Mike Mulvihill and Charmi Neeley will read their play Riddle Me, Riddle Me on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m.

This is the first step in the VPI process, in which the playwright reads his play – or in this case, where the playwrights read their play – to the assembled audience and use the feedback from the conversation afterwards to help in the rewriting process.

We will gather at 6:30 p.m. for a snack and a chat and the reading will commence at 7:00 p.m.

Listening is a vitally important part of this endeavor – come, lend us your ears! Please come listen to the play and be part of the conversation afterwards.

The Virginia Playwrights Initiative (VPI) is a part of the Hamner Theater’s continuing mission to foster new works for the stage, specifically those by Virginia playwrights. Following the reading, there will be a discussion open to all.

About the Hamner Theater: The Hamner Theater, now presenting its fifth season, is a non-profit project of the Rockfish Valley Community Center in Nelson County, and receives funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and anonymous donors to support its mission of bringing professional theater to Nelson County.

The Hamner Theater is located in the Rockfish Valley Community Center, on Route 151, between Nellysford & Afton, 22920, in Nelson County, VA.
Hamner Theater, P.O. Box 106, 190 Rockfish School Lane, Nellysford, VA 22958
Phone: (434) 361 1999

E-mail: info@thehamnertheater.com

Mark your event calenders and invite all your friends

The next WordSmith Poetry Jam will be on Wednesday, December 16th.

• Location: Random Row Books (315 West Main Street). It’s on the corner of Main and McIntire across from Greyhound.
• Time: 7-10pm – Open Mic Sign Up Starts at 7pm. Show Starts at 7:30pm.
• Cost: Just $5

Expect some of Charlottesville’s most dynamic poets and spoken word artists all night. We will also have soulful selections from Lester Jackson & Naughty Dynamic and the Design.
This month’s feature is upcoming actress and poet Sabrina Gilbert. Sabrina has performed at college conferences, venues and theaters along the east coast and in the Midwest. In 2008 she became the Grand Slam Champion of Slam Richmond’s 2008 team, making her the first woman to do so! She also helped start Lyric Ave in 2003, which today is the largest poetry show on the east coast (consistently serving an audience of over 800 people). Her debut album ‘Come Get Me’ took her colleagues by storm with it’s electrifying tracks and powerful messages!!! Sabrina is currently on a 2009 tour (that started in the U.S. and will extend to the Canada and Europe) while writing her first book (to release in the winter of 2009/2010) and preparing for the world premiere of the play ‘Great George’ which is scheduled to run in early 2010.

Poet, wastrel, and former University of Virginia student Edgar Allan Poe presented a selection of his best known works to the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, November 13, 2009. Mr. Poe’s recitations included Eldorado, The Raven, and a chilling enactment of The Tell-Tale Heart.

Listen to the podcast

Scott Craig Jones is the image and voice of Edgar Allan Poe. He presents “Edgar Allan Poe Comes Alive!” to middle school, high school, and college audiences throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Find out more about The Traveling Jones Theater at his website.

The Virginia Playwrights Initiative (VPI) is a part of the Hamner Theater’s continuing mission to foster new works for the stage, specifically those by Virginia playwrights. VPI provides a venue for the playwright to workshop, rewrite and rehearse a new script with a company of experienced actors, a director and a dramaturg.

Over a period of three weeks (or more, depending on re-write time), the playwright participates in a process of readings, rehearsal, discussion and meetings with cast, director and dramaturg, culminating in a public staged reading.

Following the reading, there will be a discussion open to all. This discussion is an important part of the process, providing an opportunity for the playwright to understand the impact his play has had on the audience.

We are looking for promising but unfinished scripts by playwrights who are eager to revise and finish their scripts with the helpful input of directors and actors.

VPI is made possible in part by grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the BAMA Fund.

Admission to all readings is Free.

via Virginia Playwrights Initiative | Hamner Theater.

Join award-winning Washington DC poet Brandel France de Bravo and local poet, singer and monodramatist Browning Porter for a double-header of poetry and story. Brandel France de Bravo’s poetry has appeared in Fugue, The Kenyon Review, Black Warrior Review, and The American Voice, and she has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Poetry. Browning Porter is a WriterHouse member known for writing and performing monologues in many local venues. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

The Saturday Fiction workshop starts Saturday, May 2nd. There are still spaces, so sign up now. Kristen-Paige Madonia, instructor for this popular workshop, will just be back from a month of working on her novel at a writer’s colony. Details and registration.

If you’ve been thinking of becoming a WriterHouse member, NOW is the time to do it. Our members-only anniversary party (featuring member readings) is coming up in two weeks. Join before May 10 and guarantee yourself an invitation to the festivities.

The Charlottesville Women’s Theatre Project in cooperation with the Bridge PAI is pleased to offer two workshops aimed at digesting questions about how we write for performance and how we perform what we write.

Facilitator Kristina Weaver brings to the table a repertoire of skills and games learned while she lived in Scotland studying creative writing and rolling with an urban clowning collective.

Feel free to attend either or both sessions. No prior experience necessary; just bring pen and paper, both sides of your brain, and an appetite for play.

When? Wednesday May 6th and 20th, 7-9pm

Where? The Bridge PAI, 109 Monticello Road

Contact? kristina.nellweaver@gmail.com; registration appreciated

Cost? $5 suggested donation on the day

For more information on the Charlottesville Women’s Theatre Project, please contact cvillewomenstheatreproject@gmail.com

1. Register Now for Spring 2009 Classes

Spring course descriptions are now available on our website! Classes in nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and creativity begin April 13. We are offering two new classes this session: Young Adult Fiction Workshop, and Special Problems in Narrative Writing.

Printed brochures will be available next week at WriterHouse and the following locations: Cville Coffee, Twisted Branch Tea House, Shenandoah Joe’s, La Taza, and Read it Again Sam.

Want to know more before you sign the dotted line? Meet the instructors at our Spring Open House on Sunday, March 29, from 2-4pm.

2. Come to the Late Night Story Slam, sponsored by WriterHouse and Live Arts, Thurs., March 19, 10:00pm, Club R2 (Rapture), 303 E. Main Street, on the Downtown Mall

Charlottesville’s first Story Slam is a competition featuring true tales told by a host of talented raconteurs — authors, musicians, actors, performance artists, and more. Featured storytellers include David Huddle, Mariflo Stephens, Browning Porter, Stevie Jay, Paul Curreri, Jenny Mikulski, Fran Smith and Ben Jones. You, the audience, will judge who wins the prize.

I have really enjoyed my Winter Session fiction workshop with Kristen-Paige Madonia, and have signed up for Special Problems in Narrative Fiction because, well, I have some special problems.

Dr.Cohen is certainly right about the drop in audience attendance at live performances. But I wouldn’t lay blame at the feet of movies and the expectation by theater-goers of stage illusions. I think it’s a failure of contemporary dramaturgy. To be blunt…

…click over to read more bluntness!

Dr. Ralph Alan Cohen spoke to a meeting of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on February 13, 2009. His presentation, “The Theater of the Imagination,” traced the history of theater from Shakespeare’s time to our own, including the connection and competition between theater and film. According to Dr. Cohen, “The audience for live drama is dropping precipitously,” due at least in part to the influence of film and the increasing emphasis on creating stage illusions rather than communal imaginative experiences. Dr. Cohen and his colleague Sarah Enloe illustrated his points with selections from Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice.

via Charlottesville Podcasting Network » Ralph Alan Cohen on the Theater of the Imagination.

Don’t miss the “Hamlet” anecdote Dr. Cohen tells during the question and answer session.

Listen to “The Theater of the Imagination”

ASC Special Event

A special event for area college students. Come join us for a performance of Measure for Measure, with a pre-show pizza party and a post-show Talk Back with the actors. Experience a play at the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre.

All for the bargain price of $11 with college ID!

Get your $11 ticket at the door starting at 6:30 pm. Once you have ticket in hand, enjoy free pizza and a cash bar in the upstairs lobby. The show starts at 7:30 pm with Talk Back immediately following the performance.

Mingle with fellow college students and see one of the Bard’s sexiest, most electrifying plays!

Remember, must have college ID!

For eleven bucks you get Shakespeare and pizza! Bargain!