There’s a moment during a Babe Improv set where you realize two things at once. First, they have no idea what they’re about to do next. Second, it’s all going to work out somehow. That tightrope is what makes it work, and when you have two people this in sync, it...
Richmond, that vibrant crucible of culture and creativity, unfolds yet again in its monthly tradition: First Fridays. This season—ah, the dawn of Fall—the experience metamorphoses into an affair of citywide celebration nestled in the artsy nucleus of Broad Street and Jackson Ward. Whether you're an art savant, a VCU freshman, or an RVA veteran,...
A corner has been turned this summer; I know you've felt it. Women have taken it on the chin for, well, forever. So much of the national conversation has been focused on the unthinkable regression of women's autonomy over their own bodies, redress and safety from violence, and the horrifyingly misogynist men that occupy positions of power. It's...
There have been a lot of changes at The Firehouse Theatre this year. Firehouse is a staple of the Richmond theatre scene, putting on new plays and promoting the arts by providing a platform for young and burgeoning artists in the scene to either showcase their work or perform on stage. Now, with the merger with The New Theatre, citing...
It seems only natural for a musician to be the subject of a musical, and this, of course, must be why the idea has become incredibly common in the last few years. Films have done this repeatedly, such as 'Across the Universe,' adapting the music of The Beatles into a narrative structure. More directly than that, though, you have stage productions...
If Pee Wee Herman was roommates with Sherlock Holmes and an LSD-powered robot, Révéler / Orbital Music Park would be their dream home. You may not know the place but you’ve def seen it. It’s the black and gold spot in Carytown with giant skeletons outside. I took three guesses as to what I was looking at from my drivers-side window in typical...
We are working with the ingenious brewmasters at Bingo! Beer Co. and sending our team of photographers is set to roam the buzzing streets of the city, weekend after weekend, immersing ourselves in the vibrant vein of nightlife that surges past the bewitching hour of 10 pm. This week, our crew of CJ Payne, Jody Adams, and Mike Avey plunged into...
You have to smile at the continuity of human experience when a 350+ year old play can so describe our world and our unfruitful selfishness within it. The Misanthrope, a comedy of errors by Moliere, is updated here by contemporary playwright David Ives and renamed The School for Lies. Artistic Director James Ricks and Managing Director Jase...
"Ask a playwright why they write plays," they'll typically respond with something along the lines of, "I write plays because I want to make people feel," or, "I want to make people think," or, "I want to initiate a conversation that needs to be had." The play How to Bruise Gracefully meets all these criteria. How to Bruise Gracefully delves into...
It can be easy, and perhaps on occasion necessary, to put people into categories. Defining people and things into taxonomic groups is helpful in seeing patterns across large swathes of data, and referring to these by definable names helps us humans navigate a world that is complicated and increasingly so. But, so rarely are things dichotomous....
