Last weekend Nathaniel ventured west to our colleague theatre, the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton.  He saw two shows in their beautiful Blackfriars Playhouse—As You Like It starring Brandon Carter (who played the Bard himself in our Shakespeare in Love) and Emma starring Zoe Speas (who played Shakespeare’s daughter Judith in our Equivocation).  He also met the VSC’s newly appointed Artistic Director, Ethan McSweeny.  McSweeny is an internationally acclaimed theatre artist with more than 80 productions to his credit.  He has helmed shows on many of the preeminent stages across North America, on Broadway, off-Broadway, and abroad.  On Wednesday, Nathaniel headed northwest, accompanied by Associate Artistic Director Kikau Alvaro and Assistant to the Artistic Director, Rachel Dilliplane.  The three visited the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Founded in 1991, the CATF has produced 121 new plays thus far, including 47 world premieres by 85 American playwrights.  The New York Times calls the CATF one of the “50 essential summer festivals.” Nathaniel, Kikau, and Rachel attended four of the six new works on this year’s roster. Our Accounting Associate, Joel Kimling, is Box Office Manager at the CATF.     

On Tuesday evening, cast members from West Side Story took to the streets for a visit to The Sacred Heart Center. Our female Sharks ensemble, including Brittany Santos (Maria), performed for and then answered questions from a group of students participating in the center’s English as a Second Language program. The women performed the scene leading into and the number "I Feel Pretty."

The Sacred Heart Center’s mission is "to serve as a hub for Richmond’s Latino community that opens opportunities for economic and social integration, family success and community leadership." Virginia Rep supports this mission through collaboration. They were our community partner for In the Heights last summer; youth programs coordinator, Deirdre Gill, played an integral part in one of our Strategic Planning focus groups, representing the Latino community in RVA.