Dreamgirls Interview: Tom Quaintance and Anthony Stockard

Virginia Stage Company couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Hampton Roads Community to the Wells Stage as it marks it’s fifth co-production with the talented and accredited artists at Norfolk State University Theatre Company in the form of Dreamgirls.

If you’re not excited yet then please take a listen to the words from Dreamgirls director and Norfolk State University Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Anthony Stockard and VSC’s PAD Tom Quaintance as they exclaim the excitement, joy, and energy that is going to grace the Wells Theatre Stage.

This is a show you won’t want to miss! Make sure to get tickets at www.vastage.org/dreamgirls today!

PRESS RELEASE: Norfolk State University Theatre Company and Virginia Stage Company Partner to Present Dreamgirls

Norfolk, VA - Virginia Stage Company and Norfolk State University Theatre Company join forces again to present the Tony®, Grammy, and Drama Desk Award-Winning musical Dreamgirls at The Historic Wells Theatre (108 E. Tazewell Street, Norfolk VA) from April 13th to May 1st, 2022.

Norfolk State University Theatre Company has been a steadfast partner in producing theatre that both entertains and educates, including acclaimed productions of The Wiz, The Parchman Hour, and The Bluest Eye. VSC is excited to once again welcome Anthony Stockard to the director’s chair at The Wells as he brings Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger’s masterful piece to life.

“We knew coming out of the pandemic that we wanted to produce together,” explained VSC Producing Artistic Director Tom Quaintance, “So I simply asked Anthony ‘What do you want to do? Dream big.’” That was how the musical Dreamgirls and its journey to the Wells Theatre began. Norfolk State University Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Anthony Stockard added, “It’s some of the most amazing song collections in musical theatre…so, why not? It is a remarkable, legendary Broadway musical for every reason imaginable…it’s a story about making space for people, and how those people entered the music scene. One of the greatest things that glues this production together is the synergy between professionals and pre-professionals…in this particular show a new benchmark that has not been reached before in these collaborations…some of our previous students and collaborators are earning their stripes as professionals in this production.” Quaintance went on to talk about how the partnership “between the premier professional theatre in the region and the premier acting training program in the region helps make Hampton Roads not just a destination for art…but a place for artists to work, create, and live.”  You can watch the complete interview here.

Dreamgirls tells the captivating story of up-and-coming singers Deena, Lorrell, and Effie otherwise known as ‘The Dreamettes.’ They begin as talented, sharp, and close friends that gradually progress to rename their act ‘The Dreams’ before the competitive world of show business starts to take a toll on their art, their relationships, and their friendship. As their careers, and passions change, the group gradually grapples with the decision to stay together for the sake of what they made…or to break apart and allow each other the freedom to pursue their individual dreams. The musical, which premiered on Broadway at The Imperial Theatre in 1981 playing over 1,521 performances, was a springboard for many performers’ musical careers. Jennifer Holiday’s lasting single “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” which dominated the Billboard R&B charts as the #1 single in 1982, also comes from the show. In 2006, the musical was adapted into a feature film starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson, and more. The award-winning film re-sparked attention on the musical, and retold the story for a new generation using celebrities and spell-binding musical numbers that revitalized the passion for this incredible show coming to The Wells Theatre.  Performances begin right before the show’s 40th anniversary of winning 6 Tony Awards. 

ENTRY POLICY 

We have updated our Entry Policy on 3/24/22.  For this upcoming production, we require all patrons to continue to wear masks inside the theatre. To review our full policy, visit: https://www.vastage.org/entry  

TICKETS

Performances of Dreamgirls are scheduled - Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 2pm at The Historic Wells Theatre, located at 108 E. Tazewell Street, Norfolk Va. Tickets range from $25 - $68. Subscription packages for Virginia Stage Company include a four show package starting at $120.00, or our flexible Theatre on Demand Packages starting at $196.00. Season Ticket holders receive numerous benefits, including 20% savings on every show, unlimited exchanges with no exchange fees, and additional discounts for in-house concessions and drinks.

Subscription packages and single tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (757) 627-1234 Monday through Friday from 10am - 5pm or visiting https://tickets.vastage.org/packages

Interviews can be arranged by contacting Director of Marketing, Maris Smith, at msmith@vastage.org.

Virginia Stage Company is Southeastern Virginia’s leading theatre destination, serving an audience of over 58,000 annually, both at the Wells Theatre and throughout the community. Virginia Stage Company’s mission is to “enrich, educate, and entertain the region by creating and producing theatrical art of the highest quality.”

Facebook: /vastage | Twitter: vastage | Instagram: vastage

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Press Inquiries: 
Maris Smith, Director of Marketing
(757) 627-6988 ext. 306
msmith@vastage.org

Staff Spotlight: Bethany Mayo, Education Director

Bethany Mayo and Patrick Mullins discuss rehearsals or VSC’s Newest Education Tour ‘Greenbeats!’

Last week, Virginia Stage Company had the privilege of welcoming a new team member to its organization in the form of new Education Director Bethany Mayo (she/hers). Bethany is an electric personality, with an ecstatic sense of excitement at the opportunity to bring theatre integrated education to the local student communities of Hampton Roads through Virginia Stage Company’s programming. Before joining us, she was the Director of Education for the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. From her work as an actor and artist, she began to develop a love for teaching theatre (and literature) through performance and classes with her students. While Shakespeare has been her recent main profession, her Master’s and thesis focus on integrated theatre into all forms of education and engaging students in History, English, Math, and in ways that move their body, engage their creative storytelling, and help them grow a passion for learning.

We are thrilled to share her infectious energy with you all, so we recently sat down with Bethany to learn a little bit more about her.

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Marketing Associate: How would you describe your profession to someone who might not be familiar with it?

Bethany Mayo: So…how I’ve described it in the past I “I make educational programing, for use in school or at the theatre, for K-12 students” so they can either use theatre to learn something or get more acquainted with other lessons. I’m excited to bring this experience to VSC, my previous experience was directly tied to Shakespeare and theatre education. We talked about language, rhetoric, or English classes…but here I’m more open to do everything! Which I think means more students can take advantage of the benefits of arts integrated learning. Connecting those things back to what students are learning in their classroom, or social skills, how to work in a group…all those skills you need to learn moving forward. It’s

MA: Can you tell me a little about your background?

B: I started a bank teller, believe it or not! My husband and I moved to Baltimore, and once there I finally found a theatre where I felt like I could find my full-time career as an artist. I auditioned, and found that there was a position available as a teaching artist. I took the job, hoping to lead to an opportunity there, but on my first job teaching students in an English class learning Romeo & Juliet I fell in love with the process and seeing what students learned from it. I continued as a teaching artist for 5 years, remaining with a focus on Shakespeare, and learning my voice and style as a theatre educator…I found an opportunity to be a Director of Education at another theatre and thought what’s the worst that could happen?

So I took a chance, applied, got it…found out I wasn’t half bad at it! And so I started to grow. While in the position, I started to wonder “!hat if we did this with other classes? How do we help theatre integrated teaching assist with teaching other courses like history where the content is so dense?” This was what started me on my Master’s Program…so I worked in my first Director of Education job at a theatre while beginning work on my Masters. 

Coming from my research, articles and news going all the way back to 1920 classroom professionals keep talking about how the next big thing will be ‘integrating theatre into classroom lesson plans for all topics’ but then here we are today…and it’s still going to be the next big thing. Imagine, What if you learned historical eras from what the most popular dance were? Kinesthetic learners can get engaged physically and hold onto new things learned if we expand their educational experience to include performance, movement, language in these new ways.
 
MA: How did you come to arrive at your position here at Virginia Stage Company?

B: I moved here with my husband, who’s in the military, and I looked at all the theatres I could back in December of 2020 but no one was hiring. But about 6 weeks ago, in the middle of the night, I had a sudden urge to go “I wonder if that theatre I liked was hiring?” I opened up my computer and saw the Director of Education position was available so I applied. It was like a voice from the universe!

MA: What impact do you hope to have with your time here?

B: What I want to do is…the way VSC’s current Education Program is built is made to operate externally and meet people where they are. What I feel is missing is how our program draws people in, so what I hope to do while I’m here is build the kind of Educational Programming that can bring people here. Combining arts integration skills to figure out where in the local school systems we can be of use, I’m a huge fan of arts in schools. It’s a wonderful tool that helps art meet those students in places and in opportunities where they might not normally get exposed to the theatre for a long time.

Rooting our external programs in a way that engages with the curriculum, but leaves bread crumbs to what we do with our shows back at the theatre and brings those students here. In the version where this doesn’t suck and I don’t get fired, of course!

MA: Before working at Virginia Stage, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

B: Two come to mind, the first one is a specific assignment I had on one of the jobs. I was a Standardized Patient in Baltimore and we were working with medical students at the end of their unit on labor and delivery. I had a backpack with a hollow belly where we had a water-filled infant doll inside the hollow case. It was supposed to teach the doctor’s in training about how to build repour and comfort quickly with patients in a time-sensitive situation. I had one student catch and piledrive the doll into my chest, and I cannot forget that experience.

I also used to work for a murder mystery company that would go to locations, restaurants etc., performing live murder mystery theatre experiences. But sometimes you’d be invited to personal homes and be in these spaces for 3 -4 hours that you’d never been before and with people you’d never interacted with before. So our audience member interactions were always a stab in the dark…but it was a lot of fun too!

MA: What places have you lived before here?

B: I have lived in Des Moines, Iowa; Cavalier, North Dakota; Kansas City, Missouri; Fulton, Missouri; Pensacola, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; and now HERE!

MA: When you started with Virginia Stage, what show or project were you most excited for?

B: When I looked through the season, in the early days before I applied, I saw that VSC tackled Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility. Both shows I loved, and with full casts that were made up of local and professional actors alike. A concerted effort to concentrate on hiring and presenting local talent alongside out of town talent to shape a full show that showcases the brilliant work of local artists.

MA: What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery?

B: Another house, real estate market y’all…that’s all I can say.

Thanksgiving play pokes fun at ‘performative’ white allies while educating on the true origin of the holiday

By SALEEN MARTIN
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | JAN 31, 2022 AT 10:19 AM

Performers rehearsing for the Virginia State Company's "The Thanksgiving Play." The play was originally written by Native American playwright and choreographer Larissa FastHorse. It's showing from Jan. 19, 2022 to Feb. 6, 2022 at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk and was directed by Jessica Holt. (Courtesy of Crystal Tuxhorn)

Jessica Holt was researching Thanksgiving pageants for her current Virginia Stage Company production when she came across a revealing photo.

It was a scene from a 1920 play in which a group of white actors was dressed as pilgrims. Surrounding them were more white actors with painted faces and heads wrapped in feather headbands, an offensive portrayal of Native Americans.

“You can see how these were using redface in such damaging and corrosive ways,” Holt said.

It was the perfect preparation for “The Thanksgiving Play,” which is playing through Feb. 6 at the Wells Theatre.

The play was written by Native American playwright and choreographer Larissa FastHorse in 2015. She is based in Santa Monica, California and is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation.

The play is about “performative wokeness,” FastHorse said during a 2018 interview with Playwrights Horizons. The play follows four white people crafting a “culturally sensitive” Thanksgiving play for children during Native American Heritage Month.

Tom Quaintance, producing artistic director at VSC, reached out to Holt last summer. He thought Holt — a white, queer, cisgender woman — had the perspective and cultural understanding to direct the play. Holt was initially hesitant since she’s not Native, but the more she read, the more comfortable she felt.

“This play is lampooning and making fun of white folks for 90 minutes,” Holt said. “You need to have the perspective of whiteness in the room because ultimately, that’s what the play is about. It’s about these white folks that are all trying to do the right thing and are finding the limits of white progressivism.”

To direct the performance, she read up on early Thanksgiving plays and pageants, which “mystified” Native Americans and melded them into one idea when in reality, they’re quite diverse.

For example, there are currently 11 tribes recognized in Virginia, including the Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi and Pamunkey. In Hampton Roads, members of the Nansemond tribe live in Suffolk and Chesapeake, while those in the Cheroenhaka Nottoway and Nottoway tribes live in Southampton County, according to the Commonwealth of Virginia website.

There are also groups like the Red Crooked Sky, a Virginia-based American Indian dance troupe, Holt said. The troupe is based in southeastern Virginia and represents a host of tribes, including Cherokee, Nansemond, Sioux, Meherrin, Osage, Seneca and Monacan.

Performers rehearsing for the Virginia State Company's "The Thanksgiving Play." The play was originally written by Native American playwright and choreographer Larissa FastHorse. It's showing from Jan. 19, 2022 to Feb. 6, 2022 at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk and was directed by Jessica Holt. (Courtesy of Crystal Tuxhorn)

Holt also worked with Courtney Mohler, a dramaturgical consultant who provides research and information to help produce more informed performances.

Mohler teaches theater at the Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana and is the associate dean for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access for the university’s Jordan College of Art.

She shared scholarly articles with the cast and crew about issues such as white privilege, white identity and allyship.

Mohler said the play is extremely funny and illustrates how American theater frequently leaves out Native American perspectives and characters, which is incredibly damaging.

For example, November kicks off the holidays for most Americans. It’s also Native American Heritage Month, so the two often get pushed together in people’s minds, she said.

“Like, ‘Oh, yeah. Thanksgiving is there. And Indians are there. That’s the beginning of America,’” she said. “Unfortunately, that story totally ignores the fact that America was not discovered by Europeans.…Indigenous people were already here with civilizations and languages and cultures, their own belief systems, their own governmental systems, their own art.”

That part is often overshadowed in U.S. history lessons by tales of Native people greeting Pilgrims with corn and other foods. Also erased are the diseases and genocide that killed thousands of Indigenous families.

Performers rehearsing for the Virginia State Company's "The Thanksgiving Play." The play was originally written by Native American playwright and choreographer Larissa FastHorse. It's showing from Jan. 19, 2022 to Feb. 6, 2022 at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk and was directed by Jessica Holt. (Courtesy of Crystal Tuxhorn)

The play highlights issues such as white privilege, white identity and “wokeness” through comedy and satire, which are different, according to FastHorse and Holt.

“Satire is more biting than comedy,” Holt said. “It doesn’t let us off the hook. We are given permission to laugh with comedy; the satire means we are also laughing at ourselves. This satire deliciously roasts these four well-meaning white allies who are trying their best to tell a socially responsible Thanksgiving play that both honors Thanksgiving AND Native American Heritage Month and are epically failing.”

The play, in turn, creates a space for viewers to get over their fear of making mistakes, to laugh at themselves and learn more about how to be real allies. That means checking privilege and, in some cases, giving up that privilege.

Mohler, the consultant, said the play is humorous because the characters are desperate to do an impossible thing — produce a culturally sensitive play for elementary school students that’s also accurate.

The characters either have to admit the violence that happened toward Native people or perpetuate a lie.

The characters, she said, come to a conclusion that many well-meaning allies come to.

Audiences are “really going to laugh hard and then they’ll also be thinking hard about why they were laughing; that’s my favorite combination.”

Saleen Martin, 757-446-2027, saleen.martin@pilotonline.com

Virginia Stage Company's "The Thanksgiving Play" on Coast Live

By: Coast Live Posted at 1:10 PM, Jan 20, 2022
and last updated 7:33 AM, Jan 21, 2022

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - How does one celebrate Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month at the same time? In Larissa FastHorse’s biting satire, this is the question facing three “woke” white thespians tasked with devising an elementary school pageant about the first Thanksgiving while avoiding any culturally appropriative missteps. Ryan Clemens, who will be playing Jaxton in Virginia Stage Company's production of "The Thanksgiving Play", joins us with the details.

Catch "The Thanksgiving Play" January 19 - February 6, 2022.

Thanksgiving Play | Meet the Dramaturgy w/ Courtney Mohler

Please join VSC Marketing Associate Connor Norton as he welcomes and introduces VSC to Dr. Courtney Mohler the Dramaturg/Cultural Consultant on VSC’s The Thanksgiving Play.

Contextualizing The Thanksgiving Play in the American Theatre

In 1931, playwright Lynn Riggs (Cherokee) was the first Native American playwright to have a full-length play produced on Broadway.  Lovingly dramatizing characters from his youth in Indian Territory at the turn of the century, Green Grow the Lilacs had a modest run of 64 performances.  Some years later Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted Riggs’ script into what would become the musical sensation Oklahoma!  In addition to replacing the Indian Territory folk songs with flashy Broadway musical numbers, Rodgers and Hammerstein omitted Riggs’ references to Native identity, traditions, and cultural concerns.  

As of 2022, Broadway has yet to mount a full production of another play by a Native American identified playwright.  However, as a testament to a more inclusive view of American storytelling and to Sicangu Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse’s talent and tenacity, FastHorse became the first Native American playwright to receive the MacArthur Genius Award in 2020.  The Thanksgiving Play was among the top ten most produced in the 2019-2020 season, and continues to entertain audiences across the nation as theatres re-open their doors for the 2021-2022 season.

Despite what may appear to be sudden success, FastHorse has been writing plays for well over a decade. FastHorse considers her activism to be inseparable from her work in the theatre, and sees her plays as an opportunity to connect Native and non-Native communities.  Her work frequently features one or more Native American characters, and always seeks to explore issues and concerns that are central to Indigenous people.  Unfortunately, this has meant that many of FastHorse’s works have been deemed “unproducible,” because mainstream theatre companies assume it is impossible to find Native actors to cast.

Frustrated but determined, FastHorse decided to write a play that would call for four white-presenting actors, thereby erasing the perceived obstacle around casting. Responsible to her own activist agenda, FastHorse also set out to write this very funny, very producible play in a way that would reflect her dedication to illuminating present-day concerns for Native Americans.  This includes the national attachment non-Indigenous peoples have toward the ideas of Thanksgiving, “discovery,” and early European “contact” in the Americas. As a playwright, FastHorse also harnessed her own experience working in a field dominated by well-meaning white allies and the decades of obstacles she and other Indigenous artists face to make a seat at the table of theatrical representation.  

The Thanksgiving Play draws a parallel between the white privilege of not seeing settler colonialism as active and pervasive and the white ownership over cultural institutions including the American theatre. At the core of this play are the questions: Who gets to tell whose stories? Who benefits from telling the Thanksgiving myth as a peaceful celebration of two neutral cultures celebrating friendship together? What are the limits of white allyship and well-meaning “diversity” centered work?  And when does the artistic impulse to make something “meaningful” brush up against institutional expectations to “do the right thing,” or “to not offend anyone”?  Is it the job of (white) American theatre to “make space” for culturally diverse stories? And if these stories can’t be done “authentically,” is the right approach to do abandon those efforts all together?  Who benefits from passive white allyship?  And more importantly, if we are complicit in advancing white-centered stories at the expense of BIPOC ones, how do we change that?  

-Courtney Elkin Mohler, Ph.D (Santa Barbara Chumash)

PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Stage Company’s The Thanksgiving Play Shares New Perspective on the Month of November

Norfolk, VA - When a collection of teachers are challenged to write a play about the History of Thanksgiving, hilarity and challenging questions ensue in Larissa FastHorse’s (Sicangu Lakota) gripping comedy The Thanksgiving Play to open at The Historic Wells Theatre (108 E. Tazewell Street, Norfolk VA) from January 22nd to February 6th. 

When well-meaning and slightly radical educator Logan is challenged to create a play about the origin of Thanksgiving, she recruits her yoga-loving boyfriend Jaxton to assist her and fellow history teacher Caden in writing an educational play about the origins of Thanksgiving, and addressing the perspectives of the Native Americans not heard in the story’s original telling. After Logan’s failed past educational productions, parent outcry threatens her job if the play doesn’t go well, so with the help of a grant she recruits Alicia, an “authentic” Native American actor from L.A. to lend her “unique perspective in the development of this play. Through a series of witty jokes, quick wit, and only slightly-veiled probing questions; Larissa FastHourse (Sicangu Lakota) asks the audience how we have told a story for so long without asking the very people this story was about.

Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota) workshopped this masterclass production in satirical performance at UC Berkeley in 2015 following it’s writing and inception in Ireland as part of the Joe Dowling Fellowship. It was then workshopped in Portland, Oregon at the Artists Repertory Theatre before making it’s way to a world premier at Playwrights Horizons in New York City on October 12, 2018. In an interview with The Interval before the world premier of the production, Larissa shared her insights on the process and importance of the work:

 “I think if we wrote down everything I’ve experienced as an Indigenous person in this country just walking down the street, it would be such a depressing tragedy that no one would want to watch it. So instead, I made a comedy, within a satire, to make it a little more fun for everybody. [In the play] we have some very well-meaning liberal white folks that are in charge of creating this play that’s supposed to be for children. It’s supposed to be educational and enlightening and progressive, and all the good things for Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving—and, for me, it’s always ironic that we have Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month at the same time. It’s always been fascinating to me that we have this really problematic holiday that’s supposedly celebrating Native American people and coming together, but in reality, A.) everything we’ve learned about it is a fiction, and B.) the potential true origins of Thanksgiving are incredibly gruesome and really horrible and have nothing to do with peace and happiness, and they’re actually about genocide. So obviously that means comedy. I hope what these folks that I’m actually talking about in my play take away from it is this: let’s just all make the mistake together, let’s all be ridiculous together, and then that gives us somewhere to go. If I know where you’re coming from, you know where I’m coming from, and you can make mistakes, and I can make mistakes, and we can all get kind of crazy and yell at each other, but keep moving forward, that’s going to change everything. It truly will.”

Jessica Holt (Sense & Sensibility, Fun Home, Venus in Fur) returns to VSC after most recently directing a virtual devised piece called Something Delightful at a time when audiences could not gather. The creative team also includes Charlotte Bydwell (choreographer), Edward Morris (scenic designer), An-lin Dauber (costume designer), David Castaneda (lighting designer), and Michael Costagliola (sound designer). Several familiar faces join this intimate four-person cast, including local actors Ryan Clemens (Christmas Carol, Guys & Dolls, Matilda) and Julian Stetkevych (Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice). The two local actors, playing Jaxton and Caden respectively, join two talented out of town actresses making their Virginia Stage Company debut, Lauren Blumenfled and Jenny Hickman take on the challenging roles of Logan and Alicia.

VACCINATION POLICY

Virginia Stage Company is requiring proof of vaccinations or a negative PCR COVID Test Result administered within 72 hours of entry to it’s productions. Only results provided by an FDA approved PCR test from a Medical Healthcare Professional, Lab, or Pharmacy will be accepted. Images of the front and back of the card will be accepted in lieu of the physical card, and masks will be required of all guests and individuals present in the space. For a full list of our entry procedures, please visit www.vastage.org/entry.

TICKETS

Performances of The Thanksgiving Play are scheduled Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 3pm at The Historic Wells Theatre, located at 108 E. Tazewell Street, Norfolk Va. Tickets range from $25 - $68. Subscription packages for Virginia Stage Company include a four show package starting at $120.00, or our flexible Theatre on Demand Packages starting at $196.00. Season Ticket holders receive numerous benefits, including 20% savings on every show, unlimited exchanges with no exchange fees, and additional discounts for in-house concessions and drinks.

Subscription packages and single tickets are on sale by calling the Box Office at (757) 627-1234 Monday through Friday from 10am - 5pm or visiting https://tickets.vastage.org/packages 

Interviews can be arranged by contacting Director of Marketing, Maris Smith, at msmith@vastage.org.

Virginia Stage Company is Southeastern Virginia’s leading theatre destination, serving an audience of over 58,000 annually, both at the Wells Theatre and throughout the community. Virginia Stage Company’s mission is to “enrich, educate, and entertain the region by creating and producing theatrical art of the highest quality.”