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A stage with a red rug and a small neon sign that says "Don't Tell Comedy" in white and red letters.
Drama

Don’t Tell Comedy is Charlottesville’s Most Mysterious New Forum for Laughs

Founded in 2017 in Los Angeles, Don’t Tell Comedy has since expanded to over 200 cities around the country. Recently, they found a new home in Charlottesville and have put on several events around Albemarle County. Local comedian Chris Alan brought this chapter to Charlottesville in 2024 after establishing a comedy open-mic presence in the City and performing at Don’t Tell shows in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Washington, D.C..

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/dont-tell-comedy-is-charlottesvilles-most-mysterious-new-forum-for-laughs?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

Three students sit in a black box theatre on benches, writing in their script books, with a black chalk board on an easel behind them.
Drama

The University Student Producing Theater Class Performs ‘Where Words Once Were’

This Wednesday, DRAM 3652 “Producing Theatre” put on their semester-long culminating performance of “Where Words Once Were.” Free to all, the play was performed in the Helms Theatre. With audience members seated on three sides of the stage — a configuration known as black box theatre — and a stripped down set, viewers were able to immerse themselves within the dystopian universe.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/the-university-student-producing-theater-class-performs-where-words-once-were?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

Light blue background with a sketch of a cardboard box with various items of clothing floating around it, as well as a clothing hanger in the center.
Drama

Out With the Old, In With the Nuuly

Life as a University student can mean dressing for many occasions, from football tailgates to sorority formals and from thirty degree mornings to sixty degree afternoons. This fall, many students have increasingly found that subscriptions to Nuuly — an online fashion rental company — are a sustainable way to both expand their closets and find fun pieces for special events and everyday wear.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/11/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-nuuly?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A woman in a gold dress stands to the right of frame, wind blowing in her hair, standing in a huge field with clouds in the sky.
Drama

Arts This Week: Queen Lear

You’re listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts This Week, we chatted with actor and writer, Kate Bennis, about her involvement with the play Queen Lear. Tell us a little bit about your involvement with Queen Lear.

https://www.wtju.net/arts-this-week-queen-lear/

A small black box theatre shows a line of performers at bows, pointing to the back of the theatre to recognize their director. The lights are directed at the performers.
Drama

Virginia Players Create a “Play in a Day”

For the first time since 2019, Virginia Players performed “Play in a Day” this semester — a production written, directed, rehearsed and memorized in roughly 24 hours. This year, Maggie Polistina, Virginia Players Artistic Director and fourth-year College student, found it important for the organization to bring back “Play in a Day” after its hiatus, wanting to encourage new students to join the team for a low-commitment, fun experience.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/11/virginia-players-create-a-play-in-a-day?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A gallery room showcases six historical outfits displayed close together in mannequins. There is dark, moody lighting.
Drama

Killer Outfits: UVA Collection Spotlights Deadly Designs Through History

The term “fashion victim” might bring to mind someone who participates in a regrettable trend or has a penchant for clashing patterns and garish color pairings. But some styles from the past and present make that moniker literal. The University of Virginia’s Historic Clothing Collection, hosted by the Department of Drama, includes a multitude of garments that have poisoned, choked and burned their wearers or the workers who made them. From arsenic dyes to “father-killer” collars, these styles in some cases claimed the lives of thousands. UVA Today met with the collection’s manager, Marcy Linton, to learn more about these items and get a close-up look.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/killer-outfits-uva-collection-spotlights-deadly-designs-through-history

Three people are arguing. One guy is arguing with a blonde woman in a red jacket, and another woman sits in a directors chair in front of them with her hand on her head--looking very annoyed.
Drama

Hollywood Meets Climate Change in Wohl’s Film-Within-a-Play, Bringing Satire, Spectacle, and the Environment into Focus on the Helms Stage

UVA Department of Drama’s inaugural production of the 2025-2026 season, Continuity, by Bess Wohl, invites audiences to step onto a Hollywood film set like no other. Wohl’s sharp, funny play takes audiences behind (and beyond) the camera in a hilarious and thought-provoking satire about art, ego, and environmental apocalypse. A script that feels both fresh and relevant, Continuity is a witty satire of Hollywood’s best intentions and biggest contradictions. The story unfolds on a high-budget movie set where a cast and crew are filming a blockbuster about climate change — complete with fake icebergs, big egos, and a creeping awareness that the production’s spectacle may be undermining its message.

https://drama.virginia.edu/uva-announcing-continuity-oct30-nov8

Darryl Smith
Drama

The Heart of Live Arts: Darryl’s Next Act

To most of the Live Arts staff and patrons, he’s commonly known as “the heart of Live Arts,” a familiar, welcoming face behind the box office, or behind the concession counter, or sometimes up there on the stage. Darryl Smith has done it all – and he’s got the testimonials to prove it.

https://mailchi.mp/livearts/volunteer-news-6370502?e=c95706b2b5

A large brick building with huge windows down the entire wall, with a small body of water in front of the building and outdoor seating within the nature.

BOV Approves Design for New UVA Center for the Arts

A home for the arts is taking shape on Grounds. The Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee on Thursday approved the schematic design for the proposed Center for the Arts in the University of Virginia’s development parcel on Ivy Road, sending it to the full board. The board on Friday likewise approved the design.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/bov-approves-design-new-uva-center-arts

A black background with a woman with outstretched arms performing on the left side, and the text "the 434 initiative: $4.34 tickets to any performance" on the right.
Drama

The 434 Initiative

Live Arts is proud to announce the launch of The 434 Initiative, a bold new effort designed to welcome a new generation of theater lovers into the heart of Charlottesville’s vibrant performing arts scene. Rooted in the belief that theater should be accessible to all, The 434 Initiative offers $4.34 tickets to anyone 25 or younger—or anyone who has never been to a Live Arts production before.

https://livearts.org/show/434/

Gallery Image in Welcome Gallery with people walking around

Charlottesville Area Arts Council Planning Project Announces Steering Committee Members

A broad cross-section of artists, cultural workers, and community leaders has been selected to serve on the Steering Committee for the Charlottesville Area Arts Council planning project. The Steering Committee will guide the community-driven process to explore the creation of a future Arts Council for the Charlottesville area. Their role is to provide insight, ensure broad community perspectives are represented, and co-create recommendations for how a future Arts Council can equitably serve the city’s diverse arts and culture ecosystem. The committee members were chosen from a pool of 59 applications submitted by local artists, organizers, educators, administrators, and community supporters.

September 23, 2025
A picture of a small outdoor covered stage at night, with red neon sign at the back that says "CROZET" and has 3 people talking on stage.
Drama

Scapegoat Underground Continues a Staple of the University Comedy Scene

Two University students formed the comedy duo Scapegoat Underground in order to participate in a University stand-up comedy tradition — and this year, they were in charge of planning that same event. Featuring student comedians and drawing in crowds from across the University, Kieran Warner, third-year College and Commerce student, and third-year College student Jack Yasenchok, hosted the third annual Step Comedy Jam Sept. 9.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/09/scapegoat-underground-continues-a-staple-of-the-university-comedy-scene?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured