Confessions from the Queen of Paper Cuts

Posted by Annie Hulcher
What can you learn from stuffing envelopes?

I suspect anyone who has ever interned has asked himself or herself this very question. I was asking myself this question a few weeks ago, wondering what I could possibly gain from this besides multiple paper cuts.

I'll admit that after sitting in a classroom all day learning about calculus and reading Beowulf, it's nice to come to the welcoming environment of the Theatre IV offices and do something that is relatively mindless. I get to talk to the other volunteers I'm working with, or staff members who come and take a break from their own work and chat with me for a bit. Ultimately, doing this mindless work gives a girl time to think.

A major component of my mentorship course is writing a college style research paper on a topic related to what I'm doing “in the field." I've been thinking a lot about this recently, and the topic I keep coming back to is how technology is being utilized in the theatre community, specifically marketing and development.

The letters I was stuffing contained a plea to patrons to donate money so that Barksdale and Theatre IV can keep producing Broadway caliber shows, such as this past summer’s hit Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. As Bruce has stated in previous blog posts, Barksdale is taking steps to become a nationally recognized regional theatre, and they are well on their way. Obviously, without donations from patrons this wouldn’t be possible.

Any-who, while I was stuffing, I couldn’t believe so many trees were being killed when this could all be done via e-mail, facebook, or twitter. After discussing this with Barksdale's staff, I learned that right now, research indicates that approximately 44% of Barksdale's subscribers--the people most likely to contribute--don't actively communicate via email, much less twitter. I also learned that national research indicates that funding requests sent through the U. S. Postal Service initiate 72% of all contributions made in response to a written request. Only 28% of these contributions are made in response to email requests.

As each year goes by, more people respond to email, or give Barksdale their email addresses in the first place. Still, I am slowly becoming fascinated by how theatres around the world are reaching their widest base of patrons by using both snail mail and email. Barksdale in particular has patrons who have been committed to the theatre since the 50’s. Barksdale's job is to appeal not only to them, but also to budding theatre enthusiasts such as myself, and everyone in between.

Theatres today have to consider the demographics of their audience from all angles, including:

* what shows are selected each season,

* what language, images and media are used to market those shows,

* what creature comforts add most to the theatregoing experience, and

* what technologies and/or traditional dissemination methods can be used to reach all patrons.

What a perfect concept for my paper! Not only that, but how have theatres been making the transition from doing all of their marketing via mail, to incorporating e-mail, and now facebook, twitter, four square, and a variety of other social networks. Even this blog!

I will be doing extensive research over the next few months. Right now, it seems like a mix between the old and the new is the approach Barksdale/TIV is taking. I look forward to learning much, much more about this through observation and research.

And I thought I couldn’t learn anything from stuffing envelopes.

--Annie Hulcher

Four New Interns Lend Their Talents to B'dale and TIV

Posted by Bruce Miller
I hope you will join me in welcoming four talented, dedicated interns to the Barksdale and Theatre IV family. They will be invaluable this season, as we seek to complete all of our production responsibilities. In alpha order, they are:

Libby Majette - Scenic Arts / Props Intern:
Libby is originally from Richmond and left to attend the University of Virginia, where she earned a degree in Math and Drama in 2009. In addition to her Scenic Charge and Scenic Designer credits at UVA, she worked as Scenic Charge for the Ash Lawn Opera in Charlottesville. She recently completed an Internship with Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, where she worked as Scenic Charge and Props Master. She will be working directly with our acting Master Scenic, the amazingly talented Julie Gallager.

Richard Mooney - Electrics Intern:
Richard is originally from Fredericksburg, VA, and he completed his undergraduate education in Theatre Arts at James Madison University. After graduation, Richard moved to DC to work with Virginia’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, where he served as a light board operator. In lieu of accepting a position offered to him by Signature, Richard chose to pursue his MFA in Media and Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design. Following the completion of this program, Richard spent time in Orlando, FL, working as an editor for a novel, and then for a film script. Richard did the lighting design for the film when it was produced, and soon after joined the team at Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV as our Electrics Intern. He will be working directly with our Master Electrician, the dedicated and highly skilled Matt Landwehr.

Luke Robinson - Carpentry Intern:
Luke is from Charlotte, NC, and is a recent graduate of Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, where he earned a degree in Theatre Arts. At Catawba, Luke worked as a Carpenter on various productions and served as Technical Director / Master Carpenter for a black box production of Mary, Mary his senior year. He has professional experience as a carpenter on shows in various genres of theatre, and he joins Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV after taking a brief reprieve from his non-stop involvement with summer stock in order to spend some time with his family in Charlotte, NC. Richard will be working directly with our Technical Director and Master Carpenter, the exemplary Bruce Rennie and Hans Paul.

Chris Withers - Theatre Administration / House Management Intern:
Chris is a Richmond native who was first introduced to Theatre IV at a young age. He recalls seeing Theatre IV touring shows during his elementary school years, and he even performed in Barksdale Theatre's collaboration with the Steward School in Grease. Chris is a recent graduate of Christopher Newport University, where he majored in Theatre and worked in various positions, including as an RA, a Front Desk Assistant, an Orientation Leader, and a Welcome Desk Greeter. He also has experience in event planning and public relations. He will be working directly with our new Production Assistant, the accomplished and promising Bryan Leach.

I know I’m laying on the superlatives here, which is a little silly, but I’m honestly honored to be working with four such able individuals, and with our outstanding staff. I’m looking forward to a GREAT season.

--Bruce Miller

Student Opportunities in the ARts

Posted by Bruce Miller
No, it’s not a typo. The reason the R is capitalized in the word ARts in the headline flying jauntily above this post is because we’re making an acronym. SOAR. I know, I know … it’s a bit forced. But Creative Residency with Arts Professionals wasn’t really working for us.

SOAR is an interactive externship program for high school juniors and seniors with a serious interest in the performing arts. Students who enroll in this after-school initiative have the chance to meet and talk every two weeks with Central Virginia’s top performing arts professionals, from actors/ dancers/ musicians/directors to marketing gurus to scenic designers to fundraisers et al. Each colloquium takes place in a different location—complete with a behind-the-scenes tour. We meet at the Firehouse one week, Richmond Ballet two weeks later, then the Modlin Center, the historic Empire, etc. etc. etc.

The program used to be called an internship, but after receiving some guidance from our friends in education, we now call it an externship. An internship happens when a fully trained student has the opportunity to put her/his training to practical use in a professional environment. An externship happens when an interested student has the opportunity to interact with professionals in the field of interest, providing the student with the insight s/he will need to make an informed decision about her/his future education.

Students who complete the course, which includes attending the sessions and maintaining journals throughout the experience (a grand total of 75 hours of work), receive academic credit from their home high school. It’s pretty cool.

SOAR began under a different name a few years ago as a program of the Carpenter Center. From the beginning a lot of the energy that powered the program came from Barksdale. Most of the funding that has enabled the program in the past came from the Markel Corporation’s donation to the Carpenter Center. On behalf of Greater Richmond’s arts students, we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

About three years ago, the program was featured as a national model in Time magazine, including a photo of a Richmond public school student exploring the light board at our historic Empire Theatre.

Last year the SOAR program became an official partnership between Barksdale Theatre and CenterStage, the new name for the expanding Carpenter Center. Barksdale provided the design and management of the program; CenterStage did the fundraising and served as liaison with the schools.

Last spring, CenterStage completed a strategic planning process with Mitchell Korn, a national arts-in-education consultant. They have now announced that their future arts-in-education programs will focus on in-school activities. Consequently, this year, SOAR will be the responsibility of Barksdale Theatre alone.

Information and applications for SOAR 08-09 will be distributed to all Central Virginia high schools, public and private, in October. If you know a teacher or a student who would like to have more information about SOAR, please encourage them to email Janine Serresseque.
Our other SOAR job this fall is to find funding for the program, which is made available to Central Virginia students free-of-charge. If you or some entity you know would be interested in talking with us about this funding opportunity, please encourage them to email Emily Cole.

SOAR is one component of the BTW (Barksdale Theatre Workshop), our comprehensive program designed to connect Barksdale with Greater Richmond's high school drama students and teachers. SOAR is a valuable and nationally-recognized way in which Barksdale Theatre can work with Central Virginia’s many exemplary performing arts organizations (and freelance arts professionals) to meet the needs of our community’s students and schools.

Please help us spread the word about this little known program with your colleagues and friends.
--Bruce Miller

My Summer Internship

Each summer, Barksdale offers a limited number of administrative internships to university students. These positions allow theatre majors to get hands-on experience in the day to day operation of a professional theatre. They also provide Barksdale with enthusiastic helping hands and some fresh ideas. (More information about interning with Barksdale is available on our website.) Tamika Sayles from Longwood University has been an intern in our Marketing Department this summer, and this is her account of the experience...


By Tamika Sayles

Whenever I walk through Barksdale Theatre I see family, friends and people with whom I feel like I’ve spent my entire life instead of only eight short weeks. Interning at Barksdale has been the greatest experience in my life. Little did I know I would actually be good at marketing or better yet box office sales. I’ve always been an actor at heart - still am - but it was interesting to finally see the fundamentals of what goes on behind the stage and to find that I now consider it my career goal for the future.

When my professor at Longwood University first told me about the Arts Administration program I didn’t quite know what to think. I was the only theatre student majoring in both business and theatre, an oddity in nature, but none the less driven. I took Dr. Gene Muto’s advice and gave it a shot. A year or so later I decided that maybe this was the time to test this new major; when the interning position became available I jumped on the opportunity, not fully comprehending the true expectations, but thinking maybe it was a start in one direction or other. Couldn’t hurt to try, could it?

When I heard I had gotten the internship at Barksdale I remember feeling excited yet worried about being in corporate America. Heaven only knows why I thought it would be like corporate America. My mind got the best of me, but as the days went on I began to develop a new interest in marketing and design, and I asked Sara Marsden, Barksdale’s Marketing Director, to teach me everything she knew about designing posters. This led into an entirely new direction to my studies, and soon I began to decipher the variations of marketing designs, deciding what worked and what didn’t.

I started experimenting with a design program called Abode InDesign, which wasn’t easy. I’ve been working with computers since I was in the sixth grade, and there were moments where even I was stumped. Day after day, I practiced and came up with new ways of creating different designs to everyone’s liking. Then one day Sara told me about a website needing a logo. The site was RichmondVATheater.com, and I was more than eager to create one for them. I remember barely sleeping that night contemplating new ideas and colors, and I was even more excited to finally see it posted on their website with a shout out to me and my college.

I am more than thankful for the opportunity both Sara Marsden and RichmondVATheater.com gave me, but most of all I’m ecstatic, because I finally found my place in the world - that place is with the theatre. I plan to continue to act, design posters and advertisements and to work in the Arts Administration field. The ultimate goal is to someday run my own theatre company.

This is my last week at Barksdale, and who knows what direction life will really take me. One thing is certain though; I will never forget the friends I’ve made at Barksdale Theatre, and I want to say thank you to the Marketing Department, Box Office and all the great staff I’ve worked with for the past eight weeks for making this an extra special opportunity for me.

Tamika

In Memoriam: Reid Ashe III

Posted by Bruce Miller
Our friend Reid Ashe III died on Saturday engaging in one of the many outdoor adventures he loved – skydiving. Reid was a 23-year old Georgia Tech student, studying industrial engineering. Five years ago, when he was still a student at Collegiate, Reid spent the summer with us as a production intern.

He was a hard worker, with a real interest in theatre and a noticeable talent for figuring out how to make sets fit together. He was one of our most responsible interns. Reid had a strong work ethic and a great sense of humor. He was quiet, at least in the shop, where he focused on his work. But he made friends quickly and easily, and we all grew fond of him. We had high hopes for his future. Reid was one of those kids for whom it was easy to have high hopes.

Our love goes out to Reid III's parents, Reid and Lisa, who are also our friends, and to his younger brother David. We are remembering them in our prayers, and holding them in our hearts.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Richmond YMCA's Camp Thunderbird Outdoor Center, 9300 Shawonodasee Road, in Chesterfield County.

This November, in keeping with our tradition, we will dedicate our production of This Wonderful Life to our memory of Reid’s talent, spirit and promise. With all his many friends and family, we mourn his tragic passing.

--Bruce Miller

Wanted: New Blog-Writing Volunteer Intern

Posted by Phil Whiteway

Readers of this blog know that we’ve just said goodbye to our Volunteer Fall Marketing Intern, John Steils, pictured to the right. After fulfilling his three month internship, John has returned home to Walnut Grove, Missouri. We thank him for his positive attitude, his hard work, and his eleven (count ‘em, folks) blog entries. John did a great job for us, and we’ll miss him.
Now we need to find our next great Volunteer Marketing Intern to take John's place during the winter and spring of 2008, and maybe longer. We’re looking for someone who has a passion for theatre and writing, but no extensive experience or coursework is required. The perfect applicant(s) will be between the ages of 16 and 106 and able to spend between two to four hours per week—on their own schedule—researching and writing for the Barksdale Blog.

Our blog staff will discuss article ideas with the new Intern in advance, and the Intern will be encouraged to come up with ideas on his or her own. The Intern will have interview access to various theatre artists and administrators working on Barksdale productions. Blog posts will be written at home and emailed to a blog staffer, who will then edit the post to be in keeping with our blog stylebook and guidelines.

The Intern will receive byline credit on each blog post that he or she writes and we publish. The Intern can use his or her own name or a nom de plume, whichever he or she prefers. The Intern will also earn one free Barksdale and/or Theatre IV ticket to the show of his or her choice, pending availability, for each article that is submitted and published.

If you are interested in starting off the New Year with a bang, then please consider becoming a contributor to the Barksdale Blog. Applying is easy. Just send an email to … John Steils. He’s actually agreed to this one last assignment—helping us find his replacement. John can be reached at steilsparade@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Until then, Happy New Year! And see you at the theatre.

--Phil Whiteway

Tia James Continues to Soar

Great things are in the works for an amazing Richmond woman, and our community has every reason to celebrate. Tia James, who most recently appeared in Theatre IV’s mainstage production of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and is working crew on The Wizard of Oz even as I type, has taken a major step forward in achieving her life’s dream.

Tia is someone to watch. Read on, and you'll find out why.

For those of you who don’t know her—yet—Tia is one of the nicest, most humble, giving and talented women you’ll ever meet. She graduated from VCU with a BFA in Theatre Performance, and VCU must be mighty proud.

While a student, she performed in Breath, Boom directed by Broadway veteran Michelle Shay, and Playboy of the West Indies and The Trial of One Shortsighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae, both directed by the late, great Marvin Sims.

VCU entered The Trial… into the American College Theatre Festival, and the production thereafter received rigorous professional scrutiny from regional adjudicators. In the ACTF, the nation is divided into eight regions; Richmond is in Region Four. After viewing all the productions submitted by colleges and universities in our part of the country, the adjudicators selected the approximately 300 actors with whom they were most impressed. These 300 were then nominated for the prestigious Irene Ryan Award. Tia was one of the 300 in Region Four.

At that point, Tia and her fellow nominees were asked to pick a scene partner and then perform a scene and a monologue for additional review. Out of the 300 couples, two were selected to represent the region at the Irene Ryan finals at the Kennedy Center. Tia and her partner, Aaron Holland, were one of the two couples selected to represent Region Four.

They went to the Kennedy Center for a week, took master classes and had a wonderful time. At the end of that week, there was a night of public performance, and the 16 finalist pairs from around the nation performed their scenes and monologues. Decisions were made immediately, and many awards were given. The last two awards were Best Partner, which was won by Aaron Holland, and, finally, the Irene Ryan Award for Best Actor. In this national competition, Tia won the Irene Ryan in 2003.

Since graduating from VCU in 2004, Tia has spent the last three years touring nationally with Theatre IV, and, this year, interning with our Richmond operations. Throughout the last several months, she has also concentrated on her next goal, which is to relocate to NYC. Along with 800 other actors, Tia has been working this year to gain admission to the three-year Graduate Acting Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the top masters programs in the nation. Of the 800 applicants, 18 were admitted—the best of the best.

The entire staff at Barksdale and Theatre IV went nuts when, a couple weeks ago, Tia received the phone call saying that she was one of the eighteen. Best of all, they loved her so much that, in addition to her admission, she has been offered $18,000 per year in scholarship funds!

This blog entry would not be an accurate reflection of Tia if I did not immediately add, as she herself does repeatedly every time she admits to her many achievements, that she gives all thanks and credit to God.

Without taking anything away from that spiritual attribution, I give additional and enormous thanks and credit to Tia. She has worked incredibly hard and thanklessly throughout the time I’ve known her. She has kept her sights set on her dream. And, by sharing her talent and good will, she has contributed enormously to
Theatre IV, Barksdale Theatre and the audiences we serve.

We will miss Tia when she moves on next fall. But she'll always be part of the Barksdale / Theatre IV family. We CAN’T WAIT for the moment that we know is sure to come—the moment when we can turn to the rest of the country that will only be beginning to fall in love with her, and proudly say that we knew her when.

God speed, Tia. All of Richmond theatre is behind you 100%.