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Original programs from Sean Tubbs and others
 Left to right, Ayana Croff as Bonna, Arrietta Van der Voort as Edna, and Madeline Hermsmeier as Lucy, in The Good Times Are Killing Me, by Lynda Barry.Photo credit: Jack Looney/C-Ville Weekly |
The 1960’s are known as a time of great change. Live Arts’ latest production captures what it was like to grow up during that tumultuous period. The Good Times Are Killing Me runs March 23 to April 14 in the Downstage Theater. I spoke with director Larry Goldstein this week to find out more. |
 (left to right) Richelle Claiborne, Matt Fletcher, Scott Keith, Brandy Maloney and Jude Silveira star in The Violet Hour Photo credit: Jack Looney, C-Ville Weekly |
If your life was a novel, would you read the last page first? That’s one of the questions explored in Richard Greenberg’s The Violet Hour, presented by Live Arts in the Upstage Theater February 23 through March 17.The play takes place in 1919 and tells the story of John Pace Seavering, a young publisher who only has enough money to pay for one book. Both his best friend and his lover are courting him to publish their manuscript, until one day a mysterious machine appears which begins spewing out pages of novels from the end of the 20th Century.
I stopped by before a recent rehearsal to find out more about the play, and spoke with director Kay Leigh Ferguson and actor Matt Fletcher. |
 Jenny Gardiner Photo: Jen Fariello |
Jenny Gardiner used to work as a journalist, and is now seeking to become a published fiction writer. She’s hoping her manuscript Sleeping with Ward Cleaver will get a boost from her participation in the American Title Contest, a competition put on by Dorchester Publishing. The winner receives a book contract. I spoke with Jenny recently to find out more, and asked her to read an excerpt.
Voting in the current round ends this Sunday. Take a listen to this original feature by clicking the arrow above, or downloading the mp3. |
Mark Washington, Satch Huizenga and Michael Horan star in The Pillowman at Live Arts Feb 2 through Feb 17. Photo: Jack Looney/C-VILLE Weekly
What happens in the real world when you tell a story? That’s one of the questions explored in The Pillowman, a two-act play that makes its debut at Live Arts this Friday. Lydia Horan directs a cast of eight through this piece by Martin McDonough. Live Arts website describes the Pillowman this way:
A seriously disturbing play about the role of the artist in society, The Pillowman was a critical and audience favorite in New York and London. Kafka, Grimms, and Tarentino intersect in an interrogation room in an unnamed police state, where an unpublished author meets a good cop and a bad cop who probe the connection between his stories and a gruesome series of murders. The Pillowman is for mature audiences. Under 17 may only attend if accompanied by parent or guardian, or their written permission.
I stopped by during rehearsals to find out more about the play, and spoke with Lydia Horan and Satch Huizenga. Take a listen by clicking the arrow below, or downloading the mp3 here.
The first discussed the possible paths Charlottesville may follow. Will housing prices lock out middle class workers as has happened in the resort and retirement community of Aspen, Colorado? Or can the private sector, local governments, and the University of Virginia come together on an economic development strategy to produce a community attractive to emerging technology companies? VPTC Chair Gary Henry says he thinks the region could do so, and Katie Bullard of Austin-based AngelouEconomics makes a thorough comparison.
Click the arrow button above to hear the event, or download the mp3 here.
Brian McNeill writes about the event in the Daily Progress, and Brian Wheeler has an excellent and detailed post about this on Charlottesville Tomorrow. Carry on the conversation there and let us know what you think about Charlottesville’s future.
Bill LeSueur in the title role of Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) by Will Eno. At Live Arts Jan 12 – 27. Photo credit: Jack Looney/C-VILLE Weekly.
Are you in the mood for a bit of “existential stand-up?” We’re not sure if that genre really exists, but the idea applies to Thom Pain (Based on Nothing). The monologue runs from January 12th to the 27th in the UpStage Theater at Live Arts. The play is by Will Eno, and made its international debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 2004. It was even a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year.
Thom Pain takes place inside of a theater, as a man in his thirties attempts to tell stories about his childhood. I spoke with director Cristan Keighley during rehearsals.
If you’re reading this post on cvilleblogs.com or another RSS reader, you can download the mp3 of this podcast here.
A large number of the people who seek care at the University of Virginia Medical Center live in poverty. A new partnership with the U.Va law school and the Legal Aid Justice Center will help with legal issues that keep those patients on the fringes of society.
Under the U.Va Family Law Advocacy Project, doctors can refer patients to the Legal Aid Justice Center if they feel their medical needs are being affected by a legal problem. Thanks to a grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Foundation, the project was able to hire a full-time staff attorney to deal with the case load.
 Dr. Diane Pappas, left, and Assistant Dean Kimberly Emery co-founded the Family Advocacy Program. |
I recently spoke with U.Va pediatrician Diane Pappas, Assistant U.Va Law School Dean Kimberly Emery, and attorney Christianne Quieroz about the program, which has also just received an additional grant from the Burford Liemenstoll Foundation.
This piece originally aired on WVTF Public Radio.
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First Night Virginia is the second oldest celebration of it’s kind in the country, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Yet among the musical and comedic performances Charlottesville has come to expect, for 2007, First Night added some new events. First Film was a chance for six amateur filmmakers to show their work in a non-competitive atmosphere at the local Vinegar Hill Theatre. CPN’s Michael Strickland spoke with Benjamin Haslup, Brian Wimer, and Bonnie Cunningham – three of the filmmakers that were featured at this year’s festival.
Click here to download the file if you are viewing this through an aggregator such as Cvilleblogs.com.
 Trumpeter John D’earthPhoto: U.Va |
John D’earth has been a fixture on Charlottesville’s music scene for decades. The trumpeter and his band play a set at Miller’s every Thursday night, and he’s also an instructor at the University of Virginia, playing in the school’s Free Bridge Quintet.
So, when First Night Virginia wanted someone to write to score for a piece commemorating the event’s 25th anniversary, they turned to D’earth. I stopped by his studio to find out more.
Click here to download the file if you’re reading this through an RSS reader or on cvilleblogs.com. This podcast has two interesting bits of trivia associated with it. The opening music is from the Thompson-D’earth Band’s new album, When the Serpent Flies The second bit of trivia comes at the end of the piece. Don’t be startled by the sound of my 14-month-old daughter Josephine, who tagged along with me to John D’earth’s studio. She was really quiet for most of the interview, but let out a splendid squeal at the very end of the musical selection I was recording. John insisted I leave it in, so I obliged! |
Every winter, homeless men and women die from exposure because they don’t have a place to sleep. Their deaths are marked on the longest night of the year in an event called National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day.
This year, Charlottesville joined the list of cities that hold a service. About sixty people gathered around a makeshift altar next to the Community Chalkboard on the downtown mall. They lit candles and listened as the Reverend Liz Emrey of New Beginnings Christian Church conducted the memorial service.
In this edited recording of the service, you’ll hear from Dave Norris of PACEM, the Reverend Jim Bundy from Sojourners United Church of Christ, Dr. Mary Washington of the Thomas Jefferson Coalition for the Homeless, and Police Chief Tim Longo. There’s also a couple of songs, as well as testimonies for the dead.
If you’re reading this in an RSS reader or on cvilleblogs.com, click here to download this file.
Today is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, and for the homeless in our area, there’s possibly some good news coming. First Christian Church on West Market Street may soon be getting a new tenant. An anonymous donor has agreed to pay for the structure, so that it can become the home of the first COMPASS Day Haven to give homeless men and women a place to go during the day. I met up with Erik Speer, project coordinator for COMPASS, to find out more.
(If you don’t see the play arrow above and you’d like to hear this podcast, you can get the controls by clicking here)
This is a first-hand account of an island in Japan called Gunkanjima. In the spring of 2005, I traveled to this island to photograph and explore its history. Gunkanjima was an old coal mining island that holds the highest population density recording in the world. In the 1970’s the island was shut down, leaving behind a ghost town of a once thriving society.
. This is a track called Second of Many.