Arts and Culture Archives - �鶹��ý��

�鶹��ý��Community Theatre Presents “1776”

Mary Kate du Laney — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:41:00 +0000

The �鶹��ý��Community Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical, “1776,” Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 p.m. in Gillis Theater.

“1776” follows John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, as they attempt to convince the members of the Second Continental Congress to vote for independence from the shackles of the British monarchy by signing the Declaration of Independence. It features music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards, including the iconic songs, “For God’s Sake, John, Sit Down,” “But, Mr. Adams,” and “The Egg.” The script was written by Peter Stone.

Included in the cast are �鶹��ý��cadets Ethan Aldridge ’26 as Thomas Jefferson, John Gorman ’26 as Charles Thomson, Nicole Samella ’26 as a painter, Michael Colin ’27 as Roger Sherman, Carla Feaster ’27 as John Hancock, Thomas Sasso ’27 as John Dickinson, George Sullivan ’27 as John Adams, Hayden Talbott ’27 as Martha Jefferson, Sophia Heinlein ’28 as Abigail Adams, Aadil Pattada ’28 as George Read, Keye Warren ’28 as James Wilson, Nicolas Colletti ’29 as Josiah Bartlett, Iagan Andrew Kiddie ’29 as Col. Thomas McKean, Jamie Pacheco ’29 as Jonathan Witherspoon, and William Shable ’29 as Lyman Hall. Community cast members include Mark Anderson as Robert Livingston and Joseph Hewes, Emilie Davis as Lewis Morris, Micah Fishbein as Caesar Rodney and a leather apron, James Heilpern as Richard Henry Lee, Jaxon Johnson as a courier, Woody Johnson as Samuel Chase, Dallin Lewis as Andrew McNair, Peter Lipsett as Edward Rutledge, Rob Mish as Benjamin Franklin, and Tom Oxendine as Stephen Hopkins.

The play is directed by Tim Price, assisted by Andrew Hartless. Stage crew includes Fabiana Sofia Pajaro ’26, Laura Canaday ’27, Dusand Barrow ’28, Tamara Jimenez ’29, An Nguyen ’29, and William Shable ’29. The light and sound booth is run by Timothy Persons ’27. Rechnna Sok ’26 serves as tech director.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens ages 65 and over, payable by cash or check at the door. Cadets and children ages six and under are free. Reservations are not required. Gillis Theater is located in Marshall Hall on �鶹��ý��post. For additional information, email Tim Price at pricetr@vmi.edu.

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�鶹��ý��Marks Dance Day with Irish Performance

Mary Kate du Laney — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:59:45 +0000

�鶹��ý��’s Office of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion will celebrate International Dance Day with a performance of Irish dance by Blue Ridge Irish Music School (BRIMS), Saturday, April 11 in Marshall Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a complimentary Irish-themed dinner catered by Parkhurst Dining in the Hall of Valor. Reservations are required for the dinner by April 3 and may be made by going .

The dance performance starts at 7 p.m. in Gillis Theater. No reservations are required for it.

Located in Charlottesville, BRIMS is dedicated to carrying on the music and dance traditions of Ireland. The BRIMS Traditional Ensemble plays lively dance tunes on fiddles, flutes, guitar, penny whistles, and accordion for the BRIMS Irish Dance Ensemble. More about BRIMS may be found on their .

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Poet Laureate and Artist Unite to Celebrate Virginia

Mary Kate du Laney — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:09:25 +0000

Plutarch, the 1^st century Greek philosopher, historian, and author wrote, “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.” Two Virginians — one a poet and the other a painter — have united in blending visual and literary art forms to enhance their creative expressions and to celebrate Virginia 250.

Mattie Quesenberry Smith, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies at �鶹��ý�� and Virginia’s poet laureate, has collaborated with acclaimed artist, Andras Bality, for his exhibition at Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) in Farmville. The exhibition titled, “Close to Home: Andras Bality’s Virginia,” celebrates the breadth and beauty of the Virginia landscape and includes 25 of Bality’s paintings.

Smith was commissioned by LCVA to write a poem in response to Bality’s work. The poem, “Twilight in Bath County, Virginia,” was written in memory of Alden Smith Shriver and her husband, Beverly R. Shriver, longtime residents of Bath County, now buried in Warm Springs Cemetery. Its opening stanza describes the breaking of dawn in Bath County: “Across the oceans, breeze-blown eastern light rises — just like the bright morning sun. It slips across the Atlantic’s rankled edge, spills onto the Piedmont’s fallow fields, and crests Shenandoah.” The entire poem is displayed between two of Bality’s paintings; “Rockbridge Longhorns,” and “Brownsburg View” at LCVA.

The exhibition opened Feb. 20 and will run through Sept. 6. In tandem with the display, a book by the same name of the exhibition has been published highlighting the paintings as well as Smith’s poem. Additional information may be found on LCVA’s .

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“11 Days” Returns to VMI: One-Man Show Back by Popular Demand

Mary Kate du Laney — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:16:11 +0000

The Center for Leadership and Ethics (CLE) at �鶹��ý�� will host a return performance of “11 Days: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express,” Monday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in Gillis Theater, Marshall Hall. The event is open to the public.

Written and performed by retired U.S. Army Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann, the gripping one-man, one-act stage production uses storytelling to explore the human cost, moral courage, and leadership displayed during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Adapted from Mann’s New York Times bestselling book, “Operation Pineapple Express,” the play offers an emotional, firsthand look into the volunteer-led efforts that helped evacuate nearly 1,000 at-risk Afghan interpreters, commandos, and their families.

Some scenes of the show contain strong language, intense emotional themes, and trauma-related material, which may not be suitable for children.

Tickets will be available at the door, payable by cash or check only. Price of general admission is $10, and $5 for veterans and senior citizens. �鶹��ý��cadets, faculty, and staff are admitted free with �鶹��ý��ID. Reservations are not required. Immediately following the performance, the production team will hold a discussion with the audience.

A teaser video of the play may be viewed .

For additional information about this event, related resources, or other upcoming programs hosted by the CLE, visit vmi.edu/cle.

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Photographer and Author Presents at VMI

Mary Kate du Laney — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:13:07 +0000

�鶹��ý�� welcomes photographer Anna Gage Norton, Thursday, April 2 at 4:30 p.m. in Pogue Auditorium, Marshall Library. Norton will discuss her forthcoming book, “On Nochaway,” a long-term photo-documentary project about her family’s efforts to reestablish the longleaf pine ecosystem on their ancestral farm in South Georgia. The event is free and open to the public.

Norton’s work deals with her relationship to place and centers around questions of historical and geological time, the animate and inanimate, permanence and transience. She exhibits in solo and group shows regionally and throughout the United States.

Norton received her Master of Fine Arts in photography from Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Norton’s photographs have been published widely in such major journals as the Oxford American and Southern Cultures. She is on the leadership team of Kinship Photography Collective and a member of the executive committee of Slow Exposures. She currently lives in Highlands, North Carolina, where she continues her photography and videography for her personal and professional work.

The event is sponsored by the Institute Honors Program and the Dean’s Academic Speakers Program.

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�鶹��ý��Hosts “11 Days” – One-Man Show Explores Bonds Forged in Combat

Mary Kate du Laney — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:07:49 +0000

The Center for Leadership and Ethics (CLE) at �鶹��ý�� will host, “11 Days: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express,” Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Gillis Theater, Marshall Hall. The event is open to the public.

Written and performed by retired U.S. Army Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann, the one-man, one-act stage production brings to life the human cost, moral courage, and extraordinary leadership demonstrated during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Adapted from Mann’s New York Times bestselling book, “Operation Pineapple Express,” the play offers a firsthand account of a covert, volunteer rescue effort led by U.S. special operations veterans and partners who refused to leave Afghan allies behind. Working from kitchens, basements, and living rooms throughout the U.S., the group coordinated across time zones and bureaucratic barriers to help evacuate nearly 1,000 at-risk Afghan interpreters, commandos, and their families. “11 Days” is a visceral, edge-of-your-seat theatrical experience that explores the bonds forged in combat, the weight of moral injury, and the enduring responsibility to keep promises made in war. Directed by Jason Cannon, the production centers on themes of courage, healing, honor, and leadership under extreme pressure.

“This isn’t just my story,” Mann said of the production. “It’s the story of a team—retired and active-duty service members, intelligence officers, and public servants—who refused to let fear or politics stop them from doing what was right.”

Some scenes of the show contain strong language, intense emotional themes, and trauma-related material, which may not be suitable for children.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for veterans and senior citizens. �鶹��ý��cadets, faculty, and staff are admitted free with �鶹��ý��ID. Reservations are not required. Tickets may be purchased at the door with cash or check. Immediately following the performance, the production team will hold a discussion with the audience.

A is available, and additional information about this event, related resources, or other upcoming programs hosted by the CLE are available on the Center’s website.

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�鶹��ý��to Hold Spring Musical Auditions for 1776

Mary Kate du Laney — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:21:45 +0000

The �鶹��ý��Community Theatre will hold auditions for its spring show, “1776,” Monday, Jan. 19; Tuesday, Jan. 20; Wednesday, Jan. 21; and Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:45 p.m. in Gillis Theater located in Marshall Hall on post.

Cadets and community members may audition any of the four evenings. Multiple adult male and female roles will be cast. Those interested in auditioning should come prepared to sing a song from “1776” or another musical, and bring their own recorded accompaniment. In addition, a cold read from the provided script is required. Stage crew members are also needed. No experience is necessary for either actors or stage crew

It’s the summer of 1776, and the nation is ready to declare independence, if only the Founding Fathers can agree to do it! “1776” follows John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia as they attempt to convince the members of the Second Continental Congress to vote for independence from the shackles of the British monarchy by signing the Declaration of Independence. “1776” is a funny, insightful and compelling musical, putting a human face on the people determined to do the right thing for a fledgling nation in their own way.

Performances of “1776” are scheduled for Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19. Rehearsals will be held Monday through Thursday 7:45-9 p.m., beginning Jan. 26. Specific nights will be determined after casting. For additional information, email the director, Tim Price at pricetr@vmi.edu.

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�鶹��ý��Community Theatre Presents “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”

Mary Kate du Laney — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:39:36 +0000

The �鶹��ý��Community Theatre presents, “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. in Gillis Theater.

The three-act play was written by Douglas Adams, author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Gently, the main character of the play, is a detective who finds himself on the trail of a gruesome murder, involved with the works of Coleridge, quantum physics, and the enigmatic study of the Cambridge Professor of Chronology. Ultimately, the stakes of the case are far greater than a single murder, including the fate of life on Earth. Confused? Don’t be—everything is connected.

Included in the cast are �鶹��ý��cadets Colin Nicassio ’26 as Sergeant Gilks, Nicole Samella ’26 as Susan Way, Adam Brinkley ’27 as Don 2 & Answerphone, Carla Feaster ’27 as Dirk Gently, John Stotler ’27 as Richard MacDuff, Hayden Talbott ’27 as “Reg,” Prof. Urban Chronotis, Jesse Vaughn ’27 as Watkin & Perkins, Sophia Heinlein ’28 as Janice Pearce, Aadil Pattada ’28 as Gordon Way, Keye Warren ’28 as Michael Wenton-Weakes, and Arthur Marlow ’29 as Don 1 & Voiceover. Community members include Liz Clarke as Waitress & Housekeeper, Alice Ingersoll and Nora Ingersoll as Sarah Androyd, David Lusk as Marvin Androyd, and Kristen Pace as understudy for Nicole Samella ’26.

The play is directed by Tim Price, assisted by Andrew Hartless. Stage crew includes Fabiana Sofia Pajaro ’26, Laura Canaday ’27, Dusand Barrow ’28, Hayden Crawford ’28, and Tamara Jimenez ’29. The light and sound booth is run by Timothy Persons ’27 and Kaleb Gonzalez ’29. Rechnna Sok ’26 serves as costume designer.

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�鶹��ý��Museum to Host Book Signing

Mike Finkelstein — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 17:53:00 +0000

The �鶹��ý�� Museum will host a talk and book signing by Mayling Simpson, Ph.D., author of “Lives Guided by Honor: How �鶹��ý��Shaped the Class of 1968,” on Friday, Sept. 12, at 3:15 p.m., in the Nichols Engineering Building auditorium located at 413 Letcher Avenue on post. The event free and open to the public.

Simpson’s book arose out of curiosity. A cultural anthropologist by training, and after years of wondering why her husband, Paul Hebert ’68, chose to attend a military college, she began a quest to discover why VMI. She focused on his class of 1968 and studied the history of �鶹��ý��through her anthropologist’s lens. Nothing escaped her examination: the art and architecture of buildings on post, the Institute’s changes throughout time, the people who were there, and how the Institute uniquely influences and forms its cadets.

Simpson’s work spans global research and storytelling. She has conducted research in Ireland, Iran, the Philippines, and Serbia on public health issues, and has served as a senior technical officer with the World Health Organization. Her other publications include, “A Paper Life: Belgrade’s Roma in the Underworld of Waste Scavenging and Recycling,” “Ecological Sanitation,” and the award-winning short story, “Mrs. Nickle Pickle.” She holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copies of “Lives Guided by Honor: How �鶹��ý��Shaped the Class of 1968,” a book for cadets and their families, alumni, historians, graduates of other military colleges, educators, or anyone interested in lives guided by honor, may be purchased with credit card only at the event.

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Poet Laureate Launches Project Supporting Vets

Mike Finkelstein — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:17:28 +0000

Virginia’s poet laureate, Mattie Quesenberry Smith, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of English, Rhetoric and Humanistic Studies at �鶹��ý��, in partnership with the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, the Friends of Handley Regional Library System, the Peninsula Patriots, the Poetry Society of Virginia (PSV), the Richmond Public Library, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and the Williamsburg Regional Library, has launched “Perseverance and Resilience,” a project that supports veterans’ health and well-being through poetry.

The project involves regional workshops facilitated by creative writing instructors and contemporary veteran poets. Through the workshops, veterans will explore the ways they have persevered and found resilience in challenging times.

The project also incorporates a veterans’ poetry contest; the design, production, and installation of the contest winner’s poem on a broadside in facilities serving veterans throughout the state; an anthology of poems collected from the contest finalists and selected entrants; and two public celebrations dedicated to the participating veterans, their families, and the workshop facilitators.

The contest is in memory of retired Navy Cmdr. Edward W. Lull, a former executive director and president of PSV and 20-year veteran who passed away last year. All veterans of the U.S. military are eligible to submit up to three poems which address veterans’ experiences with perseverance and resilience during active duty and/or throughout their re-entry into civilian life. Each poem can be written in any form, but cannot exceed 45 lines in length.

Poems will be judged for first, second, third, and honorable mention prizes. Entries should be submitted . The deadline is Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

In July, the Academy of American Poets, a leading financial supporter of poets in the U.S, awarded $50,000 in fellowships to 23 civic projects designed by Smith and other poets laureate serving in cities and states across the nation. These fellowships recognize poets laureate for their literary excellence while enabling them to undertake impactful and timely projects that engage their communities through the transformative power of poetry. In addition, the Academy will provide more than $95,000 total in matching grants to 21 local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations collaborating with the 2025 fellows on their work. Questions regarding the veterans’ poetry project, “Perseverance and Resilience,” may be submitted to Smith .

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

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Arts and Culture Archives - �鶹��ý���

�鶹��ý���Community Theatre Presents “1776”

�鶹��ý���Marks Dance Day with Irish Performance