I hope everyone is recovering from the hurricane OK. To those still without power: I feel your pain. At my house, we’ve been out since 3pm-ish Saturday and don’t have any prospects for being on until this weekend. Good opportunity for practicing those coping skills!
Last I heard, power was still out at Hanover Tavern so “Boeing Boeing” is still tentative for this weekend. I hope the show can go on – people need distractions!
I appreciate GayRVA posting our nominee list last week. GayRVA is going to be one of the media sponsors for the RTCC awards this year so check out their site for a great take on local news and culture.
Since local theater news is relatively scarce in these waning days of summer (restoration started at the Empire, Richmond Shakespeare moved their offices, um, what else?), I’ll blather on a bit more about the awards. One very exciting change this year is we are renaming the Best Ensemble award in honor of Ernie McClintock, the great director and local theater innovator.
It was very sad when Mr. McClintock passed away 8 years ago this week. He had initiated the Black Theatre Festival and his Jazz Actors Theatre was going strong. However, his legacy still lives on. One of his protégés recently starred in the TV series, “The Cape,” and a host of local theater professionals carry on his vision today. Several of them will be on hand at the Artsies to pay tribute to Ernie, including Carl Clay, the writer, producer, and filmmaker who founded New York’s Black Spectrum Theatre.
It’s fitting that this year’s slate of contenders for the Best Ensemble award is perhaps the most competitive ever. Each of the casts nominated was a true ensemble, each cast member shining in his or her own moments but also collaborating with and supporting cast mates to create a uniformly exceptional theater performance. I think Mr. McClintock would be proud. Personally, I can’t wait to see who is ultimately chosen to receive the award.
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To add to your list of things going on - the renovations at SPARC for the black box space are under way now. You can see the progress on SPARC’s Facebook page. Henley Street Theatre’s production of The Merchant of Venice will have the wonderful honor to be the first company to perform in the new space. AND we have an ABC license now, so patrons will be able to enjoy drinks before and during the show. I am really looking forward to the kick-off of the 2011-12 theatre season!
Here's a link to that Facebook page, just FYI: http://www.facebook.com/#!/sparconline
Thanks, Jacquie!
And Dave -- "Dirty Little Showtunes!" has it final performances this weekend ... we only lost one show to the hurricane. We were lucky indeed. And even luckier that everyone in that sold-out house has re-scheduled!
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