Studio Roanoke Announces New Season and New Program

by Elizabeth Matthews Jones

Roanoke’s theatre scene has had a definite growth spurt over the last decade, producing everything from good old fashioned Broadway musical reviews to cutting edge drama, both conventional and experimental.  For Sunny da Silva, Roanoke and Studio Roanoke are the perfect place to produce her latest play, “Messages to You.”

Sunny is a soon-to-be graduate of the Playwrights Lab at Hollins University.  A resident of New York, Sunny has been making all of her arrangements via telephone and computer, including auditioning young female actresses via Skype connections. That’s how she ended up casting Collette Riddle of Mount Pleasant for the one and only character in the play, Molly.

Collette is a student of theatre and music at a small North Carolina college.  Home for the summer, she is juggling the intensity of learning the script and music by herself or via Skype sessions with Sunny and working full time as a director for the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio in Roanoke County.

Messages to You is about a young, lonely recluse who reaches out to a potential boyfriend through her computer.  Her only company is a brood of six guinea pigs she fondly calls ‘The Braidies.’ Molly’s life is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, beautifully told through Collette’s unique and lovely singing voice.

What is unusual about this play is that Collette is actually speaking and singing into the computer as it is being live-streamed through a program called #NewPlay TV!  There is an imbedded link to the live production through the Studio Roanoke website and virtually anyone will be able to watch Molly’s story unfold if they have access to internet and a computer.

#NewPlay TV! is a collective media outlet that promotes the new play sector by providing a channel just for these live events and performances. Students all over the world have been tapping into this resource in order to gain feedback from peers, share their work, and observe what the finished project can and will look like on the stage.  It’s a tool that has created an easy and interactive classroom for up and coming playwrights and musicians.

Messages to You will be performed July 1st at 9:00pm, and July 2nd at 7:00pm. As with any other performance, a live audience is essential to the success of the production.  Tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 or $12 for seniors, students and active military.  If you can’t be a part of the physical audience at Studio Roanoke, you can be a part of the larger cyber audience by clicking on the link for the live feed at http://www.studioroanoke.org.

Studio Roanoke’s 2010-2011 season ends this weekend with the final performances of Frogger by Adam Hahn, directed by Cheryl Snodgrass.  The 2011-2012 Season begins with the special engagement production of Messages to You July 1-2.

August 10,2011 – Man with Wings by Ben R. Williams

September 21, 2011 – Zombie Boyfriend by Will Coleman and Chandler Davis

November 3-6, 2011 – Other Animals by Deke Weaver-*Special Engagement*

November 30, 2011 – The Crimes and Confessions of Kip Knutzen: A Hockey Way of Knowledge by Deke Weaver

February 1, 2012-The Emancipation of Alabaster McGill by Jeff Goode

March 7, 2012-Nobody Gets Paid by Ellen Struve and William Penn

April 11, 2012-Monkey Wrench by Kenley Smith

May 16, 2012-57 Hours in the House of Culture by Dwayne Yancey

June 20, 2012-The New Girl From the Former Mrs. ___: Sound Advice for My Husband’s New Wife or Mistress by Samantha Macher

In addition to the Studio Roanoke new works, Gamut Theatre will present their 2011 Season in the K. W. “Pete” Smith Theatre:

July 7,8,9,14,15,16. 2011- The Lover by Harold Pinter

October 13,14,15,20,21,22, 2011-Bury the Dead by Irwin Shaw

Studio Roanoke’s Newest Program: Look for upcoming workshops, Theatre for Special People, a program focused on bringing theatre into the lives of people in our community with special needs.  An information session will take place on Wednesday, July 13 at 6:00 pm in the fellowship hall at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church.  All types of volunteers are needed and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided.a

 

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