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Wolfbane Productions
Backstage Pass
Each issue of Scenes From the Hat will feature a theater and exploring the theater's beginnings, evolution over the years, and goals for the future - plus some fun facts along the way.
This issue, we're traveling out to Appomattox to visit a theater company that needs no introduction. Wolfbane Productions has taken central Virginia by storm with its beautiful outdoor venue and first class production quality. While many of its shows are family friendly and well-known, Wolfbane is also known for taking risks and doing shows that are newer or perhaps have never been performed at any other local theater. With how popular Wolfbane has become, one would think this theater has been around for decades. That makes it all the more surprising how Wolfbane's story begins relatively recently in 2008.
"Fun fact: There was originally no idea behind Wolfbane. This company got started because a few of us had time on our hands between projects and really wanted to put on a play together." Dustin Williams is the founder of Wolfbane Productions, and he isn't shy about its humble beginnings. Williams was born and raised in Appomattox and attended college at Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg). He continued his theater training at the William Esper Conservatory in New York as a professional actor and director, which also led to continued work in Los Angeles. While in between coasts, he had a three months to kill and read the script for Bat Boy: The Musical, a rock horror show based on the infamous Weekly World News tabloid about a half-boy/half-bat. Williams realized he had a perfect cast located right here in Lynchburg to put on the show. Along with close friend and fellow actor Hubbard Farr, they began scouting locations to produce and perform the show. After a struggle securing a place, Williams decided to contact one of the performers named Larry to cancel the show. By a stroke of fate, Williams accidentally contacted a different Larry: Larry Hart, the director of the Heritage High School theater program.
"Larry was one of the first people I called about using the school’s theatre for our Bat Boy," Williams explains. "He had originally declined because of the bloody, adult nature of the show and the fact that his theatre was a high shool." This time around, Williams attempted to play off his mistaken phone call and tried to hang up. Before he could, Hart spoke up. "He said he’d been thinking alot about my idea and would love to give his kids the experience of working with some of the performers I would be bringing in." Larry Hart chimes in: "The funny thing is, I wasn’t taking a chance on batboy. I would love to have seen a performance of it and there is no way that was going to happen in high school... I was taking a chance on Dustin & Hubb." Hart believed in the guys' vision of the flegling theatre company and agreed to provide the space,
Dustin Williams
Suddenly Williams had a location, but there was one caveat: in order to distinguish this show from a Heritage High School show, Williams would need to come up with a theatre company name. No sweat, Williams thought. "We thought this would be a one-and-done thing." While sitting with his mom in her kitchen, they were discussing how Williams used to be obsessed with the 1941 film Wolfman. There is a poem in the film dealing with transformation that captured Williams' imagination: "Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." Even though the proper name is wolfsbane, the film used wolfbane; thus Williams did as well when naming his theatre company, which he assumed would be a brief existence. Little did he know...
Bat Boy was a fun experience for all involved, and many found themselves with another break in their schedules the following year. They followed it up with Jekyll and Hyde and started doing a couple shows a year just for fun. Hart also opened the Heritage High stage for a few more shows by allowing his students to run tech and taking a small percentage of ticket sales, making it a Pioneer Theatre fundraiser opportunity. "Without knowing it, we were building an audience and making the Pack," says Williams.
The Crucible, 2019
Stranger Sings, 2019
The PAC location has gone from this in 2012...
... to this for 2013's Evil Dead: The Musical...
... to this for 2023's Jekyll & Hyde
Wolfbane was somewhat nomadic in its early years, bouncing around at different locations. It wasn't until a 2012 outdoor production of Foxfire at Devil's Backbone Brewing Company in Nelson County that Williams was forced to buy outdoor stage lighting. This ended up being fortuitous because it finally allowed Wolfbane to produce at least one outdoor show per year. While walking around his parents' farm in Appomattox, Williams found himself in a spot where loggers had recently cleared a patch of trees. With its gentle slope and a large cedar tree at the bottom, it became the perfect creepy venue for Wolfbane's next show, Evil Dead: The Musical. But that doesn't mean the location was easy at first. Hoses and extension cords were run from the Williams' house. "My sweet mom sat in the basement and flipped the breakers back on whenever they’d blow from the band rocking too hard." Even though the company assumed nobody would show up for theatre in Appomattox, Evil Dead was completely sold out. After a few more years of upgrading and improving the space, Wolfbane's Performing Arts Center (PAC) had found its outdoor home.
Wolfbane has continued to grow over the years. Williams' husband Ken Arpino became Executive Director in 2016 and helped turn Wolfbane from a smalltime theatre company into a successful non-profit. With the help of technical director/house manager Christine Yepsen, a board of directors made up of respected community members, and countless actors, technicians, and volunteers, Wolfbane is now a professional theatre company with a complete show season each year. In addition, the PAC is being updated with a new entryway, a new concessions area, and and overall sprucing up of the grounds. Nobody is more surprised than Williams how much Wolfbane has grown over its short lifetime. "We weren’t trying to build a company or pay bills. We didn’t even pay ourselves for the first then years. It was just having fun. And that spirit has become our northstar."
The Sea Farer, 2018
Steel Magnolias, 2021
Clue, 2023
Rocky Horror Show, 2017
One of Williams' proudest Wolfbane moments involved the show Bare at Randolph College. Involving two men in love and the struggles rectifying it with their Catholic religion and school environment, community reaction was incredibly supportive. "So many people were able to be open for the first time in their lives in a public setting, and it just took our little show to allow for that." But that doesn't mean every show goes off without a hitch. During a performance of 2023's Clue, an actor pushed a door instead of pulled, resulting in the door coming completely off its hinges and falling off. There was no way to really play this off, so the actor vamped for a couple minutes as the audience laughed and applauded, giving Williams time to take the door from him and secure it for the rest of the show. "[Moments likes these are] a huge part of the fun of live story-telling," Williams laughs.
"Theatre can easily have an air of pretention or high-art to it, and we work hard to never present that to our audiences."
Wolfbane also had an indoor venue located in Appomattox so shows could still be performed during colder months. But thanks to an amazing problem, Wolfbane has outgrown this space! Ken and Gabrielle Mirabella (Wolfbane’s Director of Development) participated in the Launch LYH with the Downtown Lynchburg Association, resulting in a grant to help secure a space downtown for Wolfbane's indoor location. The old Coca-Cola bottling plant on Jefferson Street is currently being renovated and will be complete in time for Wolfbane’s Dracula this fall. For a first look, the Wolfbane Gala will be held in this space on September 7, 2024. Tickets will be available soon on their website at wolfbane.org.
Christine Yepsen, Dustin Williams, and Ken Arpino inside Wolfbane's new downtown location on Jefferson Street
"I think a really good quality [for a director] is to have a good eye for talent," shares Hart. "I knew these guys had it to develop a great theatre company. I am honored to be a little part part of it." As for Williams, he continues to be amazed at the amount of talent the Lynchburg area has to offer. Even more than the talent, "It really is a family," explains Williams. Williams can name many people involved in the various theatres in the area, both on and off stage, that have both influenced and positively impacted his lifelong theatre experiences. "I think a beautiful thing is that the community here has realized there is no competition amongst us. Everyone wants everyone else to succeed and that’s something special and beautiful."
Wolfbane is ALWAYS looking for folks to join the Pack! The easiest way is to contact the theater via e-mail at boxoffice@wolfbane.org. Like most local theatres, volunteering to usher or help with box office or concessions is a great way to meet everyone and become familiar with the company. In addition, Wolfbane is always on the hunt for local performers and technicians. "In our auditions, we look to see how prepared you are and if you’re a performer who can ride an audience," Williams says. "We rarely have a very solid 4th wall in our productions so we love to see folks play." Check out their website at wolfbane.org as well their Instagram and Facebook pages for more details on upcoming events, tickets, and news.