Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 10, 1991 TAG: 9104100073
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jeff DeBell
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Company regulars say they are pleased and excited by Brickey's return. She co-founded the group in 1985 and was its artistic director until resigning in 1989 to pursue other interests.
In addition to the Carson play and Arthur Miller's "All My Sons," which will complete its run this weekend at Highland Park United Methodist Church, the company plans a full schedule of story-theater presentations for children, play readings and acting workshops during the summer and fall. An October play will be announced soon.
It is possible that the company will return to having a full-time artistic director in the future, but for the time being it will use guest directors on its productions.
The renewed vitality is welcome. The company took a life-threatening hit last summer when artistic differences, complicated by burnout, led to the resignations of the artistic and managing directors.
A lot of self-analysis has taken place during the intervening months. It has resulted in a return to the company's roots: the training of actors, a minimalist approach in sets and costuming, and emphasis on what board president Tricia Givens calls "theater you can sink your teeth in."
"We fill a need by being actor-oriented," said Givens, who deserves a lot of credit for the company's recovery. "It's our little niche."
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra will not help raise the money to transform the Jefferson High School auditorium into a formal concert hall, which means the project isn't likely to be undertaken.
"We'll go back to Plan A," said Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, president of the Jefferson Foundation. Plan A calls for the 800-seat auditorium to be restored but not made over into a concert hall big enough for the orchestra's use.
The foundation is raising funds to remodel the old school as an arts, education and social services complex called the Jefferson Center. It had invited the orchestra to be the concert hall's manager and principal user, and to help raise the money for the remodeling. The project would cost from $5 million to $8.5 million, with the foundation providing $3 million and the orchestra helping to raise the balance.
In a letter to the foundation, symphony president James Arend said the orchestra board didn't believe it "prudent" to take on responsibility for the concert hall at a time of widespread fiscal belt-tightening in the arts.
He did say the orchestra would consider becoming a Jefferson Center tenant for office and rehearsal space after the school has been renovated.
"Basically, we don't feel we can raise that kind of money right now, not only for the capital project but for the annual operating costs," orchestra manager Margarite Fourcroy said. "It's just too big a project right now."
The Virginia Association of Museums convenes in Roanoke on Thursday for the first time since 1984. Some 200 delegates are expected for the annual conference, which will last until Saturday. Its theme is "Breathing Life Into Our Mission - Collaboration and Innovation."
When it comes to getting mileage per dollar for the arts, Virginia Tech's annual Artstravaganza is hard to beat.
It is built around an auction of donated works of art. Artists who donate their work get a commission of the sale price. The remaining proceeds support scholarships for students in Tech's art department. The buyers get original works of art - and everyone has a good time at the dinner and reception (black-tie optional) that precedes the auction.
Last year's inaugural Artstravaganza raised $21,000.
This year's is set for April 19 at 5:30 p.m., and reservations are being taken.
Admission is $50. Call (703) 231-6394.
This year's Roanoke Art Commission High School Art Exhibition is at the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. The commission likes to move the show around as a means of broadening its exposure to the public. It has been at Center in the Square and the Roanoke City Courthouse in recent years.
The show will have 85 works by students from 14 high schools in the Roanoke Valley and contiguous jurisdictions. It will run through May 3.
The Virginia Horse Festival is seeking entries for the festival art show, which it describes as the largest equine art show in the state.
The festival will take place April 20-21 at the Virginia Horse Center near Lexington. Art and photography entries will be received April 15-19 in both student and non-student divisions.
Danville artist and horsewoman Mary Riley Pugh will judge the show, for which there will be awards of distinction, honorable mentions and purchase awards.
More information is available from the horse center at (703) 463-2194.
An unusual new fund-raiser for the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts is set for May 2-5. Called "Art in Bloom," it will feature interpretive floral designs inspired by work in art exhibits at the museum.
Funds will be raised from an opening preview party, a lecture-demonstration and general admission to the exhibit. About 20 of Roanoke's floral arrangers are expected to take part.
Work by Fincastle glass artist James Madine is included in the fifth "Feet of Glass" Exhibition in Baltimore. Twenty-seven artists are represented in the national biennial show, which continues through April 26 in Gallery 409 at the Blake Cultural Center.
Madine specializes in a glassblowing technique called lampworking. His medium is borosilicate crystal. His entry in the Baltimore show is called "Salamander's Evening Snack."
by CNB