Virginia Stage Company
Virginia Stage Company (VSC) is a professional theater company located in Hampton Roads, Virginia. VSC presents locally produced plays for over 70,000 patrons a year both at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia and throughout the community. A nonprofit theater, VSC has developed their "American Soil Series," a program that commissions plays of special regional interest, usually receiving their world premieres. History The first Board of Trustees began the organization in 1968. At the time, it was called the "Norfolk Theatre Center", and the first performances were presented in a 120-seat space in the former public library building on Freemason Street. The Theatre Center later moved to a makeshift space under Chrysler Hall and became known as the Stage Downunder at Scope. In the late 1970s, the board of trustees decided to develop a fully professional theatre. Adopting the name Virginia Stage Company, they hired the first professional staff in 1978 and began detailed planning with help from the National Foundation for the Expansion and Development of American Theatre. A search began for a space where a professional theatre could produce and perform a season from October to May. After looking at 49 spaces, they chose the Wells Theatre. A public-private partnership at the Wells Theater began. The VSC Board obtained an option to purchase the remaining years on the lease. In October 1979, with $315,000 from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and $180,000 contributed and raised by the founding board of trustees, the lease was purchased, and VSC took possession of the Wells. Less than four months later, after a prodigious initial renovation, Virginia Stage Company opened their premiere season on February 7, 1980. In September 2016, VSC has named Tom Quaintance its new producing artistic director, moving the theatre to a single leader model with Quaintance overseeing both financial and artistic operations. He succeeded former VSC leaders artistic director Chris Hanna and managing director Keith Stava. Previously, Quaintance served as artistic director of Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, North Carolina for 5 years. Main stage productions Virginia Stage Company's seasons run from September to April and include six productions, five main season plays and one season extra. The company's repertoire includes Broadway hits such as The Wiz, Venus in Fur, A Streetcar Named Desire and Peter and the Starcatcher, locally written and produced plays such as I Sing the Rising Sea and The Hampton Years, and classics such as The Tempest and Oliver Twist. World premieres 2016 - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Adapted by Patrick Mullins, with Music by Jake Hull 2016 - I Sing the Rising Sea, Book, Music, and Lyrics by Eric Schorr 2013 - Frog Kiss, Book & Lyrics by Charles Leipart, Music By Eric Schorr, Based on the novella The Frog Prince – A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults by Stephen Mitchell 2013 - Swingtime Salute (on the deck of the Battleship Wisconsin), Book by Patrick Mullins, Music & Lyrics by various 2012 - The Comfort Team by Deborah Brevoort 2011