Troy is Burning, written by Fourth-Year playwright Matthew Minnicino, opened on November 30th and ran through December 4th. It's quite exceptional that a play written by one of our undergraduate students was featured as one of our mainstage productions, but the department has long been committed to giving our students a platform to demonstrate their talent; Matthew Minnicino's play is an excellent example of that.

Opportunities to engage with and learn from artists outside the U.Va. community are vital to our students' training. We are most pleased to welcome a number of visiting artists and featured guests this season. Vinegar Tom, our first production of spring term 2012, will be under the direction of John Vreeke, a Washington D.C and Seattle-based director. John's recent work includes a production of A Bright New Boise that premiered this fall at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in D.C.

Next up during spring term is Elephant's Graveyard, which will feature several special guests after each performance, including circus scholar Janet Davis (professor at University of Texas - Austin), Big Apple Circus director and former Ringling Bros. Clown College director Steve Smith, aerialist Tino Wallenda of the world famous Flying Wallendas, and the playwright himself, George Brant. And finally, Brantley M. Dunaway, the Producing Artistic Director of Kentucky Shakespeare will direct our April 2012 production of Romeo & Juliet.

We hope you are as excited as we are about this season's offerings and look forward to seeing you at the Culbreth and Helms Theatres soon!