Behind the Scenes: UVA Drama Dept, Theatres, & Collection of Historic Dress

Overview

Join Lifetime Learning for an insider’s look into UVA’s Drama Department. Richard Will, Department Chair and Professor, will welcome everyone and discuss how the department supports students and performers in creating, designing, performing, and studying theatre and dance at UVA.

We will tour the state-of-the-art Theatres (Culbreth, Helms, and Ruth Caplin) led by Professor Richard Will, Shawanna Hall, Operations and Production Manager, and James Scales, Business Manager. We will explore how the different theatres serve productions and visit the Drama Department shops and studios.

Marcy Linton, Associate Professor of Costume Technology and Collection Manager, will share a lecture about UVA’s Historic Clothing Collection. Linton will present a sampling of the 2,000-item collection ranging from a rare circa 1795 man’s coat, a late-nineteenth-century evening gown by French designer Charles Frederick Worth, and ensembles by twentieth-century designers, such as Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Emilio Pucci. We will also view military uniforms from WWI and WWII and rare examples of clothing worn by working-class men and women, such as an 1840s homespun linen dress and several 1950s flour sack dresses.

Speaker Biographies

Shawanna Hall, Operations and Production Manager, Department of Drama

Shawanna Hall is the Operations and Production Manager for the Department of Drama. They graduated with an M.F.A. from Savannah College of Art and Design. Before joining the staff at the University of Virginia, Shawanna served as An Adjunct Professor of Stage and Production Management at the College of William & Mary. They also work as a freelance Stage Manager around the VA area.

Marcy Linton, Associate Professor, Costume Technology, Department of Drama

Marcy Linton is an Associate Professor in Costume Technology for the Department of Drama. Linton has worked extensively as a firsthand and draper in theatres across the country, including The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, PlayMakers Repertory, and Animal Planet.

James Scales, Business Manager, Department of Drama

James Scales is the Business Manager for the Department of Drama and the Heritage Theatre Festival. He also worked with the Virginia Film Festival and UVA’s 2020 Commission on the Fine and Performing Arts. When no one is looking, James slips onstage to play the occasional character role.

Richard Will, Professor and Chair, Department of Drama

Richard Will is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Drama at the University of Virginia. Will’s research focuses on opera, classical music, and folk music in America and Europe. His new book, Don Giovanni Captured: Performance, Media, and Myth. Previous publications include The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven, Engaging Haydn: Culture, Context, and Criticism, and numerous essays on opera, orchestral music, religious music, and folk music.

Registration Information

Cost: $25 (includes $5 donation to the UVA Drama Department, parking, tour, lectures, and coffee break)

Parking: https://drama.virginia.edu/directions-parking

Cancellation Policy:

Participants may cancel their registration for this One-Day UVA program by emailing Susan Lynch at scl4d@virginia.edu. Susan will send an email notification confirming your cancellation.

Refund Policy:

If Lifetime Learning (via Susan) receives your cancellation email before midnight on March 22, 2004, you will receive a refund of 50% of your registration fee.

If Lifetime Learning (via Susan) receives your cancellation email after midnight on March 22, 2024, no refund will be issued.

Allergies:

Please email Susan Lynch with any allergy concerns at scl4d@virginia.edu.