VA Thespian Update
VA Thespians Kudos & Happenings
March: Spring Shows are Among Us!
Happy almost spring! We hope preparations, tech weeks, show weekends, etc. are going well. We have some exciting announcements, so read below, and thank you for being a part of Virginia Thespians! Below we are promoting spring as well as summer opportunities for both educators and students. Let us know what you would like to see in the next newsletter!
We would also love to share out about your productions on our social media pages. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @vathespians so we can follow you back/keep track of your happenings. You may see your school or show featured soon. Use #vathespians for us to easily find your post!
MORE VTF 2022 Highlights
One Acts!
Mascot Marriage!
Student Events- oh my!
Bravo and thank you to our student leaders. Consider reading about them and having a student become one from your school for next year!
Workshops, Field Trips, Resources- oh my!
Spring/ Summer Student Opportunities!
Kennedy Center
"Intern with us!
Applications are open for the Summer 2022 internship term at the Kennedy Center, with placements available in Theater Education, as well as many other departments. This is a paid internship, and applications for the summer term are due April 1st. Term dates are June 6th-August 19th, 2022."
Local Programs
"RRPA's Broadway Bound Program welcomes all technical theatre, acting, music, and dance students grades 10 - 12 to apply for our internship program. Internships are available to students in LCPS, FCPS, & PWCS. There is not cost to you for being an intern!
Gain skills, friendships, and memories that last a lifetime!"
Pre-college Drama
"The School of Drama’s Pre-College Program... should not be regarded as summer camp, but rather a focused program for students interested in a career in theater. Students should arrive on campus prepared to participate in an intense, challenging, college-level experience that is modeled on the School of Drama’s BFA curriculum. The average studio class size is 10-12 students... Classes are taught by nationally acclaimed Carnegie Mellon University faculty and adjunct professors."
Technical Theatre Internships & Summer Camps
Email fairfaxcitytheatre@gmail.com for more information!
Musical Theatre Jobs
Part Time Jobs
You could also volunteer with their partner the Quill Theatre. Located in Richmond, VA.
Teacher Tool of the Month: Just Dance!
A Virginia Dance Masterclass Event below...
Memorable Mainstages,
College Connections,
& Workshops!
Join us for Virginia Thespian Teacher PD This summer!
Share your artistic stories with your students on March 4th. Use the # below and join the conversation(s)!
Arts Across VA Day 2022!
Join us in celebrating the ARTS by participating in ARTS ACROSS VIRGINIA DAY on Friday, March 4th, 2022!
Sponsored by the Virginia Art Education, Virginia Music Educators Associations, Virginia Theatre Association, and Virginia Thespians along with the Virginia Coalition for Fine Arts Education, Arts Across Virginia Day is intended to raise awareness of the importance of the arts in our schools and of the many ways the arts impact our communities.
Working together as artists, educators, administrators, and parents on the FIRST FRIDAY OF MARCH, we have the unique opportunity to show our legislators, policymakers and the rest of the world art is an important part of education and the economy in Virginia.
Take a photo of the art you or your students are working on or performing. Then using #artsacrossva22 simply share it with the world on your personal Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook page or whatever social media platform you use. You can also post it to arts organization pages.
Arts Across Virginia Day is for anyone! If you paint, create music, dance, teach, create, work in the arts industry, a museum or if you simply just enjoy arts simply take a photo or make a video and share. Get others involved as well, all you have to do is create and share!
Let the world know Virginia loves the arts on March 4th!
Arts Educators
-Celebrate your arts program by posting student work and displays using #artsacrossva22.
-Forward information on how to participate to teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, booster organizations, and others in your school community!
-Contact your local arts center and invite them to join you.
-Take a video of your students discussing how the arts impact their lives.
-Send a newsletter out to your parents inviting them to join the celebration.
-Have a "creative challenge" for the day.
-Send a letter to your principal, school board, news paper, special interest group, or community arts center informing them about Arts Across Virginia Day.
-Have students create art cards to give out to others.
Administrators/Policy Makers
-Show your support and appreciation of the arts by posting the “ARTS connect us” tile to social media using #artsacrossva22.
Arts Community (cultural arts organizations, museums and professional artists and musicians
-Share your professional work by posting images/videos using #artsacrossva22.
-Share images of virtual workshops and/or webinars sponsored by your organization using #artsacrossva22.
-Post the “ARTS connects us” tile from your official social media account using #artsacrossva22.
Parents and Families
-Show your support and appreciation of the arts by posting the “ARTS connect us” tile to social media using #artsacrossva22.
-Post examples of your child’s artwork using #artsacrossva22.
Please share this out as you wish and thank you!
Look at what some amazing Virginia College Students are Doing!
After the show's initial workshop process was canceled in the spring of 2020 due to COVID, Virginia-based composers Anna DeNoia and Joshua Villa reunited at James Madison University this February to finally stage their song cycle, Open, Stay. Breaking from the song-after-song cabaret format all previous iterations of the show had taken, this production devised connections between the separate stories, supported by some additional dialogue. The workshop cast took music that made up the cycle, created their own characters, and collaborated with each other to weave each of the songs together, bringing plot and connection to what had previously been a collection of songs that each stood alone. While the writing duo is very proud of the overarching story discovered through this first workshop, they see it as only one of many possible ways the songs could connect. After seeing how engaged and challenged the students were by this devising process, Anna and Joshua see an exciting path forward for Open, Stay in schools that would allow students to practice creative collaboration— rather than setting the characters/dialogue/story of Open, Stay in stone, students could use the workshop as a reference, consider the songs as a skeleton, and work together to create a show that's really their own.
As Anna and Joshua work towards this goal of making the show available for educators to use in performance, you can follow along with Open, Stay at openstaymusical.com, listen to the studio cast recording on all streaming platforms, and watch the most recent workshop production here on YouTube (as well as their newest musical, Grace and the Ghost, with an original concept recording coming out on streaming platforms later this year)! Sheet music for all of the songs of Open, Stay is available for purchase on the show website, perfect for voice lessons and auditions!
If you have college students doing amazing things, share them with us as well!
How to Find out More...?
Email: executivedirector@vathespian.org
Website: https://www.vathespian.org/mission.html
Location: Winchester, VA, USA
Phone: 703-554-3416
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaThespians
Twitter: @thespians1
Festival 2023!
Need information to share about Thespians or VTF?
Here is a Festival Guide for students or new troupe directors.