George Mason News

The Joffrey Ballet's Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director and Greg Cameron, President and CEO are pleased to announce the addition of four dancers to the Joffrey roster for the 2021-22 season: Brian Bennett (Lanham, Maryland), Blake Kessler (Jacksonville, Florida), Yuchan Kim (Seoul, South Korea) and Miranda Silveira (Barcelona, Spain). With these new company members, The Joffrey Ballet has expanded to 43 dancers representing 13 countries.

Bowen McCauley Dance Company, the award-winning contemporary dance company who closed out its 25th and final season tonight at The Kennedy Center, announces partnerships with The Kennedy Center and George Mason University's School of Dance to continue free Dance for Parkinson's Disease (Dance for PD) classes. Earlier this year, BMDC announced a similar partnership with the Maryland Youth Ballet, and this triad of partnerships will ensure that Dance for PD classes are accessible throughout the DC Metro area.

The start of the 2021 fall semester marks the 20th anniversary of George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Amidst its active season of live outdoor programming and events, the Hermitage Artist Retreat is launching a new virtual series spotlighting the brilliant curators and Hermitage alumni who have developed their work and craft in residence at the Hermitage.

On October 10, pianist Jeffrey Siegel officially relaunches indoor Hylton Presents performances in Merchant Hall with his concerts with commentary Keyboard Conversations Classics Declassified. Siegel hands off the baton to the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra on October 30 for their Big Band Era performance Swingin' with the Met.

Fall performance tickets will be available for presale to the Friends of the Center for the Arts on August 3 at 10 a.m. and to the general public on August 10 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available for purchase in person at the Center for the Arts Ticket Office (open Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), by calling 703-993-2787, or through the Center for the Arts' website.

From July 12 through August 22, An Almost Holy Picture, written by Heather McDonald and directed by Everyman Associate Artistic Director Noah Himmelstein, will be available for patrons to access digitally in their homes for $30.

Sometimes a young artist makes a big impression on an ornery arts reviewer first time out of the box. Today’s subject Adelina Mitchell did just that to me and my wife a few years ago. More on that later on in the column. Now you can see her incredible talents for yourselves from the comfort of your own home Constellation Theatre Company’s streaming presentation of The Last Five Years. The production is available from June 22nd through July 11th.

'Luther's Trumpet' is a fair production with an interesting premise - some parts are more intriguing than others, so the overall impression leaves a little more to be desired. But those electric moments when Luther confronts his adversaries and his stirring speech at the show's close definitely elevate it beyond that 'fair' evaluation into something fascinating.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center announced a full lineup of indoor and outdoor programming for the 2021-2022 season during a pre-recorded video announcement for subscribers and Friends of the Hylton Center Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m.

George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts has announced the recipients of the third round of its Young Alumni Commissioning Project Awards.

George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts announced artist educator and co-founder of Pomo Afro Homos Djola Branner will be the next Director of the School of Theater. Branner starts July 1, transitioning from his most recent role as Professor of Theater at Hampshire College.

The Center for the Arts at George Mason University announced the 2021/2022 season of Great Performances at Mason. The announcement includes a return to in-venue performances, featuring an outstanding lineup of national and international artists and ensembles across the disciplines of classical music, opera, jazz, global music, theater and more.

This week, Theatre Calgary's Stafford Arima and Maya Choldin explained how their company is paving the way for emerging artists in the new digital age of theatre. Theatre Calgary (which is known for its cross-country collaboration and interpretations of old and new plays and musicals) jumped into the digital scene fairly quickly following the ending of in-person performances.

Two of the most prominent stage actors in Washington, D.C., Edward Gero and Craig Wallace, go head-to-head as Martin Luther and Pope Leo X in Luther’s Trumpet, presented by George Mason University’s School of Theater as a digital, pre-recorded performance, available through Mason Arts at Home May 28 at 8 p.m. through May 29 at 11:59 p.m.

You most likely know today’s subject Erin Driscoll Gardiner as a superb performer. Some of her most memorable performances over the years include the title role in Violet and Cinderella in Into the Woods at Ford’s Theatre, many productions at Signature Theatre including a Helen Hayes Award winning performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown, and of course her solo cabarets where her angelic voice always rings like a band of angels.

Today (April 22) in live streaming: Lucie Jones visits Backstage Live, an ER reunion on Stars in the House, and more!

Creative Cauldron presents Difficult Conversations: Bridging the Divide, a new series of original plays. The premise is that in this challenging time of division and conflict, Creative Cauldron looks to writers in the DMV for inspiration and healing. 

George Mason University's Arts Management Program presents Rethinking the President's Committee for Arts and Humanities: Opportunities for Policy Innovation Under a New Administration, Wednesday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. as part of Mason Arts at Home and presented in coordination with Arlington Forward.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center announced today plans to welcome audiences back to Hylton on the Hill, its outdoor performance space located just beyond the Hylton Center on George Mason University's Science and Technology Campus.