About the Artist/Ensemble

For over 23 years, Virginia Stage Company’s Education and Community Engagement programs have fostered a love of literature and the performing arts in youth and adults alike, deepening the community’s exposure to teaching artists, playwrights, designers, and performers. Productions are coordinated with school curricula and Virginia’s Standards of Learning. Most recently VSC began a community tour of Every Brilliant Thing giving VSC a unique opportunity to meet patrons in their own communities breaking down the barriers of entry that sometimes exist in getting individuals to the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, our home theatre.

Concert/Performance Description

Every Brilliant Thing

Ideal for Ages 13 and up

Every Brilliant Thing is a one-hour performance told from the perspective of one person. The story blends comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell one individual’s story of growing up in the shadow of their mother’s struggle with suicidal depression. Surprisingly charming and delightful, Every Brilliant Thing provides a life-affirming jolt of humanism, reminding us that hope comes from the miracles of life’s minutiae.

Tour Company Size: 4 (Narrator, Support Artist, Stage Manager, and Tour Manager)

GreenBeats LIVE!

From ecological stewardship to the importance of recycling, students will bop along to memorable songs from WHRO Public Media’s popular YouTube series GreenBeats. GreenBeats Live! written by Meredith Noel with lyrics by Skye Zentz is a 30-minute show perfect for elementary-aged audiences.  In GreenBeats, Live! Our hero Malia learns to make small changes to protect her neighborhood and the environment with help from Skip the Straw, Scoop Dog Sam, and Billie the Squirrel. Join her in earning your own Green Brigade Badge and get the green beat on your street!

Tour Company Size: 5 (4 actors, 1 Tour Manager)

Technical Requirements

• Access to electricity
• Seating is to be set up in the round prior to the tour company’s arrival
• Performance space minimum of 10 ft x 15 ft
• Minimum of one private dressing area
• VSC provides a sound system; however, if the venue has a built-in sound system tour company needs access to one Lavalier mic, two wireless handheld mics, and the ability to connect a laptop’s headphone jack.
• GreenBeats Live! has a specific technical rider available for each booking

Educational Programs

Virginia Stage Company Teaching Artists conduct a variety of programs that support Virginia’s Standard of Learning. In-school workshops activate your classroom and engage student’s imaginations through traditional theater techniques and exercises. The goal of VSC’s Education Department is to partner with teachers and administrators and provide students with first-hand opportunities to work with professional performers. These experiences enrich students’ social and emotional learning skills, in a creative and inclusive environment, while encouraging them to be future artists and audience members.

Spontaneous Storytelling – $180/50- 60 min.
Using traditional theatre and creative exercises, students will create, communicate, and share stories. They will engage in the discussion and practice of various storytelling styles in connection with classmates, to ignite imaginative thoughts and memories.

Playwriting –  $180/50 – 60 min.
This workshop introduces students to the craft of writing for the theater. These promising new playwrights will explore scene structure, action, events, character voice, and dialogue.

Adapting Literature to the Stage –  $180/50 – 60 min.
What is the process of consolidating a novel with its era specific traditions into a 2 hour theater piece for contemporary audiences? Focusing on A Merry Christmas Carol and The Three Musketeers, this workshop will take your classroom on the journey from page to stage.

Improv for the Classroom –  $180/ 50- 60 min.
Does your classroom need help in building a positive and collaborative community? Learn more about using “ Yes and..” as a VSC Teaching Artist establishes the fundamentals of improvisation with your classroom. This ensemble building class uses classic improv games to activate imaginations, foster collaboration, and build positivity.

Fees

Every Brilliant Thing performances: $2,500

Additional Every Brilliant Thing performances on the same day of original booking: $1,250

GreenBeats Live! performances: $600 – $1,200

Travel and accommodation expenses to be determined by service and location