VTA 2024: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Secondary Educators should sign up 6 students (4 for the team and 2 alternates) to participate in BOTH the 2pm workshop and the 7pm performance of the IMPROVAFUN. The Improvafun is a showcase of Improv FUN and not an adjudicated event.

The story blends comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell one individual's story of growing up in the shadow of their mother's struggle with suicidal depression. Surprisingly charming and delightful, Every Brilliant Thing provides a life-affirming jolt of humanism, reminding us that hope comes from the miracles of life’s minutiae.
Thanks to the generosity of Sentara, Virginia Stage Company’s exhilarating production of Every Brilliant Thing will hit the road coming to VTA 2024!

Broadway Slam Files- Find your sheet music and backing tracks here!!

How Does it Work?

Register your students in the following categories: (each school can register 16 students)

• Student Choreographer
• Student Music Director
• Student Director
• Student Stage Manager
• Student Performers (total number will depend on how many groups participate)

Thursday morning of Conference- Student Directors, Student Choreographers and Student Music Directors will be selected and their director will be notified of their musical number. They will receive sheet music and script.

The morning of the Broadway Slam, a random drawing will be held to cast Four Different Numbers from Broadway Musicals. The numbers will include a small bit of dialogue and then a musical number. Directors will be emailed with a list of chosen students and told which cast they have been assigned.

On Friday of the Conference at 2:00, all chosen students will come to the designated place in the conference center. Role will be taken & then casts will be given areas to rehearse. Alternates will also be chosen in case of students not showing or arriving more than five minutes late. 
EACH CAST HAS 1 HOUR TO REHEARSE.
At the end of the rehearsal time, all casts will return to the theater and perform their piece on stage.
 NO REHEARSING MAY TAKE PLACE AFTER THE REHEARSAL TIME HAS ENDED.


Guest artists will be judges. The following awards will be given:

• OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
• Two Leading Performers
• Outstanding Choreography
• Outstanding Direction
• Five All Star Cast
• Five Honorable Mention Cast

Have a question on how to best advocate for a need at your school or for your theatre program? Would you like to be part of our efforts to advocate for Theatre Education in Virginia and beyond? Join VTA members and arts administrators Linda Gallant, Dr. Tara Taylor, and Dr. Annamarie Bollino as they answer questions and share perspectives on how to advocate both within and outside of your school building to advance your theatre program. We will also brainstorm and collaborate as a community on how we might better mobilize to advance theatre education in Virginia. Whether you are a seasoned advocate or just beginning your journey, there is something in this session for everyone!

The story blends comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell one individual's story of growing up in the shadow of their mother's struggle with suicidal depression. Surprisingly charming and delightful, Every Brilliant Thing provides a life-affirming jolt of humanism, reminding us that hope comes from the miracles of life’s minutiae.
Thanks to the generosity of Sentara, Virginia Stage Company’s exhilarating production of Every Brilliant Thing will hit the road coming to VTA 2024!

Content: Discussions of sexuality, some profanity, scenes of simulated tobacco use.

The Greenhouse Program PDF Link

Synopsis: It’s 1972, and a group of five undergraduate men meet every Tuesday and Thursday night at a greenhouse on the campus of the College of William & Mary. They gather together in this queer safe space that seems to have been a haven for the college’s gay men for many years. The threat of a new club on campus has the men worried as they come to terms with what they mean to each other and how much they need the greenhouse.

About the playwright:
J. Harvey Stone('00) is a public-school theatre teacher, director, and writer living in Williamsburg, Virginia. While at William & Mary, Harvey was particularly active in student government and theatre. With a focus on student-led theater, Harvey served on the board of the Covenant Players and was an active part of Sinfonicron Light Opera Company. Under the direction of Dr. Louis E. Catron, Harvey directed and produced the 1999 W&M Premiere Theatre event, an annual series featuring student-written original works. Harvey is in his 25th year of teaching and he currently teaches and directs the theatre program at Jamestown High School. Harvey and his Jamestown students are four-time winners of the “Best Original Play” award from the Virginia Theatre Association. Harvey is pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at The Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. A simple foodie, Harvey is always looking for the world’s best pimento cheese. www.jharveystone.com