About Acts of Faith
Press Release: October 28, 2013
Acts of Faith Theatre Festival Contact: Terry Menefee Gau |
Second Presbyterian Church Convening Sponsor 5 North 5th Street 804-649-9148 www.2presrichmond.org |
Acts of Faith Theatre Festival Announces its 10th Season!
Kick Off Set for Sunday, January 12, 2014 at the November Theatre
Richmond, VA. In 2005, when Acts of Faith kicked off its inaugural season, there were only a handful of theatres and faith communities that saw a vision of what this festival could mean to the Richmond community. Now entering its 10th season, the Acts of Faith Theatre Festival has become the largest faith-based theatre festival in the United States, with 15 area theatres offering 18 shows. Support from area congregations is strong, with eighteen Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other faith communities participating this year.
Alex Evans, Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church, the convening sponsor of Acts of Faith, says, “As we move into our 10th Year with the Acts of Faith Festival, we look forward to the best season yet. It is amazing to see the energy emerging across this region within faith communities and in theater companies. As we engage one another in thoughtful and faithful efforts through this festival, our relationships grow, our faith blossoms, and our sense of community deepens. I am not sure what else in RVA crosses divides, and stimulates our hearts and minds as this unique venture between faith communities and theater.”
The 2014 festival will kickoff with the Acts of Faith Preview on Sunday, January 12 at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre (formerly the Empire Theatre), 114 West Broad Street at 7:00 p.m. Last year’s Preview held a full house with around 500 patrons in attendance. Participating theatres will talk about their selected plays and present brief scenes to give a taste of the upcoming festival. This event is free and open to the public.
The festival runs from January 12 through April 19, 2014. As in past years, Richmond metropolitan theater companies will offer a selection of plays and will sponsor discussions after many of the performances. Using theatre as a vehicle to illuminate the issues and questions, the Festival provides conversations about the arts and faith. These post-performance conversations are intended for audience participation and will include the play director, cast members, and theologians. Discussions will address topics such as why the play was chosen for the festival, how cultural norms and values are portrayed in the play, and how an individual play might impact one’s faith journey. In addition to the talkback sessions at the theatres, faith communities encourage adult and youth groups to see the plays together and continue the discussions. In 2013, nearly 1,200 people and held discussions on their own.
Faith communities and attendees consistently say how meaningful the after-show discussions are to their theatre experience. And they enjoy the diversity of shows that the festival presents every year, opening their understanding of what faith means. Theatres that participate in the festival also find meaning from intentionally offering stories that challenge and support their patrons spiritually. H. Lynn Smith, president of the Chamberlayne Actor’s Theatre board of directors said, "CAT always looks forward to the Festival. We like the bump in attendance and we LOVE the talk-backs with such engaged and connected audiences. It's wonderful to have the opportunity to discuss so many interfaith points of view."
Richmond’s professional theatres provide the main-stage productions for the Acts of Faith because the festival values the quality and skill that Richmond area professional dramatists offer. The faith and theatre communities agree that the success of the festival is in part due to an adherence to the artistic quality of the plays offered during the season, and the ability of the professional theatres to take risks with shows that create tension in faith. This past year, the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle nominated six plays from the 2013 Acts of Faith Festival; and at the October 20th ceremony, four awards were granted to Acts of Faith Festival shows, including Best Actress & Actor in a Lead Role - Play, Best Supporting Actor – Play, and Outstanding Achievement in Set Design.
Because the Acts of Faith Festival values diversity of faith in the shows it presents, the festival accepts 3-4 non-professional theatres as Associate Theatres. These theatres offer different religious perspectives than the professional theatres alone can provide. Debra Clinton, Director of Production at SPARC and the Artistic Director of the Weinstein JCC's Jewish Family Theatre said, “Jewish Family Theatre is always honored to have the opportunity to share the unique perspective of Jewish history and culture with the larger community. Acts of Faith provides the perfect context in which to do that.”
Productions that do not meet the criteria of Professional or Associate theatres, fall into the “Fringe” category, offering opportunities for faith communities and new theatres to join in the conversation. The Acts of Faith Fringe usually includes shorter run productions and staged readings, and is the festivals effort toward supporting other events taking place in various faith communities.
A variety of faith communities also support this effort. Twelve churches and synagogues co-sponsored the program in 2013. Five more congregations have agreed to serve on the Acts of Faith Advisory Committee, a new effort to launch the festival to greater heights during its 10th season. Still more congregations support the festival by offering established and original shows for the Richmond faith community.
As in past years, the 2014 festival offers something for everyone. Several shows deal with faith questions about loss, forgiveness, and redemption, such as Quality of Life from HATTheatre, Grace from TheatreLAB in collaboration with Henley Street Theatre Company and Richmond Shakespeare, and High from Richmond Triangle Players. Chamberlayne Actors Theatre is offering an original play by a local playwright, Amy Berlin, and a formerly-local playwright, Ann Bucci. The Joshua Plant is about Josh, a teen with severe autism, trapped in parallel realities while he and his mother struggle to connect, communicate, and save each other.
For an exploration of the African-American experience and the impact of racism on our community, check out The Brothers Size from Stage B in collaboration with Firehouse Theatre Company, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad from VA Rep’s Children’s Theatre of Virginia at Willow Lawn, The Shootout from For Our Children Productions, and 15 and Navigating through Stoneland from the Islamic Theatre Company. Clyborne Park, produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with VA Rep, is another exploration of race in America. It is a follow up to the very popular Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury, examining the pervasiveness and cycle of racism. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play.
This year there are also some uproarious comedies in the mix. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety from Firehouse Theatre Project, Wittenburg from Henley Street Theatre Company and Richmond Shakespeare, and the classic farce Tartuffe from Virginia Repertory Theatre at Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre offer a much more irreverent look at faith and established religion. VA Rep’s Barksdale Season at Hanover Tavern is also offering the musical farce Olympus on my Mind, a look at ancient Greek mythology set in contemporary times.
For those who want a traditional Biblical story, there is Noye’s Fludde, a children’s opera performed by the Richmond Children’s Choir in cooperation with Capital Opera Richmond and River Road Church, Baptist. For those looking for a heartwarming family story of faith and perspective, there is From Door to Door performed by the Jewish Family Theatre. And Stephen Fales is back at Richmond Triangle Players with The Mormon Boy Trilogy, a one-man trilogy of shows showing his the journey of self-discovery as a gay man in the Mormon tradition. Says Phil Crosby, Managing Director of RTP, “Richmond Triangle Players has proudly participated in the Acts of Faith festival because it opens discussions about diversity, inclusion and forgiveness, and how faith and being LGBTQ are not mutually exclusive.”
Many theatres offer discounts for groups or Acts of Faith participants and Richmond.com will offer ticket giveaways. Crossing religious and cultural lines, the festival provides Richmond with a venue for ecumenical conversations about faith and theatre and how they reveal our often-common beliefs while helping Richmond’s dynamic and diverse theatre community reach new audiences in a meaningful way.
Sponsors include Community Idea Stations, the Huntly Foundation, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Richmond.com.
Recent Co-sponsoring Faith communities have includedSecond Presbyterian Church (convening sponsor), Bon Air Presbyterian Church, Centenary United Methodist Church, Congregation Beth Ahabah, First Presbyterian Church, Gayton Kirk Presbyterian Church, St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, St. James’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s United Church of Christ, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Acts of Faith Advisory Committee participants include Fifth Baptist Church, 6th Mount Zion Baptist Church, Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Glen Allen, and Unity Christ Church of Bon Air.
Participating professional theaters include Virginia Repertory Theatre at Willow Lawn, the November Theatre, and the Hanover Tavern; Cadence Theatre in partnership with Virginia Repertory; Chamberlayne Actors Theatre; Firehouse Theatre Project; Greater Richmond Children’s Choir in cooperation with Capitol Opera Richmond and River Road Church, Baptist, HATTheatre; Henley Street Theatre and Richmond Shakespeare; Richmond Triangle Players; Stage B Theatre Company in collaboration with Firehouse Theatre Company, and Theatre Lab in partnership with Henley Street Theatre and Richmond Shakespeare. Associate theatres include: For Our Children Productions, The Islamic Theatre Company, and Jewish Family Theatre.
For more information on the Acts of Faith, a listing of play dates and discussion forum times, and ticket information, see the calendar or call 804-304-8379.
