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Scenes from the Hat
Issue 2: January-February 2024
Our second newsletter is here! Welcome to Scenes from the Hat, a bimonthly newsletter that highlights local theater news, updates, and featurettes on many of the talented people who make up the Greater Lynchburg Theater Community. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, many theaters are gearing up to start their 2024 seasons. There are over thirty shows scheduled for 2024 in the Lynchburg area theaters! This will be a busy year and we are so excited to support everyone in the coming months with our theater calendar, ticket giveaways, and the biannual Director's Grant award. There's a lot to cover in this issue of Scenes from the Hat, so let's get started!
Past Issues
Distributing Calendars
What's New With Us
The Foundation continues to work hard towards expanding our offerings to the theater community. Members of the Executive Board have been scheduling presentations with each local theater's Board of Directors to introduce ourselves, give information on the theater calendar and Director's Grant, and brainstorm different ways the Foundation can support each individual theater. These have been very positive meetings and many creative ideas have been presented. The Foundation is planning on some special events in 2024, so stay tuned for news and updates. If we have not visited with your theater's board, please contact us with your next available Board meeting date so we can schedule a visit.
Director's Grant Committee
Meet the Director's Grant Committee
Many don't realize that the inspiration for this Foundation came from a simple idea of a Director's Award. After Mark passed away, his family was trying to think of ways to not only continue his legacy of community theater support, but also a way to give back to the community that had rallied around them upon his sudden death. Ideas were thrown out, but nothing seemed to be concrete enough to work from. Mark's oldest daughter, Erin Foreman, told everyone to just "let it simmer" and wait for inspiration to strike. A few months later, Mark's second daughter, Lindsay Leonard, woke up in the middle of the the night and had the sudden inspiration of financially supporting directors of local community theater productions. It's a universal truth that all community theaters are reliant on ticket sales for profits and most participants are volunteers. Show budgets are often tight and inherently limited in amount and scope. What if a financial award were given to applicable directors to use toward their show with no strings attached? The director and show participants would benefit, the theater would benefit from the additional funds used in conjunction with the already established budget, and audiences would benefit from an enhanced production. Thus, the Director's Grant came to fruition, which led to the creation of the Mark W. Foreman Foundation for the Performing Arts - a way to support local theaters beyond the biannual award. ​ The next step was to establish a committee to review the applications and determine the winner. It was agreed that the members of this committee would be unaffiliated with any particular theater, yet would have an understanding of community theater operations through past and present experience. It was also determined that the initial members of this committee would have worked with Mark in the past and understood his legacy of supporting all local theaters equally. Each member is independent, unbiased, and a true supporter of our Lynchburg area community theaters. Read below to meet the committee:
Endstation Theatre, 2013
Sweet Briar College
Endstation Theatre Company
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 are featuring a theater that seamlessly blends performance with education: Endstation Theatre Company. Located in Lynchburg, Endstation has been a staple in the theater community since the early 2000's. With its creative staging and interpretations of classic works, Endstation brought an innovative approach to theater to this area that had not been seen at that time. This theater's origin story begins in the most unlikely of places: Berlin, Germany. While a student at Florida State University working towards his Master of Fine Arts, Geoffrey Kershner was presented with an incredible opportunity to travel to Germany on a theater tour with Ed Sherin, Jane Alexander, and his fellow student (and future Endstation co-founder) Krista Franco. During this trip, Kershner and Franco attended a performance of Endstation America, an adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. "It was irreverent and inventive and both those qualities inspired us," Kershner says. As Kershner and Franco completed their degrees, they were inspired to develop their own theater company here in Virginia where Kershner already had roots. In an ode to the production that had influenced their decision to create a theater, they named it Endstation Theatre Company.
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Denis Deane
Actor, Director, and Set Designer
Spotlight
Each issue of Scenes From the Hat will interview a local actor/actress, director, set designer , or crew member. This is a chance for you  know some of these icons of the Lynchburg theatre community who you may have seen on stage or watched shows they were involved in backstage or directed. ​ This issue's spotlight: Denis Deane This interview with Denis was conducted on November 5, 2023. He had already been diagnosed with cancer, yet was in great spirits as he laughed and gleefully recollected his theatrical career. Sadly, Denis passed away on December 13, 2023. The many years of experience and wisdom he passed on will be an enduring legacy that we hope you find valuable and enjoyable. It is our honor to present this final interview with Denis Deane - a leader, a teacher, a creator, and a dear friend.
Upcoming Events
JANUARY
I Hate Hamlet *AUDITIONS*
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11-14 Jefferson Forest Cav Theater
Emma
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25-27 E.C. Glass Theater
Silent Sky
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FEBRUARY
1-4 Masterworx Theatre Annie Jr.
1-4 Forest Middle School Theater
Frozen Jr.
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8-11 Brookville High Theater
Our Town
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Edges The Musical
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9-11, 16-18 Renaissance Theatre
Right Bed, Wrong Husband
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10-11, 16-18, Wolfbane Productions
22-25, 29 Rock of Ages
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16-18, 22-24 Heritage High Pioneer Theater
Anastasia
16-18, 22-25, Liberty University
29 Titanic
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16-18, 23-25 Little Town Players
Always a Bridsemaid
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19-20 Alluvion Theatre
Anastasia **AUDITIONS**
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23-25 Commerce Street Theater
I Hate Hamlet
Next Issue
Stay tuned for our next newsletter for March-April 2024. If you want to receive this newsletter in your e-mail, please add your name to our e-mail list below. As always, thank you for your continued support of this Foundation, the theaters of the Greater Lynchburg area, and the world of performing arts.
"Let's all support each other and help the Lynchburg community theatres thrive."
-Mark W. Foreman