Arts News
Arts Huddle on February 22: The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington presents an Arts Huddle Defining the Value of a Collective Arts Message for Advocacy at the National Building Museum on Monday, February 22, 9 - 12:15 pm. It will examine the value of the research tools such as Arts & Economic Prosperity IV: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and their Audiences in Greater Washington, and other messages that help business and government to determine their investment in the arts. RSVP to staff@cultural-alliance.org
The Arlington Players (TAP) received 18 nominations, and Dominion Stage three in the 10th annual Washington Area Theatre Comminity Honors Awards (WATCH), to be presented March 14, 2010 at the Birchmere. The annual awards recognize artistic and technical excellence in the region's community theatre community. TAP's productions that were nominated were Follies, Bye Bye Birdie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Dominion Theatre's productions were Glorious and Jeffrey. The awards ceremony will be on March 14 at the Birchmere. More information.
Virginia Hospital Center Foundation will host a Sweeney Todd Signature Evening on Friday, March 19 at the theatre. The evening fundraising gala will feature a reception and light supper with the Sweeney Todd cast.
Arlington-based writer Philip Clark with David Groff have released Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS (Alyson Books) December 1 (World AIDS Day). It is an anthology that celebrates and memorializes the work of 45 poets taken from the artistic community by AIDS. Contributors include Reinaldo Arenas, Tory Dent, James Merrill, Paul Monette, and D.C. area poets Tim Dlugos, Jim Everhard, Chasen Gaver and Essex Hemphill.
Arts Build Communities Awards Announced
Virginians for the Arts announced that two of this year's awards went to Arlington groups Educational Theatre Company (Honorable Mention) and Signature Theatre (Rising Star Finalist). The awards recognize arts organizations that best demonstrate the ability to "enhance the community, lift our spirits and build a better quality of life".
Signature Theatre's Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, to direct show on Broadway.
Schaeffer will helm "Million Dollar Quartet", a new musical based on a recording session featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley back in 1956. Performances will begin March 13, 2010, at the Nederlander Theater.
Angela Lansbury to Receive the Annual Sondheim Award Given by Signature Theatre
Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, announced that the beloved stage, screen and television actress Angela Lansbury will receive the company's Stephen Sondheim Award. The award, established in honor of America's most influential contemporary musical theatre writer and composer, will be presented to Ms. Lansbury on April 26, 2010 at a black-tie gala.
Sort-of-Jane Austen Play Reading Festival Celebrating Comedies by Women of the Restoration (1677 - 1709)
The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington Shakespeare Company, and George Washington University partner together to bring the second annual Sort-of-Jane Austen Play Reading Festival, a series of plays and other works by women. This year's festival, Comedies by Women of the Restoration (1677 - 1709), will feature the works of Ariadne, Aphra Behn, Susanna Centlivre, and Mary Pix. The schedule: Dec. 15: Fire Burn by Stephen Spotswood; Jan 19: She Ventures He Wins by Ariadne; Feb. 23: An All Persons of Color Staged Reading of the Busie Body by Susanna Centlivre; March 23: The Innocent Mistress by Mary Pix; April 20: Or, A Play about Aphra Behn; May 25: The Lost Lover or the Jealous Husband by Delarivier Manley. Performances will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Performance Hall of the National Museum of Women in the Arts at 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005 and at the Clark Street Playhouse (Dec. 15). Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance and pay-what-you-can at the door. Tickets can be purchased at www.boxofficetickets.com/wsc or by calling 1-800-494-TIXS (8497) or clicking on the link below.
Speedy Tolliver Wins Virginia Heritage Award
The Virginia Commission for the Arts announces its first Heritage Award Winners, who will be honored at the October 9th Richmond Folk Festival. Among those chosen is Arlington's master fiddler, Roy Odell "Speedy" Tolliver, whose very own fiddle contest was held in Arlington on September 20, 2009. At 91, Speedy still plays several times a week in jam sessions or as a member of various bands. He also teaches students in his home. He is also one of the featured artists on this website.
Press Clippings
A New Cultural Center for Arlington?
Washington Business Journal
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Washington Examiner
June 13, 2009
Experience Other Cultures Just Around the Corner
Washington Post Weekend
June 26, 2009