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Shenandoah University

Music. Theatre. Dance.

ShenCoLAB

ShenCoLAB: Festival of Arts, Ideas & Exploration

Shenandoah Conservatory turns over the programming and facilities to its students for a week of unbridled exploration, collaboration and creativity. Students work across disciplines on self-directed, time-limited projects fueled by their own passion, drive and curiosity. The week culminates with a day-long Festival of Arts, Ideas & Exploration featuring a wide variety of exciting, innovative and provocative performances, presentations, roundtable discussions and other special events.

VIEW FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

EXPLORE PROJECTS

*All schedules and events subject to change

All proceeds support the imaginative work of our students during ShenCoLAB.

GET YOUR FESTIVAL WRISTBAND TODAY!

GENERAL ADMISSION FESTIVAL WRISTBAND

$10 SUGGESTED DONATION

STUDENT FESTIVAL WRISTBAND

$5 SUGGESTED DONATION

Festival wristbands provide access to the entire day of events and after-party (seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis; capacity is limited).

If you would like to make a donation other than the amounts suggested, please visit the Box Office located in the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre lobby or call (540) 665-4569 during regular business hours. All proceeds support the imaginative work of our students during ShenCoLAB.

ACCESSIBILITY

Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Photos by Shenandoah University’s Office of Marketing and Communications

Jason Robert Brown

Jason Robert Brown is the ultimate multi-hyphenate—an equally skilled composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director and performer—best known for his dazzling scores to several of the most renowned musicals of his generation, including the generation-defining The Last Five Years, his debut song cycle Songs for a New World, and the seminal Parade, for which he won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Score. Originally trained as a concert composer, Brown’s music is infused with so much keen sophistication that The New York Times referred to him as “a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical.”

Join us for one of Brown’s famously-incendiary live performances of his “extraordinary, jubilant theater music” (Chicago Tribune), and hear why he has been hailed as “one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

WATCH

LISTEN

Concessions will be available for cash purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

ACCESSIBILITY

Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Photos by Matthew Murphy

Broadway Baby!

Shenandoah Conservatory’s class of 2020 presents a cabaret-style performance filled with your favorite Broadway hits.

Sunday Art in the Park with Shenandoah Conservatory

Reston Town Center Association and Reston Community Center present Sunday Art in the Park with Shenandoah Conservatory. Performances take place Sunday evenings during the summer from 7PM to 8PM and are free and open to the public. Pack a picnic and join us in the park for an evening of music!

Shenandoah Conservatory Hands Over Facilities and Programming to Students in Unprecedented Initiative A first-in-the-nation initiative fostering student creativity and collaboration

In a groundbreaking new initiative, Shenandoah Conservatory is canceling its regular classes and rehearsals for one week, and turning over its facilities and resources to the students, in order to support student-run projects, which emphasize collaboration and interdisciplinary partnership.The initiative, modeled after similar programs in the United Kingdom, will be the first of its kind in the nation. From Tuesday, Nov. 27, through Saturday, Dec. 1, students work across disciplines on self-directed, time-limited projects fueled by their own passion, drive and curiosity. The week culminates with a Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration, on Dec. 1, featuring more than thirty innovative and provocative music, theatre and dance projects, which highlight student creativity and collaboration.

While the daylong festival offers audiences access to a wide variety of live performances and presentations, the underlying goal is to inspire artistic and scholarly excellence, preparing talented students for successful careers in the arts. “Polling of top CEOs and arts leaders is clear: the career success of this generation of students will hinge on their ability to work collaboratively, to solve problems with independence, and to be innovative in bringing people together around projects that matter,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “Student Performance Week is so significant because it provides conservatory students an extraordinary opportunity to practice and strengthen these very skills.”

The journey to Shenandoah Conservatory’s Student Performance Week (SPW) began in the UK in 2017, when Dr. Stepniak visited The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. At the time, both schools were in the midst of initiatives which effectively turned college instruction on its head, freeing students to interact and create in ways both new and completely of their own design. Excited about the possibilities of such a program existing at Shenandoah Conservatory, Stepniak assembled a small student/faculty task force and, thanks to funding from the Dean’s Circle, supported an exploratory return trip the following year. After a four-day whirlwind tour in early 2018, the group returned to Shenandoah with a positive recommendation for creating a similar initiative at Shenandoah Conservatory; albeit with the important caveat that it must include students from across the entire conservatory — music, theatre and dance, as well as the academic and research-oriented departments. Since gaining approval, the task force has shifted to planning and promoting this massive project.

From a field of 67 submissions, 33 projects were selected and will be featured across main campus in the Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 1. More than 100 additional conservatory students are collaborating with project leaders to make their creations a reality. Festival-goers will receive wristbands, giving them access to a day of performances and presentations, as well as an after-party celebration, which begins at 10 p.m. in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre.

Wristbands are available for a suggested donation of $10 ($5 for students and youth). Proceeds support ongoing Student Performance Week efforts. Festival wristbands and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office at 540/665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Photo & Interview Opportunities

Throughout the week of Nov. 27, rehearsals for Student Performance Week and preparation activities for the festival are open for press to observe and photograph. Additionally, Dean Michael Stepniak, as well as members of the Student Performance Week Planning Committee and student participants are available for interviews.

High­-resolution photography are available upon request.

Additional information and a summary of featured projects can be found on the Student Performance Week webpage.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Courtney Reilly
Managing Director, Shenandoah Conservatory
(540) 535-3530 | creilly@su.edu

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Shenandoah Conservatory ​is home to more than 600 students enrolled in baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs in the areas of music, theatre and dance. Virginia’s oldest and premier center for performing arts training, the conservatory is led by a dynamic faculty composed of performers and scholars of national and international repute.

Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Shenandoah is a private, nationally recognized university that blends the best of professional studies and the liberal arts. With nearly 4,000 students in more than 100 academic programs in seven different schools, Shenandoah promotes a close-knit community rich in creative energy and intellectual challenge. Shenandoah students collaborate with accomplished professors who provide focused, individual attention, all the while leading several programs to be highly nationally ranked. Through innovative partnerships and programs at both the local and global level, there are exceptional opportunities for students to learn in and out of the classroom. Shenandoah empowers its students to improve the human condition and to be principled professionals and leaders wherever they go. For more information, visit su.edu.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Friday, February 22 at 8PM
Saturday, February 23 at 2:30PM
Saturday, February 23 at 8PM
Sunday, February 24 at 2:30PM

Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Book by Joe DiPietro

Set in the 1920s, Nice Work If You Can Get It is the story of charming and wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter, who meets rough female bootlegger Billie Bendix the weekend of his wedding. Jimmy, who has been married three (or is it four?) times before, is preparing to marry Eileen Evergreen, a self-obsessed modern dancer. Thinking Jimmy and Eileen will be out of town, Billie and her gang hide cases of alcohol in the basement of Jimmy’s Long Island mansion. But when Jimmy, his wife-to-be and her prohibitionist family show up at the mansion for the wedding, Billie and her cohorts pose as servants, resulting in hijinks galore. With music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, Nice Work If You Can Get It is a romantic screwball comedy sure to delight audiences.

Duration: Approximately 160 minutes*
*Production duration is subject to change

This production of Nice Work If You Can Get It contains gunshot effects, theatrical haze, flashing light effects, bubbles, tap-dancing, sequins, boot-legging and chicanery.

Concessions will be available for cash purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

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POST-PERFORMANCE TALKS
Saturday, February 23 • Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre

Join us after each Saturday matinee performance for a conversation and Q&A with members of the company and artistic team.

ACCESSIBILITY

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Two Pints by Abbey Theatre

PERFORMING ARTS LIVE

Wednesday, February 13 at 8PM
Thursday, February 14 at 8PM
Friday, February 15 at 8PM
Saturday, February 16 at 2:30PM
Saturday, February 16 at 8PM
Sunday, February 17 at 3PM

The Abbey Theatre, renowned as the national theatre of Ireland, takes over the Back Room Pub at Brewbaker’s Restaurant. Pull up a bar stool, order a pint and prepare yourself for an exclusive and intimate theatrical experience.

Two Irish gents meet at the pub. They discuss their fathers, politics, prostates, pop culture and the afterlife. What unfolds is a witty and provocative evening of theatre that has sold out pub performances across Ireland, and has been hailed by The Sunday Independent as “achingly, breathtakingly funny.” Written by award-winning Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle, Two Pints brilliantly blends the intelligence and existential insights of Samuel Beckett with the humor and charm of a barstool philosopher.

Duration: Approximately 130 minutes* (There are two ten-minute intervals during the performance)
*Production duration is subject to change

Two Pints contains mature content, including strong language that may offend some audiences. Contact the Box Office for more details.

WATCH

Bar will be open before and after the performance, as well as during the intervals.

Photos by Ros Kavanagh

All in the Timing

Friday, March 29 at 8PM
Saturday, March 30 at 2:30PM
Saturday, March 30 at 8PM
Sunday, March 31 at 2:30PM

Written by David Ives

Featuring six diverse but equally hysterical one-act comedies, David Ives’ All in the Timing is a witty, romantic, absurd and existentially-minded evening of theatre.

The world according to David Ives is a very odd place, and his plays constitute a virtual stress test of the English language—and of the audience’s capacity for disorientation and delight. Ives’s characters plunge into black holes called “Philadelphias,” where the simplest desires are hilariously thwarted. Chimps named Milton, Swift and Kafka are locked in a room and made to re-create Hamlet. And a con man peddles courses in a dubious language in which “hello” translates as “velcro” and “fraud” comes out as “freud.”

Duration: Approximately 110 minutes*
*Production duration is subject to change

This production contains adult content and language that may be offensive to some audiences. ALLERGEN WARNING: Peanuts are used onstage. Contact the Box Office for more details.
NO LATE SEATING: Due to the intimate nature of the venue, the “no late seating” policy is in effect for all performances in Glaize Studio Theatre.

Concessions will be available for cash purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

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POST-PERFORMANCE TALKS
Saturday, March 30 • Glaize Studio Theatre

Join us after each Saturday matinee performance for a conversation and Q&A with members of the company and artistic team.

ACCESSIBILITY

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Martha Redbone – Bone Hill: The Concert

PERFORMING ARTS LIVE

Created by Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby
Music and Lyrics by Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby

Revered blues and soul singer Martha Redbone performs a concert version of Bone Hill, a new musical theatre work in progress inspired by the artist’s family lineage in the Appalachian Mountains. Featuring a cast of eight actors/musicians, the story follows Redbone’s return to her homeland on Black Mountain—and the coal mines of Harlan County, Kentucky—where her family has dwelled for centuries.

Spanning the lives of four generations of women in a Cherokee family, Redbone travels back in time to her own childhood, and into the memories and tales of her ancestors, to tell the story of one family’s connection to the land—the simplicity and sacredness of that connection and the ruptures that threatened to extinguish it. Written and performed by the multi-award-winning Redbone, the performance powerfully blends the folk and country sounds of the Appalachian Mountains with the gospel music traditions of Redbone’s African American father and the Cherokee/Choctaw spirit of the artist’s mother. Along the way, this dramatic musical reveals a thought-provoking uniquely American story, and one that has yet to be told by history.

Bone Hill: The Concert is commissioned by Joe’s Pub and The Public Theater as part of the New York Voices artistsé initiative; co-commissioned by the Lincoln Center David Rubenstein Atrium. Bone Hill is the recipient of the NEFA National Theater Project, an NPN Creation and Touring grant and Redbone is a 2015 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellow. Redbone and Bone Hill: The Concert are represented by SRO Artists, Inc.

This performance is part of the 2019 Women’s History Month presented by Shenandoah University’s Gender and Women’s Studies program. Support for the project is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

WATCH

LISTEN

Concessions will be available for cash purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

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CHEROKEE & CHOCTAW MUSIC WORKSHOP
Friday, March 22 from 10AM to 10:50AM • Goodson Chapel – Recital Hall

Join Martha Redbone for an interactive workshop exploring the traditions of Cherokee and Choctaw music. This workshop is free and open to the public.

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP
Friday, March 22 from 11AM to 12:30PM • Ruebush Hall, Room 113

Join Martha Redbone and her creative partner, instrumentalist/composer Aaron Whitby for a workshop exploring songwriting tools and techniques, and how the artists have collaborated to create a diverse range of works. This workshop is free and open to Shenandoah University students.

ACCESSIBILITY

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Bonnie & Clyde

Friday, April 12 at 8PM
Saturday, April 13 at 2:30PM
Saturday, April 13 at 8PM
Sunday, April 14 at 2:30PM
Sunday, April 14 at 7PM

Music by Frank Wildhorn
Lyrics by Don Black
Book by Ivan Menchell

At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from two small-town nobodies to America’s most renowned folk heroes . . . and Texas law enforcement’s worst nightmare. Fearless, shameless and alluring, the Tony-nominated Bonnie & Clyde, from the legendary Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, Civil War, Dracula) is the electrifying story of love, adventure and crime that captured the attention of an entire country.

When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame immediately set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behavior turns the young lovers’ thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, putting themselves and their loved ones in trouble with the law. Forced to stay on the run, the lovers resort to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo’s fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer. Bonnie & Clyde is a thrilling musical with a score combining blues, gospel and rockabilly music.

Duration: Approximately 150 minutes*
*Production duration is subject to change

This performance is part of Theatre Up Close, an intimate series that utilizes minimal production elements in order to highlight the textual and conceptual elements of a play through engaging acting and directing technique.

This production contains adult content, gunshot effects, flashing light effects and content of a violent nature that may be offensive to some audiences. Contact the Box Office for more details.
NO LATE SEATING: Due to the intimate nature of the venue, the “no late seating” policy is in effect for all performances in Glaize Studio Theatre.

Concessions will be available for cash purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

artsengagelogo

POST-PERFORMANCE TALKS
Saturday, April 13 • Glaize Studio Theatre

Join us after each Saturday matinee performance for a conversation and Q&A with members of the company and artistic team.

ACCESSIBILITY

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Shenandoah University and Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater Partner for Community-wide Residency PRESS RELEASE

Shenandoah University and Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (SPDT) are partnering to present a 10-day arts integration residency in Winchester, Virginia, from Monday, Jan. 29, through Wednesday, Feb. 7. The project, which reaches a range of populations on Shenandoah University’s campus and in the local community, is supported in part by an Art Works award of $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, granted to SPDT in fall 2017.

The project is made possible by Shenandoah Conservatory’s Performing Arts Live series and Dance Division as well as the Shenandoah University School of Health Professions and Center for Public Service and Scholarship. It kicks off with a welcome reception and continues with artist-led workshops, masterclasses, a lecture demonstration and additional engagement opportunities, which integrate the arts into educational, healthcare and community settings. Campus workshops are designed to engage a vast range of Shenandoah University students and pre-professionals in dance, music therapy, health professions and pharmacy, among others.

SPDT is at the forefront of the arts and health care field. It has been cited as a “National Model” by The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and recognized for “Best Practices” by the National Endowment for the Arts, for its unique brand of community-inclusive work and innovative programs, such as Caring for the Caregiver; Meaning in Movement, a program for stroke survivors and their care partners; and Transforming the Doctor-Patient Relationship℠, which is designed for physicians and medical students.

Karen Schultz, Ph.D., professor of interdisciplinary studies and director of Shenandoah University’s Center for Public Service and Scholarship (one of the residency partners), was immediately drawn to the project and the company’s innovative approach to using movement to enhance learning objectives.

“Last year, I collaborated with dance faculty to integrate movement into my teaching, and I witnessed a measurable impact on student learning and retention, so I was pleased to lend the support of our center to such a robust and vital initiative,” Schultz said.

During the residency, the artists will also work with a range of community members, including local dancers, the staff of Sinclair Health Clinic and students at Garland R. Quarles Elementary School and the Kids Club of the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

“The company’s workshops explore the power of the arts to reveal our own humanity and transform our thinking, whether it’s empowering a young student to tell a story through music and movement, or transforming how a health practitioner connects to their work and the patients they serve,” said Courtney Reilly, managing director of Shenandoah Conservatory.

The project also includes an opportunity for campus and community members, 9 years of age and up, to perform with the company in “Terra Incognita,” a new work by SPDT Artistic Co-director Suzanne Costello, which blends movement, video and voice to explore the emotional underpinnings of the natural seasons as metaphors for the stages of life. This new work features SPDT company artists and an intergenerational chorus of community members that harken the change of seasons. V. Paul Virtucio’s film design and Merritt Rodriguez’s scenic elements elaborate on this movement montage that travels from fiercely physical to serene and sublime. Individuals interested in being a part of this new work should contact Alisa Daum at adaum12@su.edu for further details.

The community-wide residency culminates on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and Wednesday, Feb. 7, with performances of “Terra Incognita” and an evening of works that span the company’s 40-year history.

RESIDENCY INFORMATION:

For a schedule of public residency activities, visit su.edu/performs/event/stuart-pimsler-dance-theater.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:

Event: Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater
Where: Glaize Studio Theatre, Shenandoah University (Winchester, Virginia)
When: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and Wednesday, Feb. 7

Tickets for the performance are $28 general admission, $26 senior citizens and $12 for military, students, and youth. Tickets and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office, (540) 665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.

For a full calendar of events at Shenandoah Conservatory, visit conservatoryperforms.org or on Facebook under Shenandoah Conservatory.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Media Information

  • High-resolution photography, including artist headshots and a selection of production images, are available upon request. Full artist biographies are also available upon request.

Shenandoah Conservatory ​is home to more than 700 students enrolled in baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs in the areas of music, theatre and dance. Virginia’s oldest and premier center for performing arts training, the conservatory is led by a dynamic faculty composed of performers and scholars of national and international repute.

Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Shenandoah is a private, nationally recognized university that blends professional career experiences with liberal education. With nearly 4,000 students in more than 100 academic programs in seven different schools, Shenandoah promotes a close-knit community rich in creative energy and intellectual challenge. Shenandoah students collaborate with accomplished professors who provide focused, individual attention, all the while leading several programs to be highly nationally ranked. Through innovative partnerships and programs at both the local and global level, there are exceptional opportunities for students to learn in and out of the classroom. Shenandoah empowers its students to improve the human condition and to be principled professionals and leaders wherever they go. For more information, visit su.edu.