Virginia Stage Company
Virginia Stage Company (VSC) is a professional theater company located in Hampton Roads, Virginia. VSC presents locally produced plays for over 70,000 patrons a year both at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia and throughout the community.[1] A nonprofit theater, VSC has premiered Tony Award-winning musicals, featured world-famous actors, and gained national acclaim with their "American Soil Series," a program that commissions plays of special regional interest, usually receiving their world premieres.[2]
History
Unlike most theatre companies of its generation, Virginia Stage Company was not founded by a director or group of artists, but was created by the initiative of a group of civic-minded individuals. This first Board of Trustees began the organization in 1968. At the time, it was called Norfolk Theatre Center, and the first performances were presented in a 120-seat space in the former public library building on Freemason Street. The Theatre Center later moved to a makeshift space under Chrysler Hall and became known as the Stage Downunder at Scope. Very good for what it was, the Stage Downunder was a community theatre with local, amateur actors and directors creating theatre for the fun and love of it.
In the late 1970s, the Board of Trustees decided that Norfolk deserved to join other major cities and become a home for a fully professional theatre. Adopting the name Virginia Stage Company, they hired the first professional staff in 1978 and began detailed planning with help from the National Foundation for the Expansion and Development of American Theatre. A search began for a space where a professional theatre could produce and perform a season from October to May. After looking at 49 spaces, all looked grim, but the Wells Theatre stood out as a possibility.
Opening in 1913 as the opulent flagship of the vaudeville theatre chain of Jake and Otto Wells, the Wells Theatre had become a tarnished jewel in downtown Norfolk. Once a place where Fred and Adele Astaire danced, Will Rogers spun ropes and yarns, and the Metropolitan Opera Touring Company performed, the Wells had turned to movies during the Depression and by the late 1970s had become Norfolk’s only X-rated movie house. The building had suffered over the years with water from a leaking roof damaging the ornate plaster work. Even the stage itself was unable to escape the decline, having been converted into a lounge – “The Jamaica Room.” Despite the seeming neglect, the Wells had been heated, cooled, and minimally maintained. Best of all, the structure was solid, being one of Norfolk’s first buildings made of poured-in-place concrete.[3]
The public-private partnership at the Wells began. The Board obtained an option to purchase the remaining years on the lease. In October 1979, with $315,000 from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and $180,000 contributed and raised by the founding Board of Trustees, the lease was purchased, and VSC took possession of the Wells. Less than four months later, after a prodigious initial renovation, Virginia Stage Company opened their premiere season on February 7, 1980.
Main Stage Productions
Virginia Stage Company's seasons run from September to April and include six productions, five main season plays and one season extra. The company's repertoire includes Broadway hits such as The Wiz, Venus in Fur, A Streetcar Named Desire and Peter and the Starcatcher, locally written and produced plays such as I Sing the Rising Sea and The Hampton Years,[4] and classics such as The Tempest and Oliver Twist.[5]
World Premieres
2016 - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Adapted by Patrick Mullins[6]
2016 - I Sing the Rising Sea, Book, Music, and Lyrics by Eric Schorr
2013 - Frog Kiss, Book & Lyrics by Charles Leipart, Music By Eric Schorr, Based on the novella The Frog Prince – A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults by Stephen Mitchell
2013 - Swingtime Salute (on the deck of the Battleship Wisconsin), Book by Patrick Mullins, Music & Lyrics by various
2012 - The Comfort Team by Deborah Brevoort
2011 - SCKBSTD, A New Musical by Bruce Hornsby, Music & Lyrics by Bruce Hornsby, Lyrics by Chip deMatteo, Book by Clay McLeod Chapman
2010 - The New Pink by Chris Hanna
2009 - Alive and Well by Kenny Finkle
2009 - Line in the Sand by Chris Hanna
2007 - King Lear – The Storm At Home by Chris Hanna, based on William Shakespeare’s King Lear
2006 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Adapted by VSC
2005 - The Taste Test by Frank Higgins
1998 - Nobody Lonesome for Me by Lanie Robertson
1996 - Snapshots by Michael Scheman and David Stern, Music by Stephen Schwartz
1996 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Adapted by David McCann
1989 - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Adapted by Marsha Norman, Lyrics by Lucy Simon
1988 - Fossey by Lois Meredith
1988 - Play Yourself by Harry Kondoleon
1987 - Haut Gout by Allen Havis
1986 - Wetter than Water by Deborah Pryor
1985 - Morocco by Alan Havis
1983 - Island by Peter Link, Brent Nicholson, Joe Bravco and Larry Rosler
1983 - High Rolling by Robert Litz
1983 - Tiovivo by Mary G. St. Cloud
1983 - The Hazard County Wonder by Bruce Payton
1982 - Therese Raquin by Stephen William
1982 - Leavings by Michael Richey
1982 - Whatever Become of Love? By Ed Meyerson
1981 - Hot Grog by Jim Wann & Bland Simpson
Education & community engagement programs
Virginia Stage Company connects the Hampton Roads community through educational and community engagement initiatives that enrich lives and encourage artists and audiences for the future. Their offerings are based on core values of quality, diversity, and community. As an integral component of VSC’s mission, their education and community programming strives to reflect the needs of the communities they serve and to advocate for arts integration and experiences that promote literacy, character development, and critical thinking.[7]
Student matinees
Virginia Stage Company chooses productions that coordinate with school curricula. Students are provided significantly discounted tickets to attend student matinees in the historic Wells Theatre. SOL-based study guides are researched and created by the Education team and provided to each teacher prior to attending the show. Their award-winning directors, designers, and actors participate in a talk-back session with the students directly following each performance, giving students an opportunity to interact with professional artisans & technicians.
In-School tours
VSC’s touring productions bring to life exciting new works as well as classics of children’s literature designed to stir the heart, stretch the mind and promote education. Each production lasts under forty-five minutes with a Q & A wrap-up to easily fit into a classroom schedule and include an online activity guide.[8]
Workshops
VSC hosts workshops in stage combat, theatrical special effects, acting techniques, and script writing as a way to explore new skills and introduce people to the varied opportunities in the world of live theater. In addition, they also offer master classes, during which local and national theater professionals work both one-on-one and in group settings with students to help them hone their skills.
Stagedoor
VSC offers a variety of workshops taught by professional teaching artists that are designed to help Girl Scouts earn badges as they learn to express themselves through the dramatic arts.
Summer Theatre Camp
Working with professional theater artists, campers participate in two weeks of fun, high-energy, and theatrical experiences that will engage their imaginations and let them experience the thrill of live theatre. Each day includes classes in acting, improvisation, storytelling techniques, creative writing, rehearsals, and special outings. At the end of camp, students showcase an original production for family and friends.
References
- ↑ "October 2015 Newsletter". Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ↑ "Virginia Stage Company". Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ↑ "Wells Theatre". Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ BWW News Desk (4 January 2016). "Virginia Stage Company to Present THE HAMPTON YEARS". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ↑ Duke, Dan. "Virginia Stage Company's new season will start in other venues as Wells Theatre is renovated". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ "Virginia Stage Slates Classics and New Plays for 2016--17 Season". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "Education". Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ↑ Agnew, Tracy. "Coleman takes plays to schools". Suffolk News Herald. Retrieved 7 April 2016.