BFA in performance, and was the assistant director and stage manager for Suddenly.

And wasn't great to see Melanie Richards, VCU Dance Dept faculty, as Sister Felicity, hiding all that wonderful red her under her habit.

Kudos to all.


with chocolate on the side.

Theatre VCU well represented in Suddenly Last Summer - LAST WEEKEND of SHOW

Suddenly Last Summer

by Tennessee Williams

Richmond Triangle Players Theater

1300 Altamont Avenue

Richmond, VA

The Blogster has printed our VCU participants with VCU gold:

 Directed by Josh Chenard

 

Starring: Sarah Cole, Augustin J. Correro, Lauren Marie Hafner, Lorri Lindberg, Jacqueline O'Connor, Charley Raintree, Melanie Richards

Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm through October 22. 

This is what the critic say:

"Director Josh Chenard has managed to release the poetry of Tennessee Williams ... Suddenly, Last Summer should be high on your must see list." --- John Porter, WCVE Radio

"Powerful ... RTP has done a good job here.  Lorri Lindberg's performance balances viciousness and refinement, like a switchblade at an elegant table setting."     

       -- Rich Griset, Style Weekly 

"A disturbingly wild ride ... with tension, emotion and mystery!"   -- Lauren Grant, RVANews.com

"A definite artistic and technical thumbs-up ... This play is classic Tennessee Williams, evoking the eerie, spooky ambience of New Orleans."                              -- Matthew K Miller, GayRVA.com 

"RTP's production has a pair of fine actresses in the pivotal roles. Lorri Lindberg is powerful as the ruthless Violet .. Lauren Marie Hafner embodies Catherine's sensuality, confusion, and fear ..."                        

                     -- Susan Haubenstock, Richmond Times-Dispatch 

Set in the overpowering tropical conservatory in a mansion in the Garden District of New Orleans, Suddenly, Last Summer is a landmark work by one of America's greatest playwrights, and a battle of wills between two of Williams' most memorable female characters.

Reading Days and your daily dose of adorableness

Sarah Worden (Stage management) and Johnny K (Lighting) bringing in the fall... literally.

 

nice.

RTCC recognizes talent!

Last night all the Richmond theatre folk donned their finery and celebrated the brilliant work brought forth last year on Richmond stages at the annual RTCC (Richmond Theatre Critic's Circle) ARTSIE awards. A fine time was had by all. To read a funny insightful blog written by a theatre  "outsider" go here. And for the whole wonderful insider list go to Dave's Blog here.

And thanks to Blair Russell, here are the Theatre VCU students, faculty and alumni who's work was recognized by  RTCC:

Best Actress In A Supporting Role in a Play - Maggie Horan - (undergrad student) Legacy of Light
Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design - J. Theresa Bush (grad student) - Legacy of Light
The Ernie McClintock Best Ensemble Award - Jitney - Justin Delaney  (undergrad student) in the Cast.
Outstanding Achievement in Set Design - Brian C. Barker (alumnus & adjunct faculty) - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design -  Derek Dumais (alumnus)  - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Best Musical - [title of show] dir. Justin Amellio, (alumnus & adjunct faculty), Dan Cimo  (undergrad student) AND Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Katie Ford, Maggie Horan, Lauren Hafner, (undergrad students) Gianna Barone (music student) in cast)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Musical Andrew Hamm, (alumnus) This Beautiful City

and for next week....

Are you ready for the Rapture??

Tonight

Friday October 14, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Shafer Street Playhouse Room 302

Eric Coble's Southern Rapture

A staged reading

FREE

Two men humping in a park?!

Have your heard about that gay play? 
The one aboput AIDS? 
That kind of profanity does not belong in a God fearing society - yet these heretic thespians insist on shoving it in our face!
GOD IS NOT GAY
Join me, Reverend Dupree, in protesting this atrocity (in order that you may go to heaven).

ARE your ready for the SOUTHERN RAPTURE???

Theatre VCU shines at the Presidential Gala!!

Kudos and a standing ovation is what our students received last night after their rousing performance at the Presidential Gala celebrating President's Rao's inaugaration!!

Patti D'Beck and David Leong carefully arranged an assortment of popular music from "The Best is Yet to Come" to "The Impossible Dream" - all with VCU's Quest for Distinction theme in mind.

Twenty minutes of  finger popping music delivered with enthusiasm and style by six of our undergraduate Performance majors:

Nate Betancourt

Debbie Crabbe

Kyle Cornell

Katie Ford

Ahjah Prom

Antonio Tillman

By the time they got to "Celebrate" the entire ballroom was on their feet clapping in time to the music followed by an ovation that had to make all the extra hours of rehearsal well worth the time.

Many thanks to Thomas Vecchione for making all sound so good, and Blanton Bradley for the background music.

What a great team!!

Attention all high school students.

Open House Schedule
October 15, 2011

Check In: 7:30 to 8:30am -Siegel Center, Lobby

School of the Arts Overviews: 10am

Theatre: W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, Raymond E. Hodges Theatre

Department Overviews: 10:30 to 11am

Theatre Audition Prep Workshop: 11:45am to 12:45pm - 
Shafer Street Playhouse

This workshop is for students who are planning to audition for admission into the VCU Department of Theatre. The workshop will prepare students by providing information and preparation tips for the audition, as well as a question-and-answer session.

Mike Farmer is internationally known!!

Mike Farmer, a third-year Theatre VCU lighting major was selected as only 1 of 5 students internationally who was awarded a trip to the LDI (Lighting Design International) conference which will he held in Orlando, Florida at the end of this month.  He was chosen by an International Theatrical Lighting Manufacturer company (Electronic Theatre Controls - aka ETC) which he will represent while at the conference.  This definitely seems like something that the University should be aware of that will go a long way to promote the university and even more so, the theatre arts department.  

Below is a link to the ETC website announcing the winners. 

http://www.etcconnect.com/news.aspx?id=20453

Hey Farmer.... nice work!!

It's getting Greasy at MCV!!

Theatre VCU and some of the cast of Grease put together a great lunchtime taste of what's to come on the mainstage in November.

GREASE!!

We had patients tapping their toes. Doctors rockin' out. And a great gang of nursing students singing along with the cast.

 

 

Who was that guy in the Raybans???

was that Dr. Richard Wenzel.... or Vince Fontaine, the main brain?

A fine time was had by all!

Wait until they see the show in November!!

The Serbia Movie showing!!

Wednesday - October 12th - at 5:00 - in the Hodges Theatre - For Free!!

Do not miss it!!!

Filmed by Emmy Award Winning

Lisa Figueroa Crawford

 

THE FINAL WEEKEND!!!

Shakespeare's R&J
Tonight - Female cast
Saturday night Male cast 7:00 • Male cast 9:30
Singleton Performing Arts Center - vcutheatre.showclix.com or call the Box Office 804-828-6026

Read this wonderful article!

These are beautiful productions!!

A Tastey Taste of the First Year Discovery Project

TONIGHT! TOMORROW NIGHT!!

SHAFER STREET PLAYHOUSE • 7:30 pm

FRACTURED FAIRY TALES 

TOO MUCH FUN!

Support the first-year performance majors in their first time on-stage

Theatre VCU style!

 

First-Year Discovery Project - Wednesday & Thursday

The Greek Adventure filmed and celebrated

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND

A ONE HOUR DOCUMENTARY FILM

IN SEARCH OF THE GREEK CHORUS

STARRING THEATRE VCU STUDENTS AND FACULTY plus FACULTY AND STUDENT FROM VCU’S DEPARTMENT OF DANCE

 Come view the one hour documentary film: In Search of the Greek Chorus by Emmy Award winning filmmaker, Lisa Figueroa  Crawford.  See your fellow Theatre VCU artistes training and rehearsing with the DAH Theatre and Frankie Armstrong in Belgrade, Serbia and then performing, Soldiers and Sacrifice in Greece in June of 2010.

When:   Wednesday, October 12, 2011 
AT 5 P.M.

Where: Raymond Hodges Theatre

FREE!!

The cast:                                                    

Matthew Bloch Tommy Callan                          

Jaci Camden  

Emily Dalton                         

 Alyssa Davis (U. of Richmond)    
                       
Jenny Hahn                              

Alison Haracznak 

Elyse Jolley   
                             
Emily Reynolds (Dance) 

Gentry Roth     
                                                  
Tony Sanchez 

Michael Sater   
                          
Sara  Schmatz 

Jennifer Vick  
                      
Aaron Willoughby  

Kerry McGee Wilson    
       
Faculty: Janet Rodgers (Theatre)   and  
  
Martha Curtis (Dance)