Last Friday, July 21, 2017, 400 Lynchburg and Altavista YMCA campers visited the Academy Center of the Arts for a first-hand look at Encore Jr.’s 2017 production of Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. Encore Jr., one of the Academy Center of the Art’s youth theatre programs, is made up of 40+ middle school students from the greater Lynchburg area. Each summer, following the high school-aged Encore camp, Encore Jr. puts together a full ‘junior-level’ show with just two weeks of rehearsal time. In addition to learning their lines and costuming, campers also take time for dance and vocal work, to create a full, stage-ready musical production. On Friday, the performers mesmerized their young audience as they brought Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. to life on stage. The story, similar to the Disney classic, follows Aladdin as he vies for the attention of the beautiful princess, Jasmine. Using a genie’s magic power to become a prince in order to marry her, Aladdin runs into a bit of trouble when Jafar and his minion Iago figure out his plan. In the end, Aladdin is able to outsmart Jafar using wit, help from his magic carpet, and a little bit of magic to save the day! According […]
Archives for July 2017
Lost and Found Art
This month’s First Friday event will feature a special exhibit in the Up Front Gallery – a show centered around the concept of lost and found art, from contributors Ted Batt, Kevin Chadwick, Laura Morgan, Laura Sackett, Larry Bowden, Craig Wallwork, and George Dawson, among others. “This show is different in that the real focus here is on the stories of these pieces,” said Ted Batt, Director of Visual Arts at the Academy Center of the Arts. “[The pieces] have all been created, purchased, and then forgotten or discarded. A new life to them continues the story.” Craig Wallwork’s ‘Military Officer’ piece was purchased at the Potomac Auction House in 2008. “I was told this art piece was painted by none other than master forger Mr. Elmyr de Hory, a Hungarian. He forged paintings of Henri Matisse, Renoir et al. His artwork was so convincing he went undetected for years.” Some of his forgeries even hung in the many of the most impressive art museums and private galleries around the world before he was convicted of forgery and took his own life. A piece from Kevin Chadwick’s collection, from artist Gneushev Konstantin Grigorevich, also embodies the ‘lost and found’ concept. “What […]
From the Student’s Perspective: West Side Story
We recently caught up with our West Side Story lead characters, Maria and Tony, better known to the public as Lauren Gutierrez and Ben Cleaver, to chat about their experience with the Academy Center of the Arts’ Encore Youth Theatre program. “Auditioning for the role of Maria was an amazing experience,” said Lauren, a rising junior at Liberty Christian Academy. “I heard about the production through a close friend, and we decided to audition together.” After she got the role, “rehearsals really started to pick up, and now it’s all about cleaning and making sure everything is perfect [for a] spectacular performance!” As far as Lauren’s thoughts on the program as a whole, she says “rehearsing with all of the amazing actors and directors [has] been such an interesting experience” for her. She’s been able to build and refine her skills during the process as well. “With singing, my whole range has gone up, and with acting, I’m now able to look at a scene and find what is the true meaning and the point.” When asked if she would return to Encore in the future, Lauren smiled from ear to ear, explaining that her experience has changed her life. “Because […]
