After months of work, Glavé & Holmes Architecture submitted this week their draft of Virginia Rep’s Master Plan & Conceptual Design for our downtown properties. Our staff and Board leadership will now join with funders, urban planners, historic review commissioners, and construction advisors as we seek final approval of the plan. Many, many thanks to Dominion Energy for capital leadership funding that provided us with the resources to contract this extensive design. Included in the Master Plan are proposals for our historic properties at 110–128 W. Broad Street, currently home to our set/costume/prop shop spaces, usher parking lot, Theatre Gym, November Theatre complex, and the Jefferson Saloon. Also included are our properties at 7–18 W. Marshall Street, currently home to offices, intern housing, staff and audience parking. Once it is approved, this plan will guide all major and minor facility upgrades over the next ten to fifteen years. Other historic renovation projects led by Glavé & Holmes Architecture include:

• Boar's Head Inn Meeting Pavilion, University of Virginia Foundation, Charlottesville, Virginia 
  
• Brody Jewish Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesivlle, Virginia 
  
• Camp Library Renovation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 
  
• Carole Weinstein International Center, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Colonial Williamsburg Lodge & Conference Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg,         Virginia 
  
• Dominion Energy Center, Virginia Performing Arts Foundation, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Fabergé Gallery Renovation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Fredericksburg Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Virginia 
  
• Holekamp Hall Renovation, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia 
  
• Jamestown Settlement Visitor Center, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia 
  
• Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre Renovation, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 
  
• Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• North Court Renovation, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Paul and Phyllis Galanti Education Center, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Pope Chapel, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia 
  
• Rotunda Interior Design Renovation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 
  
• Valentine Richmond History Center Renovation, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Richmond, Virginia 
  
• William Smith Morton Library, Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia 
  

 The Richmond Theatre Critics Circle announced their annual nominations for Artsie Awards on Tuesday. Virginia Rep is proud to share the top tier of nonprofit theatres receiving 15 nominations or more with four outstanding colleague companies. In alpha order: Cadence Theatre received 15 nominations, Firehouse garnered 32, Richmond Triangle Players and TheatreLAB each collected 18 nods, and Virginia Rep led the pack with 44. Our total included a special award to be presented to Matthew Couvillon for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, honoring his staging of the Jerome Robbins’ choreography in West Side Story. Also recognized were 5^th Wall Theatre and Quill Theatre with 6 nominations each, Swift Creek Mill Theatre with 5, Yes, And! Entertainment (that’s their name, not a typo) with 4 nods, Heritage Ensemble Theatre with 2, and Chamberlayne Actors Theatre with 1. Referencing song titles from each musical, Preludes shouted “Ho-Ho” while West Side stayed “Cool” with 12 and 11 salutes respectively, Fun Home added 8 noms to its “Ring of Keys,” Wings went “Out on the Wing” with 6, and Chorus Line sang “I Hope I Get It” in response to 5. With straight plays, it was Appropriate by a nose with 6, closely followed by A Raisin in the Sun and Hand to God with 5 each, and Cloud 9 nipping at their heals with 4. Congrats and good luck to all!  

Wednesday afternoon, artistic assistant Rachel Dilliplane went to the Richmond SPCA to pick up our first candidate for the dog that will appear in our next Signature Season production, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME.

“The SPCA staff was very helpful and gave me everything I needed for a successful fostering experience.” - Rachel

Fizzgig was the name that the SPCA assigned the pup, but in keeping with the mathematical themes of CURIOUS, Rachel renamed him Pythagoras (Russ for short). Russ came from a shelter in Atlanta that regularly partners with the Richmond SPCA. As with most shelter dogs, his history is unknown. Russ is estimated to be about 2 years old. Despite missing his right hind leg, he is super high energy and will play fetch for hours if he can find a ball tosser who can keep up with him!

Typically kittens and puppies are placed in foster care with individuals and families to help socialize them, give them some relief from the stress of a shelter environment, or to give extra attention to very young animals that may need to grow before they meet adoption requirements. Virginia Rep has a 40-year history of featuring rescue pups in our performances.  Russ, being a newbie to the big stage, is understandably a bit nervous, but Rachel will have him trained for his role in no time! The duo is beginning with “sit” and “stay” before advancing to the “Meisner and Stanislavski” acting techniques.

Russ is available for adoption through the Richmond SPCA. Rachel can vouch for his friendly demeanor and good manners. He even gets along with her Maine coon cat, Leo. Don't miss his Mainstage debut!    

This week, we welcomed back Joel Kimling, our former Arts Administration Intern. After a summer spent as the Box Office Manager at the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Joel has returned to Virginia Rep as our official Accounting Apprentice and Front of House and Intern Coordinator.

While at CATF, Joel managed ticketing/patron services for approximately 6,000 patrons attending 6 different shows at 3 different venues that ran in repertory throughout July. He also oversaw a staff of 11, including a Front of House Manager, six interns, and four concessions workers.

The Contemporary American Theater Festival, under the artistic leadership of Ed Herendeen (the Producing Director and Founder), specializes in New American Theater. This year (their 28th Season) 5 of the 6 pieces were world premieres. Successful productions to come out of CATF include Farragut North, which turned into the movie The Ides of March starring George Clooney, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, and Stick Fly and Uncanny Valley that both went to Broadway. Byhalia, Mississippi will be at the Kennedy Center this upcoming season, and the The Niceties is going to the Manhattan Theatre Club. The Virginia Rep artistic team, including artistic director Nathaniel Shaw, associate artistic director Kikau Alvaro, and artistic assistant Rachel Dilliplane, paid Joel at visit at CATF a few weeks ago. (Kikau, Nathaniel, Joel and Rachel in photo)

“There are many new fun and exciting challenges that await me as I continue to develop in this profession. I am especially excited to welcome the new batch of 7 Interns and to help revamp this program and give them an excellent year. Being from the Midwest originally, Richmond has become a second home to me. While I love my CATF family I am also so excited to be back with my much bigger Virginia Rep family who welcomed me back after my two month ‘work-cation’.”