I know I don’t usually promote Style’s “competition” but there are so many reasons to pick up this month’s Richmond magazine that I can’t be quiet about it (also, as a glossy monthly, I don’t actually think of RichMag as the competition but anyway…)
First off, right there on the cover is a picture of U of R basketball coach Chris Mooney (and some other coach you’ve probably heard of too…) Coach Mooney will be presenting an award at the RTCC awards with co-presenter Susan Greenbaum. So if you check out the magazine you’ll have a preview of who this guy is and will be able to spot him sidling up to the bar on Sunday.
Also, you’ll see that this month’s issue announces the winners of the Theresa Pollak awards (and there’s an awards ceremony tomorrow –Tuesday – night if you’re interested. I don’t have the details, but maybe someone out there does???). Among the honorees is the inimitable Scott Wichmann who just celebrated the premier of the movie “Lake Effects” where he costars with Ben Savage and Casper Van Diem, among others. He also is continuing to celebrate, I’m sure, the ongoing success of his latest directorial effort, “Lend Me a Tenor.” Scotty is of course in contention for an RTCC award for Best Actor in a Musical so be sure to come on Sunday to see if this week will include a hat trick of big wins for Mr. Wichmann.
Finally, there is a sister publication called Dine included with this month’s RichMag that has a great article called “Dinner and a Show.” In this piece, several local theater folks give their recommendations of where to go to eat before seeing a show. It’s a great piece and one that I’ll be keeping around for reference.
And if I haven’t mentioned it enough already, go ahead and get your tickets for the RTCC awards already! If you are nominee and want to be there to collect your award (potentially), you need to get a ticket! If you are a performer, you still need to get a ticket! If you are a critic, you still need to get a ticket! Thanks to our grant this year, everything you spend associated with the event should go directly to the Theatre Artists Fund so get those tickets and come out and celebrate with us!
Showing posts with label rtcc awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rtcc awards. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
ArtStars, Amazing and other things that start with A
I went through the summer thinking about how crazy-busy it was, what with more shows opening in the traditional “down” time than I can remember. But now that we’re really getting into the heart of the fall, I’m realizing I had forgotten how truly crazy-busy things are once the summer’s over. Among the things to talk about:
The Dominion ArtStars awards are being handed out today, perhaps even as I write this. Arts organizations from all over the state were given recognition and cash awards as either “Shining Stars” or “Rising Stars.” Several theater companies were among the winners, including central VA’s Sycamore Rouge (congrats, kb!), Signature in NOVA, and Staunton’s American Shakespeare Center. It’s a great program that Dominion’s kicked off and I hope they keep it up.
The Amazing Raise starts tomorrow. The folks at Henley Street have been getting the word out about this. It’s an online event where leading non-profits can be awarded $10K based on donations of others. If you want to help groups like Henley Street, Gallery 5, Theatre IV, SPARC, the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen and others get a shot at that payoff, check out the Amazing Raise website.
My review of “Merchant of Venice” should be out today as well as Mr. Griset’s take on “Becky’s New Car.” I’m still waiting for the first words on “Suddenly Last Summer.”
Among the Broadway news is that Billy Elliot will be ending its run on the Great White Way in January.
As if there weren’t enough shows out there right now, the “Wicked” tour lands here again, opening tomorrow night. In the past two days, I’ve heard two people who I would never imagine in my life going to a musical say “I’m taking my wife to ‘Wicked.’” It reminds me of this little video piece I did out in California asking people going to “Les Mis” if they were aware of local theater. Some things never change.
I enjoyed my little online chat with James Ricks about artistic issues related to “Merchant.” It has often occurred to me that Shakespeare might lend itself better to talk-backs BEFORE the show, to allow people to get some education on the play’s background. I think it would enhance their enjoyment of a show where they are more than likely going to have trouble parsing the language, let alone separate out the social, political and metaphysical issues.
And of course finally, we have the Artsies. Please get your tickets and please come. I think it’s going to be a good time. All the pieces are in motion, the question will be whether they all fit together before next Sunday. Come and find out! Oh, and tell your friends to come too!
The Dominion ArtStars awards are being handed out today, perhaps even as I write this. Arts organizations from all over the state were given recognition and cash awards as either “Shining Stars” or “Rising Stars.” Several theater companies were among the winners, including central VA’s Sycamore Rouge (congrats, kb!), Signature in NOVA, and Staunton’s American Shakespeare Center. It’s a great program that Dominion’s kicked off and I hope they keep it up.
The Amazing Raise starts tomorrow. The folks at Henley Street have been getting the word out about this. It’s an online event where leading non-profits can be awarded $10K based on donations of others. If you want to help groups like Henley Street, Gallery 5, Theatre IV, SPARC, the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen and others get a shot at that payoff, check out the Amazing Raise website.
My review of “Merchant of Venice” should be out today as well as Mr. Griset’s take on “Becky’s New Car.” I’m still waiting for the first words on “Suddenly Last Summer.”
Among the Broadway news is that Billy Elliot will be ending its run on the Great White Way in January.
As if there weren’t enough shows out there right now, the “Wicked” tour lands here again, opening tomorrow night. In the past two days, I’ve heard two people who I would never imagine in my life going to a musical say “I’m taking my wife to ‘Wicked.’” It reminds me of this little video piece I did out in California asking people going to “Les Mis” if they were aware of local theater. Some things never change.
I enjoyed my little online chat with James Ricks about artistic issues related to “Merchant.” It has often occurred to me that Shakespeare might lend itself better to talk-backs BEFORE the show, to allow people to get some education on the play’s background. I think it would enhance their enjoyment of a show where they are more than likely going to have trouble parsing the language, let alone separate out the social, political and metaphysical issues.
And of course finally, we have the Artsies. Please get your tickets and please come. I think it’s going to be a good time. All the pieces are in motion, the question will be whether they all fit together before next Sunday. Come and find out! Oh, and tell your friends to come too!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Rosh Hashanah
Mr. Griset has added to the chorus praising “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” with his review this week. Sycamore Rouge kicked off its season last weekend with the Langston Hughes-oriented joint, “Simply Heavenly,” that received a less than stellar assessment from Ms. Haubenstock.
The folks at Henley Street are initiating what sounds like an intriguing series of talk-backs this weekend and their “Merchant of Venice” is a great show to kick it off with. This is a show that almost demands conversation and processing. I really admire James Ricks and his company for choosing this show to produce and then really committing to a serious re-imagining of the work by placing it in a modern context.
My review in Style is going to be fairly short – once upon a time I would have had 500 to 600 words for a review. This one had to be trimmed to 350. It’s the sad reality of print journalism these days and particularly brutal when you are trying to cover any Shakespeare, let alone this Shakespeare. So I may talk about “Merchant” a couple of times in this space to flesh out some of my thoughts.
First off, it’s kind of astounding that the show will be running through the Jewish high holy days (Happy Rosh Hashanah, y’all!) The anti-Semitism in the play is bracing, there’s no getting around it. Mr. Ricks has said he has put the most clear anti-Semitic sentiments in the mouths of the lowest class characters, making the issue a bit more about class rather than overall cultural prejudice. I don’t know that this choice comes across so clearly, particularly in the modern context where, even though there are clearly class lines, we are told and taught that they don’t exist.
I also found the secondary characters laughing during Shylock’s “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” speech disconcerting. Beyond this being one of the more famous monologues in the canon, this speech is also a universal plea for understanding (and a little vengeance) on behalf of all victims of persecution. This seemed like part of the lower class idea, given that the snickerers were patrons at a bar, and as such was consistent in theory. But in practice, I simply didn’t like it.
However, on the flip side, there were many ways I thought the anti-Semitism issue was handled masterfully. Jeff Clevenger’s performance is exceptional. I saw his actions not at all as a rabid anti-Christian but as a battered individual, pushed by the last straw of his daughter’s elopement to try to exact brutal retribution against a world that had stolen his wife, employee, dignity, and finally, his daughter. Clevenger never lets you forget Shylock’s basic humanity.
Also, the infamous court scene had a significant change from the original text (unless I missed it somehow) in that Shylock was not forced to convert to Christianity, among all of the other indignities he is forced to submit to. Finally, there is the issue of Jessica. Her deportment at the play’s end is distinctly different from Jessicas I’ve seen in other productions. I won’t spoil this for you in case you haven’t seen it but it isn’t expected given her economic situation at the play’s end.
And, in the end, this is a play largely about economics, or the “commidification of relationships” as Mr. Ricks says in his director’s notes. As such, I think making Antonio into a female character is also a masterful change and one I may talk about further in another post.
But before I sign off and since I have “merchants” on my mind, I really am overdue in giving a shout out to the sponsors of the RTCC awards this year. We’ve really had a great stepping up of people in commercial ventures who are supporting the event. Among those who are helping us this year are Style Weekly magazine, which is giving us a bunch of advertising both online and in print as well as hosting the pre-event reception; 103.7 The River, a radio station guided by the fabulous Melissa Chase who has promised to put the word out about us this year; Gay RVA.com, which is also providing us with scads of online advertising; Popkin Tavern, which is hosting the pre-event reception this year; Carreras Jewelers, which of course donated the great raffle prize of a gorgeous diamond necklace; and the extremely talented Jay Paul who is once again donating his photographic services to help memorialize the event.
Given how many “merchants” we have on board this year (not to mention the non-profits also supporting us, which I will at some other point), I’m a little surprised at the somewhat anemic ticket sales so far. Are people holding out until the last couple of weeks? Or have the awards kind of run their course and the excitement has passed? I’m really curious.
Regardless, I’m still excited about the big night and, while I’ll be disappointed if fewer people come than last year, I’ll also have a better chance at going home with that little Carreras bauble…
The folks at Henley Street are initiating what sounds like an intriguing series of talk-backs this weekend and their “Merchant of Venice” is a great show to kick it off with. This is a show that almost demands conversation and processing. I really admire James Ricks and his company for choosing this show to produce and then really committing to a serious re-imagining of the work by placing it in a modern context.
My review in Style is going to be fairly short – once upon a time I would have had 500 to 600 words for a review. This one had to be trimmed to 350. It’s the sad reality of print journalism these days and particularly brutal when you are trying to cover any Shakespeare, let alone this Shakespeare. So I may talk about “Merchant” a couple of times in this space to flesh out some of my thoughts.
First off, it’s kind of astounding that the show will be running through the Jewish high holy days (Happy Rosh Hashanah, y’all!) The anti-Semitism in the play is bracing, there’s no getting around it. Mr. Ricks has said he has put the most clear anti-Semitic sentiments in the mouths of the lowest class characters, making the issue a bit more about class rather than overall cultural prejudice. I don’t know that this choice comes across so clearly, particularly in the modern context where, even though there are clearly class lines, we are told and taught that they don’t exist.
I also found the secondary characters laughing during Shylock’s “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” speech disconcerting. Beyond this being one of the more famous monologues in the canon, this speech is also a universal plea for understanding (and a little vengeance) on behalf of all victims of persecution. This seemed like part of the lower class idea, given that the snickerers were patrons at a bar, and as such was consistent in theory. But in practice, I simply didn’t like it.
However, on the flip side, there were many ways I thought the anti-Semitism issue was handled masterfully. Jeff Clevenger’s performance is exceptional. I saw his actions not at all as a rabid anti-Christian but as a battered individual, pushed by the last straw of his daughter’s elopement to try to exact brutal retribution against a world that had stolen his wife, employee, dignity, and finally, his daughter. Clevenger never lets you forget Shylock’s basic humanity.
Also, the infamous court scene had a significant change from the original text (unless I missed it somehow) in that Shylock was not forced to convert to Christianity, among all of the other indignities he is forced to submit to. Finally, there is the issue of Jessica. Her deportment at the play’s end is distinctly different from Jessicas I’ve seen in other productions. I won’t spoil this for you in case you haven’t seen it but it isn’t expected given her economic situation at the play’s end.
And, in the end, this is a play largely about economics, or the “commidification of relationships” as Mr. Ricks says in his director’s notes. As such, I think making Antonio into a female character is also a masterful change and one I may talk about further in another post.
But before I sign off and since I have “merchants” on my mind, I really am overdue in giving a shout out to the sponsors of the RTCC awards this year. We’ve really had a great stepping up of people in commercial ventures who are supporting the event. Among those who are helping us this year are Style Weekly magazine, which is giving us a bunch of advertising both online and in print as well as hosting the pre-event reception; 103.7 The River, a radio station guided by the fabulous Melissa Chase who has promised to put the word out about us this year; Gay RVA.com, which is also providing us with scads of online advertising; Popkin Tavern, which is hosting the pre-event reception this year; Carreras Jewelers, which of course donated the great raffle prize of a gorgeous diamond necklace; and the extremely talented Jay Paul who is once again donating his photographic services to help memorialize the event.
Given how many “merchants” we have on board this year (not to mention the non-profits also supporting us, which I will at some other point), I’m a little surprised at the somewhat anemic ticket sales so far. Are people holding out until the last couple of weeks? Or have the awards kind of run their course and the excitement has passed? I’m really curious.
Regardless, I’m still excited about the big night and, while I’ll be disappointed if fewer people come than last year, I’ll also have a better chance at going home with that little Carreras bauble…
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Ernie
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.
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.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Stirring things up
The air is thick with anticipation as I write this. It’s Friday and Hurricane Irene is crawling her way up the east coast, the Richmonders I’ve talked to alternately scoffing at her imminent arrival or hunkering down for the apocalypse. In a theater-oriented sense, we are in that period of anticipation as rehearsals get intense in preparation for September openings. And, in a more specific RTCC-related sense, I’m excited because soon the Circle’s members will get together to decide the recipients of this year’s “Artsies.”
But this year critics won’t be the only ones casting votes. A new aspect of the evening’s festivities will be the People’s Choice award / raffle. Those attending will have the chance to vote for their favorite show of the year among the productions that were considered for RTCC awards (I’ll attach a list of those productions in a comment.) We thought this would be a way to gauge how different the critics’ choices are from the theater-going public…or at least the slice of that public that chooses to attend the awards. We also thought it’d be a fun twist to the night that would shake things up a little.
When you cast your vote, you will be entered into a raffle for a stunning piece from Carreras Jewelers. One vote will be picked at random and the person who cast it will receive the gorgeous necklace shown below. Rejena Carreras donated this star necklace in honor of all of the stars in our theater community. And, just in case you’re wondering, the pendant is 14 carat white gold, it is adorned with 15 differently shaped diamonds, and it is hanging from a white gold chain. It’s an understatement to say that it’s very pretty.
This is a fund-raising event though, so casting a vote (and entering the raffle) will cost $5. That way, not only do you get to state your opinion AND have a chance to win a beautiful piece of jewelry, you’ll also be benefitting your theater friends and colleagues by donating to the Theatre Artists Fund.
If you’ve attended in the past, you know the Artsies event is split into 3 acts with two intermissions. Voting will be allowed until the end of the 2nd intermission and then the winner will be announced during the evening’s final act.
I have no idea how well this will work or what the results might be. But I know that I’ll be casting at least a vote or two as one of the “People” in addition to the ones I’ll be casting as a critic in the hopes of adding another ‘star’ to my household…
But this year critics won’t be the only ones casting votes. A new aspect of the evening’s festivities will be the People’s Choice award / raffle. Those attending will have the chance to vote for their favorite show of the year among the productions that were considered for RTCC awards (I’ll attach a list of those productions in a comment.) We thought this would be a way to gauge how different the critics’ choices are from the theater-going public…or at least the slice of that public that chooses to attend the awards. We also thought it’d be a fun twist to the night that would shake things up a little.
When you cast your vote, you will be entered into a raffle for a stunning piece from Carreras Jewelers. One vote will be picked at random and the person who cast it will receive the gorgeous necklace shown below. Rejena Carreras donated this star necklace in honor of all of the stars in our theater community. And, just in case you’re wondering, the pendant is 14 carat white gold, it is adorned with 15 differently shaped diamonds, and it is hanging from a white gold chain. It’s an understatement to say that it’s very pretty.
This is a fund-raising event though, so casting a vote (and entering the raffle) will cost $5. That way, not only do you get to state your opinion AND have a chance to win a beautiful piece of jewelry, you’ll also be benefitting your theater friends and colleagues by donating to the Theatre Artists Fund.
If you’ve attended in the past, you know the Artsies event is split into 3 acts with two intermissions. Voting will be allowed until the end of the 2nd intermission and then the winner will be announced during the evening’s final act.
I have no idea how well this will work or what the results might be. But I know that I’ll be casting at least a vote or two as one of the “People” in addition to the ones I’ll be casting as a critic in the hopes of adding another ‘star’ to my household…
Monday, August 15, 2011
And the nominees are…
This year, the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle has 8 members, our most ever. We had more complete coverage of this past season than any other so far. I can say this with a good deal of confidence because there has been frequent communication between Circle members where we have encouraged each other to see certain productions and take note of specific performances. Our awareness of the process we will be going through at summer’s end is now fairly persistent throughout the season.
Even so – and as I’ve said every year – our process is not perfect and we freely acknowledge that. However, we are diligent in our efforts and we do not take any of this lightly. I would challenge any other group of 8 individuals with widely different perspectives to come together with as much conscientious attention to their work as the members of this Circle.
There are many interesting nominations this year and, as always, a few situations that might have people scratching their heads at least or crying out in outrage at most. Let me state vehemently that it is not a list that denigrates anybody via exclusion. There were several categories where we started out with more than a dozen possibilities, each of which was as worthy of consideration as the final selections.
In my opinion, it was a very good season, one where Richmond theater audiences were the real winners. As a result, there are many categories where it is a true toss-up in terms of who ultimately will receive the award.
So enough preamble…The complete list of nominations is now posted on the RTCC website. Let the fun begin!
By the way, tickets to the event will be available for $15 by calling the Theatre IV box office (282-2620) starting at 10am today (Monday). If you are a nominee and you would like to sit in the area of the house set aside for nominees, please let the box office personnel know. (And a big fat thank you to the Theatre IV box office for its invaluable assistance.)
And be sure to check back here for details about the event as we get closer to the big date (Sunday, October 16th, 7pm – mark those calendars!)
Even so – and as I’ve said every year – our process is not perfect and we freely acknowledge that. However, we are diligent in our efforts and we do not take any of this lightly. I would challenge any other group of 8 individuals with widely different perspectives to come together with as much conscientious attention to their work as the members of this Circle.
There are many interesting nominations this year and, as always, a few situations that might have people scratching their heads at least or crying out in outrage at most. Let me state vehemently that it is not a list that denigrates anybody via exclusion. There were several categories where we started out with more than a dozen possibilities, each of which was as worthy of consideration as the final selections.
In my opinion, it was a very good season, one where Richmond theater audiences were the real winners. As a result, there are many categories where it is a true toss-up in terms of who ultimately will receive the award.
So enough preamble…The complete list of nominations is now posted on the RTCC website. Let the fun begin!
By the way, tickets to the event will be available for $15 by calling the Theatre IV box office (282-2620) starting at 10am today (Monday). If you are a nominee and you would like to sit in the area of the house set aside for nominees, please let the box office personnel know. (And a big fat thank you to the Theatre IV box office for its invaluable assistance.)
And be sure to check back here for details about the event as we get closer to the big date (Sunday, October 16th, 7pm – mark those calendars!)
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