Childe Byron is a 1977 play by Romulus Linney about the strained relationship between the poet, Lord Byron , and his daughter, Ada Lovelace . Of Linney's more than sixty plays, Childe Byron is one he identified as holding a "deeply personal" connection. In his own words, he approached it through "the pain of a divorced father who can't reach his own daughter." In his narrative poem, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage , Byron wrote of the female infant he left behind when he went into exile: "I see thee not. I hear thee not. But none can be so rapt in thee.” When Linney re-read these words in preparation for the play, he recalled "My daughter Laura, the actress... her mother and I were separated and divorced when she was a baby, so these lines just laid me out."
78-670: The play received its first production on March 4, 1977 in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts , on the stage of the Virginia Museum Theater (now the Leslie Cheek Theater ) in Richmond, Virginia. The word "Childe" is an honorific once given to young aristocratic men who had not yet attained knighthood, and its use in the play's title is a reference to Lord Byron's poem, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage . The drama begins with Ada,
156-534: A Doctor of Fine Arts to students who hold an M.F.A. degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism and have written a dissertation approved by the D.F.A. committee. A Certificate in Drama is available to those students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college, but who are admitted and complete the same training as M.F.A. students. A Technical Internship Certificate is available to students who complete
234-494: A veterans' home for Confederate soldiers. Additional services were provided to their wives and daughters. The main building of the VMFA was designed by Peebles and Ferguson Architects of Norfolk. It has been described as Georgian Revival or English Renaissance . Commentators have said the architects expressed influence from Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren . Construction began in 1934. Two wings were originally planned, but only
312-613: A "modern-day posse"—or as an intimate, unpretentious study—as in the "compact, elegant little production" with "beauty and power" offered by the Eclipse Theater in 2001 at the Athenaeum in Chicago. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts ( VMFA ) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia , United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by
390-573: A $ 150-million building expansion to increase the museum's gallery space by fifty percent, adding 165,000 square feet (15,300 m ). The new wing opened in 2010 and was named in honor of patrons James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin . The museum reoriented the McGlothlin Wing by reinstating the entrance on the Boulevard, the same as with the original 1936 entrance. The design includes a three-story atrium named for Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane, with
468-442: A 40-foot (12 m)-tall glass wall to the east and broad expanses of glass walls to the west, and a partially glazed roof. The London-based architect Rick Mather collaborated with Richmond-based SMBW Architects in the design of the building, while landscape architecture was handled by OLIN . Landscaping included a new 4-acre (16,000 m ) sculpture garden, named for philanthropists E. Claiborne and Lora Robins. American art
546-455: A 500-seat theatre within the art museum, it started as a community theater and also hosted special programs in dance, film, and music. In 1969, the director established an Actors' Equity / LORT company known as Virginia Museum Theatre , hiring both local actors and professionals from New York City or elsewhere. Some of its productions received national notice. In 1973, its production of Maxim Gorky 's play Our Father transferred to New York, to
624-472: A co-founder in 2004 of the Ohio Shakespeare Festival . The museum board of trustees continued to underwrite the deficits to maintain the theater, but their priority was the museum. Tensions arose in this arrangement, and the board was increasingly concerned about the viability of the theater. A study in 1987 showed that dealing with a board that was essentially constituted to oversee the art museum
702-460: A combination of work-study employment, an educational loan, a tuition scholarship, and a living stipend. As of 2016, the average student with demonstrated financial need receives aid providing for 82 percent of the total cost of attendance. In June 2021, Yale announced a $ 150 million donation from David Geffen that would permanently cover the costs of tuition for all admitted students. As of fall 2015, there were 194 students enrolled at
780-485: A direct real-life link when actress Laura Linney performed the role of Ada in 1986 during her senior year at Brown University, a performance which her father described as the play's "crowning" event. Through the years, various directors have shown how the play can be staged as an historic spectacle—as in Philadelphia's Allens Lane production in 2012 where the focus was on Byron's relations with his large "entourage"... like
858-674: A focus on classics and musicals, but added an emphasis on new plays and U.S. premieres of foreign works. His debut production in 1969, Marat/Sade , written by Peter Weiss , was produced with the first racially integrated company on the VMT stage. While the production was praised by two Richmond newspapers, an editorial in the afternoon Richmond News Leader criticized Fowler for "latitudinarianism". The company became known as VMT Rep (for "repertory"). Fowler attracted national notice in 1973 with his production of Macbeth , starring E.G. Marshall . Critic Clive Barnes of The New York Times hailed it as
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#1732875621222936-692: A one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department. The School has emerged as one of the nation's best theatre conservatories. Founded in 1968, the Yale Cabaret is an entirely student-run extracurricular activity that allows students to create productions of their own. It is the only production opportunity at the school that allows students to work outside of their discipline. Patricia Clarkson , Tony Shalhoub , Kate Burton , David Alan Grier , Christopher Durang , and Wendy Wasserstein , among countless others, all performed at
1014-557: A regional American theater or a university. Philadelphia's Wilma Theater produced the drama in 1986; Baylor University presented its version in 2003; a revival by the Players Club in Swarthmore was in 2005, while Drake University offered it in 2013, over thirty-five years following its premiere. Childe Byron , acknowledged by Linney as a personal attempt by a divorced father to speak to his daughter ( cf. footnotes 1 and 2), eventually led to
1092-620: A separate professional school, the first such in the Ivy League . In 1966, under Dean Robert Brustein , the Yale Repertory Theatre was formed to establish further ties between the professional and academic communities. Lloyd Richards , dean and artistic director from 1979 to 1991, increased the theatre's emphasis on new plays, premiering works by Athol Fugard , Lee Blessing , and August Wilson . Richards' successor as dean and artistic director, Stan Wojewodski Jr. , continued to emphasize
1170-530: A small local gallery to a nationally known cultural center." Cheek in 1953 introduced the world's first "Artmobile", a mobile tractor-trailer that carried exhibits to rural areas (prior to museum galleries being established in distant areas). In 1960, he was the first in the United States to introduce night hours at an art museum. Cheek worked with his curators and designers to cultivate a degree of theatrical "showmanship" in exhibits, such as velvet drapery for
1248-578: A theater as part of this addition. The 500-seat theater was intended to provide space for a community theater, and for annual programs of the Virginia societies for dance, music, and film, all within a central cultural facility. What is now known as the Leslie Cheek Theater, the 500-seat proscenium theater within VMFA was originally built in 1955 and known as the Virginia Museum Theatre . It
1326-542: Is one of his richest roles. Beginning with a deeply negative perception of her absent father, yet driven to understand his contradictions, Ada challenges his spirit remorselessly. In the contest she matches his masculine flippancy, but comes to see his essential honesty. Discussing his dramatized women in The New York Times , Linney commented, "I'm not writing about what you're supposed to think of women, but what you really think of them. … Oh, they get credit for doing
1404-589: Is the major focus of exhibitions in the McGlothlin Wing. In 2008, the museum received a $ 200,000 grant from the Luce Foundation to support the installation and interpretation of its American collections. Mather's design for the VMFA expansion earned a 2011 RIBA International Award for architectural excellence. In 2019, Rumors of War was installed on the front lawn of the museum facing Arthur Ashe Boulevard after being displayed in Times Square . In June 2021,
1482-645: The Childe Byron incident was cited among other grounds for a possible "first amendment court case through the American Civil Liberties Union" against the Virginia Museum. At the end of the 1977 theater season, Fowler was awarded Richmond Newspapers' "Phoebe" prize for "Best Direction" for the staging of Childe Byron . He was subsequently hired by his alma mater, the Yale School of Drama , to head
1560-531: The Commonwealth of Virginia . Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the support of specific programs and all acquisition of artwork, as well as additional general support. Considered among the largest art museums in North America for area of exhibition space, the VMFA's comprehensive art collection includes African art , American art , British sporting art, Fabergé, and Himalayan art. One of
1638-580: The Manhattan Theater Club . Because of continuing financial problems, the nonprofit theater closed in 2002. After renovation, it reopened in 2011 as part of the museum to host a range of live performance events. The VMFA has its origins in a 1919 donation of 50 paintings to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Judge John Barton Payne . During the Great Depression , Payne collaborated with Virginia Governor John Garland Pollard to gain funding from
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#17328756212221716-727: The Yale Repertory Theatre , also located in New Haven. The school traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association , the second-oldest college theatre association in the US, founded in 1900. The " Dramat " produced the American premieres of Albert Camus 's Caligula and Shakespeare 's Troilus and Cressida , as well as original works by Cole Porter , Stephen Vincent Benét , and Thornton Wilder written when they were students. In 1924, Yale benefactor Edward S. Harkness provided funds to
1794-549: The "'Fowler Macbeth'... "splendidly vigorous... probably the goriest Shakespearean production I have seen since Peter Brook 's ' Titus Andronicus '." As Fowler heightened the professional quality of the theater, VMT led Richmond into what some recall as a golden age of theater. The company commissioned and produced eight American and World premieres, introducing new plays by Americans Romulus Linney and A.R. Gurney , as well as by major foreign authors, such as Harold Pinter , Joe Orton , Athol Fugard , and Peter Handke . In 1975,
1872-467: The 1950s came from Adolph D. Williams and Wilkins C. Williams, and from Arthur and Margaret Glasgow. They established the museum's oldest funds used for art acquisitions. In 1951, the museum bought the abstract painting "Chimneys", created by a 20-year-old art student named Benjamin Leroy Wigfall at the historically Black Hampton Institute. He was the youngest person whose work had ever been purchased by
1950-571: The 2010 McGlothlin Wing. In the following years, the Lewis and Mellon families proposed major donations from their extensive private collections, and helped provide the funds to house them. In December 1985, the museum opened its fourth addition, the 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m ) West Wing. The architects, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates of New York, were chosen by the Lewises based on their appreciation of
2028-534: The Cabaret." Faculty members are working professionals in their fields and in many cases graduates of the school themselves. As of fall 2015, there are 79 faculty members. James Bundy is the current dean of the school as well as the artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre. Acting department faculty include Gregory Wallace, Ron Van Lieu, Erica Fae, Christopher Bayes, Cynthia Santos-DeCure, Tlaloc Rivas, Walton Wilson, and Tamilla Woodard, who also serves as chair of
2106-574: The Countess of Lovelace, writing her will. She is a mathematician and the daughter of the infamous George Gordon, Lord Byron, a man reputed to be "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." She is dying of a painful cancer at age thirty-six, the same age he was when he died. Separated from him while he lived, she now hates his memory. As her own end is near, however, she desires to know more about the man. Her medicines stimulate her imagination, and she envisions him alive again. In incisive, witty dialogue she digs into
2184-564: The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. The University Theatre is a proscenium theatre that is shared with the undergraduate dramatic association and also houses the school's main administrative offices. The Yale Repertory Theatre is located in the former building of the Calvary Baptist Church and contains an auditorium and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale/Yale Repertory Theatre box office . Additional facilities include
2262-562: The Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts and for the construction of the University Theatre, later to become the school's primary building. Completed in 1931, it was designed by Clarence H. Blackall and then later renovated by James Gamble Rogers . George Pierce Baker , a teacher of playwriting , was the first chairman of the department. In 1955, the department was organized as
2340-557: The Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in every discipline of the theatre – acting , design ( set design , costume design , lighting design , projection design , and sound design ), directing , dramaturgy and dramatic criticism , playwriting , stage management , technical design and production, and theatre management. It was known as the Yale School of Drama until its endowment by David Geffen in 2021. The school operates in partnership with
2418-581: The Fabergé collection, a "tomb-like" setting of the museum's Egyptian exhibit, and using music to set the mood in the galleries. To enhance the museum as a cultural center, Cheek gained approval for construction of a theater, used for museum and outside societies' performing events in dance, music, and film. During his tenure, Cheek oversaw construction of the first addition, built in 1954 by Merrill C. Lee, Architects, of Richmond, and supported financially by Paul Mellon . Cheek had gained board approval to construct
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2496-596: The Iseman Theater in Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall, the School of Drama Annex, and the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library. Admission to the school has been highly competitive for a long time. The Yale Herald reported that the school received 1,270 applications for the class of 1999 and admitted 68 applicants for an acceptance rate of 5.4%. In 2010, annual applications peaked at 1,520, with strict caps on admission to each of
2574-456: The School, 18% of which were international students. The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale offers a Master of Fine Arts in acting, design, sound design, directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, technical design and production, and theatre management. Students must hold an undergraduate degree and complete their program of study with distinction, which requires three years in residence. The school also offers
2652-531: The Soviet Arts Consul provided coverage on Moscow Television for Fowler's U.S premiere of Maxim Gorky 's Our Father (originally Poslednje in Russian). This VMT production transferred to New York City, where it premiered at the Manhattan Theater Club . Over eight years, VMT's subscription audience increased from 4,300 to 10,000 patrons. Fowler resigned in 1977 after a dispute with VMFA administration over
2730-531: The Sun ), and classics (Shakespeare's Hamlet ). VMT also served as a venue for annual programs of the Virginia Music Society, Virginia Dance Society, and Virginia Film Society. Cheek retired from the museum in 1968, but was an adviser to the VMFA trustees about the next director of the theater arts division. In 1969, Keith Fowler was appointed as artistic director of VMT. Under Fowler, VMT continued to serve as
2808-520: The United States. In 1967, the museum also mounted a major exhibition of the work of the English social satirist William Hogarth . In 1978, the museum presented an exhibition on Colonial cabinetmaking in early Virginia, "Furniture of Williamsburg and Eastern Virginia, 1710–1790." Another first, and one that received widespread international attention, was the 1983 exhibition "Painting in the South: 1564–1980." In
2886-508: The VMFA announced that architectural firm SmithGroup was designing a $ 190 million expansion of the museum and a renovation of current spaces such as the Evans Court and Leslie Cheek Theater. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has divided its encyclopedic collections into several broad curatorial departments, which largely correspond to the galleries: When the 2010 wing was completed, a 27-ton marble late-Mughal garden pavilion from Rajasthan
2964-536: The VMFA created a master plan for development of this land in what was otherwise a built-out residential part of the city. By the 1990s, the functions of the adjacent Confederate Home for Women had ceased, and its last residents moved out. In 1999, the former home was adapted for use as the Center for Education and Outreach (now the Pauley Center), housing the museum's Office of Statewide Partnerships. The VMFA undertook
3042-468: The Virginia Film Society. Through the 1960s, the Virginia Museum Theater (VMT) hosted a museum-sponsored volunteer or "community theater" company, under the direction of Robert Telford . The company presented subscription seasons of live drama to thousands annually. Local players and occasional guest professionals offered musicals ( Peter Pan, e.g.), dramas ( Peter Shaffer 's The Royal Hunt of
3120-480: The Virginia Museum’s reaction to its own theater's premiere of Childe Byron . In his commentary, staff writer Paul G. Edwards noted that America’s tradition of free speech and first amendment prohibition on governmental interference with public expression were challenged anew by the Virginia Museum trustees’ “obnoxious” attempts to censor the play that had been commissioned by their own artistic director. Indeed,
3198-611: The Virginia Standards of Learning. All college student tours of VMFA's permanent collection — guided and self-directed — are free. Tours can be requested online. VMFA's ARTshare is a multiyear digital initiative to expand the museum's digital outreach and make its collection more accessible. Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University , located in New Haven, Connecticut . Founded in 1924 as
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3276-466: The acquisition of Art Nouveau objects and furniture. A third addition, known as the North Wing, was designed by Hardwicke Associates, Inc. of Richmond and completed in 1976. It included an adjacent sculpture garden with a cascading fountain, designed by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin . The North Wing was designed as the new main entrance for the museum, with a separate dedicated entrance added for
3354-418: The administration found it expedient to let him go. His departure gave emphasis to the issue of artistic freedom, with some letter writers sensing that a golden age of Richmond Theater was drawing to an end and lamenting the end of VMT as a "bastion of culture." The public response triggered by Childe Byron did not remain confined to the play. The museum's censorship attempt stirred citizen groups to challenge
3432-628: The basis for the Chrysler Museum of Art ). In the 1950s, VMFA originated shows such as "Furniture of the Old South" (1952), "Design of Scandinavia" (1954) and "Masterpieces of Chinese Art" (1955). In the 1960s, there were "Masterpieces of American Silver", followed by "Painting in England, 1700–1850," which drew from the private collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon . At the time, it was the most comprehensive exhibition of British painting ever presented in
3510-449: The board decided to close TheatreVirginia. It struggled financially to operate in a state-supported museum. For eight years, the theater was dormant. Renovation of the space and its revival as a live performance space was completed in 2011; that year, it was renamed as the Leslie Cheek Theater in honor of its first director, who had also been director of the museum for two decades. The theater's reopening has returned live performing arts to
3588-473: The censorship directive. National attention turned to the Byron conflict. Interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered," Fowler said that he stood by author Linney's script despite the museum director's threat to close the show. "The order impinged directly on an area of artistic prerogative ... I discussed the problem with cast members and... they were very supportive of my stand." The Post editorial complained of
3666-529: The central portion was then built. The museum opened on January 16, 1936. In 1947, the VMFA was given the Lillian Thomas Pratt collection of some 150 jeweled objects created by Peter Carl Fabergé and other Russian workshops, including the largest public collection of Fabergé eggs outside of Russia. That year the Museum also received the "T. Catesby Jones Collection of Modern Art". Further donations in
3744-429: The content in VMT's premiere of Romulus Linney 's Childe Byron . Artistic directors Tom Markus (1978-1985) renamed the company and its playhouse "TheatreVirginia". As with all American professional not-for-profit performing arts organizations, TheatreVirginia ran mounting deficits for years. Despite this, artistic director Terry Burgler (1986-1999), who succeeded him, had a successful operation. He later became
3822-547: The directing program there. Childe Byron is one of prolific author Linney's most frequently revived plays. Not long after its Richmond premiere, the play was performed in 1979 by the Actors Theater in Louisville, where it was directed by Jon Jory . Its New York premiere was in 1981 in a production by Circle Repertory Company , directed by Marshall W. Mason and starring William Hurt as Byron and Lindsay Crouse as Ada. It
3900-588: The fall of 1996, VMFA was one of five major American museums to present "Fabergé in America" and "The Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé." These two exhibitions, featuring more than 400 objects and 15 imperial Easter eggs, drew more than 130,000 visitors to Richmond. In 1997, the VMFA showed "William Blake: Illustrations of the Book of Job," an exhibition that featured a complete set of 21 engravings by English Romantic artist William Blake , created in 1825 and purchased by
3978-409: The federal Works Projects Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt , to augment state funding and establish the state art museum in 1932. Payne's gift had been made in memory of his late second wife Jennie Byrd Bryan Payne and his mother Elizabeth Barton Payne. The site for the museum was chosen on Richmond's Boulevard , near the corner of a contiguous six-block tract of land used as
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#17328756212224056-595: The firm's 1981 design for the Best Products headquarters building north of Richmond. The wing now houses the collections of these two families. In 1993, the Commonwealth of Virginia transferred the care of the Robinson House from the Department of General Services to VMFA. The nearly 14-acre property of Robinson House, a former veterans camp, was transferred between state agencies to the museum. Beginning in 2001,
4134-543: The first museums in the American South to be operated by state funds, VMFA offers free admission, except for special exhibits. The VMFA, together with the adjacent Virginia Historical Society , anchors the eponymous "Museum District" of Richmond, and area of the city known as " West of the Boulevard ". The museum includes the Leslie Cheek Theater, a performing-arts venue. For 50 years, a theater company operated here, known most recently as TheatreVirginia. Built in 1955 as
4212-476: The first production of Childe Byron caused a stir in conservative Richmond, the capitol of the old Confederacy. The play's subject matter drew controversy when the administrative director of the museum, in response to pressure from some trustees and a few influential patrons, called on artistic director Keith Fowler to remove a homosexual kiss and delete the word "fuck" from an historical quotation attributed to Byron. With playwright Linney's backing, Fowler declined
4290-479: The government." Local letter writers noted ironically that the sense of scandal that accompanied Byron in his lifetime seemed reflected in the new storm attending his stage debut. "Throughout his life," commented one correspondent, "Byron and his poetry drew both acclaim and outrage. The controversial reception of Childe Byron is a tribute to its success." Patrons on either side threatened to cancel subscriptions. Letters to editorial pages grew heated for and against
4368-530: The headquarters for the Dance, Film and Music societies. He is known for having expanded and upgrading the live theater operations, establishing Richmond's first resident Actors Equity / LORT company. Both community actors and New York-based professionals became part of this. The troupe's core members included Marie Goodman Hunter , Janet Bell, Lynda Myles, E.G. Marshall , Ken Letner, James Kirkland, Rachael Lindhart, and dramaturg M. Elizabeth Osborn . Fowler retained
4446-602: The heart of the Virginia museum. The Leslie Cheek Theater does not support a resident company, but is available for bookings of special theater, music, film, and dance showings. The second addition, the South Wing, was designed by Baskervill & Son Architects of Richmond and completed in 1970. It featured four new permanent galleries and a large gallery for loan exhibitions, as well as a new library, photography lab, art storage rooms, and staff offices. A gift of funds from Sydney and Frances Lewis of Richmond in 1971, provided for
4524-505: The museum and was one of its earliest acquisitions of a painting by a Black artist. In 1948, Leslie Cheek, Jr. was selected as director of the museum, where he served until 1968. During these decades, he introduced many innovations and was noted as having had significant influence on the course of the institution. His obituary in the New York Times said that he "transformed [the VMFA] from
4602-540: The museum in 1973. In addition to the engravings, the exhibit included six of the 1805 watercolors upon which Blake based them, on view and on loan from New York's Pierpont Morgan Library . Also on view were a complete set of the artist's preliminary drawings from the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University and the "New Zealand" set of copies of Blake's engravings from the Yale Center for British Art . In 1999,
4680-474: The museum in 2016. In addition to the galleries that display selections of the permanent collection, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts presents special exhibitions of artwork drawn from its own and others' collections, as well as work of active artists. In 1941, the museum presented an exhibition of Modernist works by artists of the School of Paris from the collection of Walter P. Chrysler Jr. (which later became
4758-613: The museum offered crated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences and workshops by visual and performing artists. The traveling artmobile program, tailored to help students meet the state's Standards of Learning , was also included. VMFA has offered in-house educational programs that are supported by multiple specialized studios and on-site exhibition space. These have included courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, fashion, digital arts, and mixed media. Group highlights tours are offered daily. K-12 group tours are also offered, incorporating
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#17328756212224836-523: The museum presented "Splendors of Ancient Egypt," an exhibition assembled from the renowned collection of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim , Germany. Nearly a quarter of a million people saw the show in Richmond. It was one of the largest exhibitions of Egyptian art ever to tour the United States. In 2011, VMFA was one of seven museums worldwide chosen to exhibit one hundred seventy-six paintings from
4914-467: The museum's attempt to impose revisions on the play. Citing a dramatist's guild contract that protects a playwright's text, director Fowler prevailed, and the show remained intact throughout its run—although the artistic victory was to prove costly. When he called on the trustees to promise no further attempts to censor VMT productions, Fowler's contract was allowed to expire. Although the theater's subscriptions had more than doubled under his directorship,
4992-400: The personal collection of Pablo Picasso . The exhibit was held from February 19 – May 15, 2011 in ten galleries of the newly renovated museum. Director Alex Nyerges noted: "An exhibition this monumental is extremely rare, especially one that spans the entire career of a figure who many consider the most influential, innovative and creative artist of the 20th century." The collection of paintings
5070-428: The powerful institution, including a letter of protest circulated by local artists who alleged that the museum had a pattern of peremptory censorship. The letter accused the museum of forcing Fowler's resignation and interfering with other artists' exhibitions. According to the minutes of the trustees' meetings, complaints of censorship occupied the institution's director and trustees for the ensuing three months In May,
5148-539: The production of new plays, including several important works by Suzan-Lori Parks and Theatre de la Jeune Lune . The current dean and artistic director, James Bundy , has produced notable premieres by David Rabe , José Rivera , David Adjmi , and Sarah Ruhl , among others, as well as Radio Golf , the tenth play in August Wilson 's 20th century cycle. A variety of locations on the Yale University campus serve
5226-725: The program. Directing department faculty include Emily Coates, Yuri Kordonsky , Robert Woodruff , and department chair Liz Diamond. Designers include Jane Greenwood , Jess Goldstein , Wendall K. Harrington , and Jennifer Tipton . Playwrights include John Guare , Michael Korie , Lisa Kron , Tina Landau , Richard Nelson , Lynn Nottage , Peter Parnell , Adam Rapp , Paula Vogel , and Derek Walcott . Critics include Allardyce Nicoll . Music consultants include Rusty Magee . Former faculty includes dancer/choreographer Carmen de Lavallade , set designer Ming Cho Lee , actor Earle Gister and directors Robert Brustein , F. Curtis Canfield , Keith Fowler , and Nikos Psacharopoulos . This
5304-411: The right thing or the wrong thing, but not the unique or surprising thing. … I love the contradictions in women." In the end of Childe Byron , a compromising reconciliation between daughter and sire is reached—providing a freshly intimate view of the major Romantic poet of the early 19th century. “The perils of the state as patron of the arts” was the headline of a Washington Post editorial criticizing
5382-428: The school's nine programs. The cost of tuition for the 2020–21 academic year was $ 32,800. After his appointment in 2002, School Dean James Bundy made improving financial aid for students a priority. The school's financial aid budget grew from $ 1.4 million to over $ 6.1 million in 2017, with significant reductions in debt upon graduation. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of financial need, with awards consisting of
5460-404: The state-sponsored Virginia Museum's "Big Brother government" interference in theater art. A museum trustee was quoted as saying, "Accountability is the name of the game," to which the editorial replied, "Maybe in government, but not in theater. Theater goers have a right to assume that the art they pay to hear and see reflects the genius and biases of the playwright, players and play director, not
5538-499: The theater. It provided three more gallery areas – two for temporary exhibitions and one for the Lewis Family's Art Nouveau Collection while also housing a gift shop, members' dining room, and other visitor functions. However, the curved walls of the North Wing's "kidney-shaped" design proved to be functionally awkward and impractical, and it was later replaced. The 1976 wing and sculpture garden were later demolished to make room for
5616-567: The truth behind the legends surrounding her father. Six other actors play a diverse range of characters as she observes scenes from Byron's life, including his youthful incestuous relations with his sister, his homosexual adventures, his foolish marriage, and the causes of his disapprobation by British society. Author Linney is known for his strong female characters, from Esther Dudley and Mrs. Madeline Lee in his Democracy to Lucy Lake in The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks . His Ada Lovelace
5694-408: Was designed under the supervision of director Cheek, a Harvard/Yale-educated architect. He consulted with Yale Drama theater engineers Donald Oenslager and George Izenour for the state-of-the-art facility. Cheek envisioned a central role for a theater arts division in the museum. The theater brought the arts of drama, acting, design, music, and dance to the art galleries. It also hosted programs of
5772-421: Was difficult for the theatre company. In addition, the city of Richmond was still characterized as having a "historical resistance" to the offerings of professional theatre. Problems continued into the early 21st century, when a loss of some state funding occurred because of budget problems. In addition, the museum wanted to regain the theater space for other uses. The theater was expected to relocate in 2003, and
5850-572: Was first produced on the West Coast in 1981 by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. The play's first international production was by London's Young Vic in 1981, with pop star David Essex in the title role and Simon Gipps-Kent as the young Byron. The Penguin Repertory Theater of Rockland County NY presented a well-reviewed revival in 1987. Scarcely a year goes by without a revival by
5928-573: Was from a permanent collection housed in the Musée Picasso , then under renovation. The VMFA is a member of the French Regional & American Museums Exchange (FRAME). The Office of Statewide Partnerships delivered programs and exhibitions throughout the commonwealth via a voluntary network of more than 350 nonprofit institutions (museums, galleries, art organizations, schools, community colleges, colleges and universities). Through this program,
6006-406: Was installed inside the galleries. In 2019, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art commissioned a large-scale monumental sculpture from artist Kehinde Wiley that was installed in front of the museum. The work in bronze, which Wiley had titled Rumors of War , was modeled after one of Monument Avenue ’s Confederate statues after he visited Richmond for a retrospective exhibition of his artwork held at
6084-468: Was projected to be an anchor tenant in a new Virginia Performing Arts Center, but that was not planned for completion until 2007, and by late 2002, the theater had not found temporary relocation space. In 2002, a series of fatal sniper attacks in the metropolitan DC area and northern Virginia region killed five people in quick succession. Residents were fearful of going out, and the theater suffered reduced audiences and additional lost income. In December 2002,
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