Acts of Faith Theatre Festival Announces Intriguing Season
Kick Off Set for Friday, January 13, 2012 at the November Theatre
Richmond, VA. When Second Presbyterian Church founded the Acts of Faith Theatre Festival in 2005, no one fathomed the energy that would surround the festival eight years later. What began as a small collaboration among a few theatres and Second Presbyterian Church has grown to a full community wide event involving 18 theatres and close to 20 Christian, Jewish, and Islamic congregations. Alex Evans, Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church says, “The Acts of Faith Festival has proven to be such a worthwhile endeavor. It brings us from our faith communities into theaters and then links us all for a more wholesome community. Our minds are engaged by the excellent productions; our connections are strengthened within the congregations and across the city, and invariably we are challenged to build community and make the world better.” The theatre community feels the same way and recognizes the uniqueness of the collaboration. Phil Whiteway, Managing Director at Barksdale/Theatre IV comments, “This is a remarkable partnership. I am not aware of anywhere else in the country that is bringing together professional theatres and faith communities on this scale.” The festival’s impact on the theatre community is real, both in boosting patron numbers and pushing the theatres to think about their offerings. While the faith community supports the festival, the faith components in the plays are broad and often edgy. 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. Of the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle nominations for best musical or play in 2011, six of the ten nominations were from the Acts of Faith Festival, including the winner of best play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot produced by The Henley Street Theatre in collaboration with Richmond Triangle Players.
The 2012 festival will kickoff with the Acts of Faith Preview on Friday, January 13 at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre (formerly the Empire Theatre), 114 West Broad Street at 7:00 p.m. The preview this year will be in memory of the late Helen Rolfe, a long-time member at Second Presbyterian. Helen’s steadfast support of the festival challenged other faith communities to get involved. Last year’s Preview held a full house with close to 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 will run January 13 through March 18. As in past years, 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 2011, over 1000 people attended the talkbacks in addition to the hundreds of patrons who attended plays and held discussions on their own. Many theatres report attendance during the festival to be among the highest of any play in their annual season.
New this year is the Acts of Faith Fringe. This link on the Acts of Faith website will highlight smaller events in the community taking place in celebration of the Acts of Faith Festival. This list may include shorter run productions or staged readings. The committee receives many requests to participate in the festival, which only allows for three non-professional groups as full participants. The Acts of Faith Fringe is a way to support the other events taking place in various faith communities.
As in past years, the 2012 festival offers something for everyone. Some plays have a direct religious reference such as Jewtopia, Cotton Patch Gospel, and Next Fall whichtells the story of the relationship between Adam and Luke and their thorny discussions about religion. The offerings by the Islamic Community seek to enlighten both Muslims and non-Muslims about how people of Islamic faith define their identity. Other plays reveal faith through family dynamics such as Conversations with my Father, Almighty Bob, God of Carnage, August: Osage County and Topdog/Underdog. Always…Patsy Cline and Ain’t Misbehavin, the Fats Waller Musical Show highlight faith through the world of music. Classics such as The Tragedy of Macbeth and Lord of the Flies highlight themes of existence, fate, and human society. The Oliver Hill Story reflects the faith of a local hero as he fights injustice and Shakespeare and Galileo explores the relationship between art, science, and God. And finally, You Don’t Know Me: A Trio of One Acts – Ohio State Murders, Beirut Rocks, and Security look at the destructiveness of racial and religious prejudice in society.
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, Richmond.com, Second Presbyterian Church (convening sponsor), Bon Air Presbyterian Church, Centenary United Methodist Church, Congregation Beth Ahabah, First English Lutheran, First Presbyterian Church, Gayton Kirk Presbyterian Church, Islamic Center of Virginia, St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, St. James’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s United Church of Christ, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Seventh Street Christian Church, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and the Weinstein Jewish Community Center.
Participating professional theaters include the Barksdale Theatres at Willow Lawn and Hanover Tavern, Cadence Theatre at Barksdale’s Theatre Gym, Chamberlayne Actors Theatre; Firehouse Theatre Project, HATTheatre, Henley Street Theatre, Richmond Shakespeare, Richmond Triangle Players and Sycamore Rouge. Associate theatres include: For Our Children Productions, The Islamic Theatre, Jewish Family Theatre, Seminary Shoestring Players, and Virginia Union University Theatre.
For more information on the Acts of Faith, a listing of play dates, discussion forum times and ticket information, go to our calendar page or call 804-513-8211.
