Archives for December 2015

January Events & 10 for 10 Discount Card

December 31, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

“We are ringing in 2016 with a high volume of performing arts activity,” said Academy Executive Director Geoffrey Kershner. “We feel this is a great sampling of the type of activity we hope to continue to host moving into the future.” The Academy is also excited to introduce a new 10 for 10 discount card. This card gets you ten percent off our designated “10 for 10” events through this winter and spring. The card is only $10 and a great way to save money on your ticket purchases. (January 10 for 10 events below are designated with a *) For more information call us at 434-846-TIXX (8499) or email us at cwilson@academycenter.org For tickets to any of the following visit our ticketing page. The Academy presents *The Breakfast Club: Dinner and a Movie- Friday, January 8, 7pm. Scott Cardwell (formally Bull Branch) returns to the Academy for our second “Dinner and a Movie” event. This time we will return to the 80s with the John Hughes 1985 classic, The Breakfast Club. The menu and cocktails will be Scott’s take on “breakfast for dinner” and we will have fun transforming the venue into a “high school experience.” Menu: Shakshuka, Chilaquiles, French Toast, Smoked […]

Such Sweet Tones

December 30, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

On Sunday December 6th, the Academy’s new Meals & Music program hit the ground running with an amazing performance by Sweet Briar College’s own a cappella group The Sweet Tones. They supported the arts while also supporting the incredible mission of the Daily Bread of serving the needy in the community. It was amazing that The Sweet Tones made this commitment at the most hectic time in their semester with final exams and papers looming for them at Sweet Briar, and the Academy is so thankful that they did. The Sweet Tones started out with covers of recent songs before progressing to traditional holiday songs. During the songs Daily Bread patrons would stand and listen and would congratulate The Sweet Tones after songs. December 6th was the start of this new outreach program. “I am very excited to see it grow. I am hoping to partner with the music department at Lynchburg College to allow music majors and minors the opportunity to perform at the Daily Bread on a monthly basis, and I am in the process of reaching out to the other local colleges as well as area high schools for potential musical and singing performances,” said Evan Smith, Director of […]

Why live theatre is important

December 28, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

We are very excited, thanks to the Lynchburg City School’s Education Foundation, to host 100 Lynchburg city high school students at next month’s American Shakespeare Center production of Julius Caesar. Fifty students from Heritage High School and fifty students from EC Glass High School will be joining us on Sunday, January 17th in the Warehouse Theatre. Providing this opportunity is extremely important to the Academy. “We think the most important audience members that night will be these one hundred high school students,” said Geoffrey Kershner, Academy Executive Director. The reason for this is not frivolous. New research proves this. According to a recent study by University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, taking students on field trips to live theater enhances tolerance, empathy, and literary knowledge. This new research found that simply reading and watching movies of Hamlet and A Christmas Carol could not account for the increase in knowledge experienced by students who attended live performances of the plays. Read a full article on the study here: http://educationnext.org/learning-live-theater/ This new research examines the impact on students who attended high-quality theater productions of either Hamlet or A Christmas Carol. The research found that viewing these productions led to enhanced knowledge of […]

Bluegrass Concert: Benefitting Amherst County Habitat for Humanity

December 21, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

*Pictured above: The Deer Creek Boys from Amherst County, Virginia The Academy Center of the Arts is proud to host Amherst County Habitat for Humanity’s 13th annual Bluegrass Concert: “Working on a Building” on Saturday, January 16th (5pm-10pm). This annual concert fundraiser is a five hour event that features five bluegrass bands and raises funds for Amherst Habitat for Humanity and their programs. The musical line up of the event represents a wide range of musicians from all over the region. It includes the Deer Creek Boys from Amherst, Shaky Grass from Appomattox, James River Cut Ups from Shipman, Little Mountain Boys from Piney River, and Deep Blue Express with members from Monroe, Madison Heights, Appomattox, and Rustburg. Tickets: $10 kids (under 12), $15 students, seniors (60+), and $20 adults For more information about Amherst Habitat for Humanity, visit their website: CLICK HERE You can pick up tickets at the Academy Center of the Arts box office as well as at the Amherst Habitat for Humanity Offices, Amherst Milling, Century 21 at the Amherst Circle, Robertson’s Sales and Service in Monroe, Point Source Audio in Lynchburg, and My Guitar Shop in Madison Heights. * Devils Backbone Brewery, Bank of the […]

Our art gallery gets a spruce up!

December 16, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

So, if you have driven down Main Street in downtown Lynchburg in the last month, we are sure you have seen a lot of construction activity happening on our historic theatre. Well, that is not the only space in our facility getting improvements. Our front gallery is getting a major make over as well! This is thanks to an anonymous donor dedicated to bringing the visual arts to our community. Our art gallery shows are a staple of Lynchburg’s monthly First Friday and each month feature new shows and artists. Our Anne White Gallery (our “back gallery”) is a beautiful space with hard wood floors, white walls, and a painted tin ceiling. For a long time, our “front gallery” has lacked this wonderful aesthetic. As our Executive Director has said, “it looks like a 1970s bank.” It featured a green and beige carpet, old ceiling tiles, and wood paneled walls. The ceiling panels are being removed and the original tin ceiling is getting repaired and painted. The original wood floors are getting finished and the walls are going white to highlight the art that will hang on them. Our front gallery will now look like our beautiful Anne White Gallery. […]

The Creation of ACOA Logo Art: Jon Roark

December 10, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

This blog post comes from Artist Jon Roark’s personal blog. We are thrilled to feature it here. Since I am trying to make this a more regular venue for my random and sketchy observations, (get it? regular for random?) I am going to try to put down some more thoughts on recent projects. I am partway into my newest egg tempera, but not to a point where I wish to show it, so I am instead going to write about a new 3D construction I am putting together. A couple of years back I was mining a Beatles creative vein and built (at the suggestion of my writer/drummer/creative brother in law Mark Lindamood of Washington DC) an overlarge version of the Beatles Rubber Soulalbum cover. it is about 32″ x 32″ and about 5″ deep and is in a beautiful wooden frame built by my friend Jerry Dudley at Heritage HS. It was a particularly painful project because when I finished painting the cover and all four of it’s portraits on a piece of canvas, I had to cut them out. These were some of the best acrylic portraits I had done at this point (and along with a version of the Let […]

Region 2000 Workforce Development Partnership

December 3, 2015 by admin

As a recent graduate of Randolph College, I know how important experience beyond the classroom can be. Young people need opportunities in professional settings to gain experience and to be competitive in the job market. During my first two months at the Academy Center, I have started to build connections with local high schools and colleges to engage students to offer such experiences through volunteer, internship, and service learning opportunities. Opportunities come about from need, and there is always work to be done at the Academy Center whether it is mailing thank you letters to our lovely donors, writing grants to fund our Outreach programs, or staffing productions in the Arts & Education Building. With so much work to do and with staff only able to do so much, the Academy Center has looked to the community to assist us in our everyday work. I have met with a number of people to discuss partnerships with the Academy Center including Mark Spaulding, Executive Director of Impact Living Services, and Lynchburg City Councilwoman Treney Tweedy about a potential volunteer and workforce development opportunities to support local youth. Partnerships like these would help the Academy Center fill some personnel needs while simultaneously […]

A Free Hour of Code

December 2, 2015 by Geoff Kershner

Software Development is a booming industry. The most in-demand jobs in this field average out to about $88,000 a year. Studies show that by 2020 the demand for these jobs will increase by over 30%, leaving a million more jobs than Computer Science students. Why does this matter? Learning how to code is not only advantageous for adults looking for employment; it also has many positive effects on children. It teaches them to follow instructions, inspires creativity, and gives them a basic knowledge of Computer Science. Teaching children to code is an investment in their future. We’re very excited to partner with Sharptop Company on an event that will teach the basics of coding in a simple and fun way that everyone can understand. What is the Hour of Code? Hour of Code is an opportunity for anyone to learn the basics of computer programming for FREE. It takes coding tasks and makes them fun by adding a game-like aspect. You can help R2D2 catch stormtroopers when you code with Star Wars or get a lesson from Mark Zuckerberg when you code with Angry Birds. It’s an hour of practical knowledge being taught in an easily-understood way. So don’t miss […]