And believed he was ordained to rule?
Poetry of the People with Al Black featuring Kelley Lannigan
Where is the map when we get lost inside ourselves? — Kelley Lannigan
I chose poet, Kelley Lannigan, as this week's Poet of the People because of the wonderful narrative flow of her poetry.
Kelley Lannigan grew up in rural Richland County and studied art and journalism at Columbia College. She spent her life curating art (most recently the Georgia O'Keefe Anniversary Exhibition at Columbia College) and as an editor and journalist for magazines and newspapers. She is retired and lives in Winnsboro with her cats writing poetry, painting, and taking on an occasional writing project.
Aubade
The sun raises the red coin of its face.
Morning, in her gown of light
dances among the trees.
A Cooper’s Hawk, the one we hear
but rarely see, screams reveille.
Awake! Awake! Awake!
It rained so hard last night.
Nipper Creek, dry for months,
runs like a marathon.
Trucks haul gravel from the quarry. Gears shift,
grind, strain up the road’s steep slope.
Sometimes a SLAM! A BANG!
Soon, blasting will shake the ground.
Trucks pass, their angry music fades.
Silence deepens like a dream.
Tops of pines, slow green brooms, sweep the sky.
Old cat snoozes on the rough steps.
She chases something in her sleep.
She woke me earlier, pawed my chest in the dark,
reminded me that for now,
I am not alone.
Terra Incognita
(In memory of Steve, lost to dementia)
He was the kind of man we were glad to see.
The kind who leaned over the fence to talk about his goats,
his chickens. A farmer, adding his link to the long chain
of Huguenots who husbanded the land. Their sturdy houses
still stand sentinel over the Santee, the Pee Dee, the French Broad.
A family man. Husband, lover, father, teacher.
A worldly man. Soldier, navigator, pilot.
A hunter who knew what passed by its scat,
a mark on a tree, tracks in the snow.
The kind of man we called at 3 a.m.
about strange noise by the barns.
His bobbing lantern across the dark fields
made us feel safe.
Snow melts. Tracks erode. Terrain shifts.
Where is the map when we get lost inside ourselves?
He was a man who disappeared before our eyes.
Forgot our faces, his children’s names.
Left the water running. Could not remember
his phone number. How to use the phone.
What a phone was for. Forgot to eat.
Lay in bed until told to get up.
Replied “yes” to every question.
Missed the turn to his farm, piloted his old Chevy
into the next county. Then across the next.
Or simply sat for hours behind the wheel going nowhere.
Kelley Lannigan will be our poetry feature this Wednesday, 08/16 - 7 pm for Mind Gravy Poetry at Cool Beans, 1217 College Street, Columbia
701 CCA CALL to ARTISTS Biennial 2023 - Jurors Announced
701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC seeks submissions for the 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2023, the center’s seventh survey exhibition of work by contemporary South Carolina artists. The exhibition will be held at the center in two parts with openings in November 2023 and January 2024. Artists working in all media and styles are encouraged to apply. Artists must be a current resident of South Carolina.
Exhibition Dates:
Biennial Part I- November 17 – December 30, 2023
Biennial Part II- January 12 – February 25, 2024
Selection Process:
A panel of three jurors representing local, regional, and national perspectives will review submitted materials and select artists for the exhibition. A 701 CCA curatorial team will select works for the exhibition from submitted images and when needed, through studio visits.
Submission Materials
Submissions for the 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2023 should be made via Submittable (link below) and include the following:
Ten images of work produced in the last two years that are representative of what will be available for inclusion in the Biennial.
Images should be in a jpeg format with a minimum size of 1024 wide x 768 high ppi (pixels per inch) at 300 dpi resolution.
File names should be numbered 1 through 10 followed by the artist’s last name and title of the work.
Example: 2_Smith_Good Morning.jpg
List of Images: Create a list of your images with the following information: (PDF, MSWord Accepted)
File name, year, medium, and dimensions (H x W for 2-D; H x W x D for 3-D).
Brief Statement: Create a statement, not to exceed 200 words, about your work and how it addresses your intent. (PDF, MSWord Accepted)
Example: “I use recycled materials to address my concerns with climate change.”
Resume/CV and/or biographical sketch, no more than 300 words, that includes the artist’s birth date, place of birth, and where they grew up. (PDF, MSWord Accepted)
*Artists need to make sure that they have work available for the exhibitions that reflects the art in their submission.
Fees:
The submission fee is $25.00 per artist. Your payment can be made through Submittable or checks can be made payable to 701 CCA.
Submission Deadline:
All materials should be submitted by Wednesday, August 16, 2023, by 11:59 p.m.
Notification:
Artists will be notified of the results of the selection process by Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
Timeline:
Submission Deadline: August 16, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
Jury Panel Meets: Between August 20–23, 2023
Notification of Selections: August 30, 2023
Artists’ Notifications to 701 CCA of Unavailable Work: September 3, 2023
Notification of artists’ selection for Part I or Part II: September 15, 2021
Delivery work for Part I: November 8-10, 2023
Part I opens: November 17, 2023
Artists’ Reception Part I: TBD
Part I Closes: December 30, 2023
Pick-up Work Part I: January 3-5, 2024
Deliver Work for Part II: January 3-5, 2024
Part II opens: January 12, 2024
Artists’ Reception Part II: TBD
Part II Closes: February 25, 2024
Pick-up Work Part II: February 28-March 1, 2024
*Please submit further inquiries to director@701cca.org or call Caitlin Bright, Executive Director at 803.319.9949.
Introducing the Jurors for the Seventh Edition of the SC Biennial, produced and hosted by 701 Center for Contemporary Art
701 CCA is thrilled to announce that the 2023 SC Biennial will be juried by Lauren Jackson Harris, Bob Monk, and Aaron Levi Garvey. The gallery is currently seeking submissions for its seventh survey exhibition of works by contemporary South Carolina Artists. This year, 701 CCA has the honor of presenting submissions for review by some of the nation's leading figures in contemporary art.
Lauren Jackson Harris is an independent curator, fine art management professional, and project manager from Atlanta, GA. She earned her BFA in Graphic Design and Art History from Howard University and her MA in Creative Leadership from SCAD. In 2019, she co-founded Black Women in Visual Art, an organization that connects, cultivates, and serves Black women arts professionals. With BWVA, Harris builds partnerships and develops programs that create further visibility and opportunity for Black women in art. As an independent arts worker over the last ten years, Harris has curated exhibitions and art experiences with organizations and art spaces such as For Freedoms, Facebook, MINT Gallery, Day & Night Gallery, The Gathering Spot, Stay Home Gallery, Living Walls, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and more. Harris also serves as the Co-Chair for the Beltline Public Art Advisory Council, as a Board member for Tessera Arts Collective, and is an active fine art advocate consulting with artists on their practice and career-based opportunities.
Bob Monk is the director of Gagosian Gallery NYC + LA. Serving in this position for over 30 years, Mr. Monk has curated countless exhibitions, and has worked closely with Ed Ruscha and Richard Artschwager. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including the 2005 American Pavilion for the Venice Biennale. He worked at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York (1974–84) and then founded Lorence Monk Gallery in 1986 featuring the works of Richard Artschwager, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Bruce Nauman, and Barnett Newman. He is currently working on ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN, a retrospective of the artist's works on view at Gagosian Gallery September 10th, 2023.
Aaron Levi Garvey is a Jewish-American Curator/Historian working and lecturing in Modern and Contemporary Arts and Culture. Currently, Garvey is the Chief Curator of the Andy Warhol Museum. Recent exhibitions include: The Hudson Eye a 10-day and 14-venue arts focused program in Hudson, New York, Arc of Life/Ark of Bones by Walter Hood and Migratory Roots by Kevin Brisco at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, Flashing the Leather and The Drowned group exhibitions at Alabama Contemporary, Chiharu Shiota’s site-specific installation “Infinity Lines” at the SCAD Museum of Art, Sheida Soleimani “Oppress(er)(ed)” with Long Road Projects, “Ephemera Obscura” at the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans and Manon Bellet's "MEMO" and Shikeith’s “notes towards becoming a spill” both at Atlanta Contemporary. Additionally Garvey curated "We Are What You Eat" the inaugural art exhibition at the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 2016 and co-curated the Atlanta Biennial (ATLBNL): Recent Correspondence at the Atlanta Contemporary in August 2016.
The application portal is open until August 16th and can be reached by following the link: >>
Submit Here.
First Official Exhibit at Gemini II Studios - and you can be involved!
Call for Art
Call for Support
Gemini II Arts announces their first official exhibition — albeit “while renovations continue” at their evolving space near City Roots and the Hunter Gatherer Hangar.
Founder Ron Hagell shares this news with the Jasper Project:
“I'm sure by now you are aware that over the next few months this [Gemini II] will become the largest group of artist studios in Columbia with its own exhibition spaces and tons of parking close to City Roots (F2T) and the Hunter-Gatherer Hanger. In the hottest new spot in town Rosewood/Owens Field!
It's going to be super for the public and artists. Please join us and bring friends.
For artists: If you have not signed on to participate in this show, you can still join us or bring work to show/sell. Just deliver it to the site on 14 or 15 September but text me first so I know you are coming. Be sure all your info is on your work.
If you are showing work, please donate $10 to help with costs or you can go to our site and click on the Donate button there where you can do it through PayPal directly or with a credit card.
...or, if you just want to help us out, you can donate at these links as well.”
Eastmont Theatre Company - NEW Grassroots Theatre Company Makes Debut This Weekend with END of the LINE
Eastmont Theater Co.
is incredibly proud to present our first ever production, End of the Line!
Premiering August 12th, we are very excited to share our completely original work with the broader Columbia community.
Synopsis: Four total strangers board a train one evening. After a fight breaks out, they find themselves stuck on a never-ending ride. Now, they have to learn how to truly see each other if they ever hope to escape.
When: August 12th at 8 pm
August 13th at 7:30 pm
Where: Eastmont Theater Backyard
917 Eastmont Dr., Columbia, SC.
Tickets are $12 for an in-person viewing.
Reserve your ticket today!
https://tinyurl.com/bp7hxfry
A Small Part of the Change – An Interview with Columbia Operatic Laboratory
By Emily Moffitt
Pictured from left to right COLab members, Christopher Lopez-Moore, Jennifer Mitchell, Jerryana Birch-Bibiloni, Joseph Birch, and Bradley Fuller
July welcomed a new Artist in Residence at the Richland Library—or rather, 5 of them! Columbia Operatic Laboratory (COLab) is a 501(c)(3) organization that started in 2015, initially created as a project through Spark, a music leadership initiative at the University of South Carolina’s School of Music. The group will serve as Artist-in-Residence at the Library from July to December; this is the group’s first artist residency. We spoke to board members Joseph Birch, Jerryana Birch-Bibiloni and Jennifer Mitchell about their goals for the rest of the year, what they will offer and life at the library.
The first couple weeks were dedicated to getting acclimated to life at the library, but COLab immediately felt welcome among the staff. The board noted that many of the librarians held an appreciation for opera. “It is encouraging to know that there’s already a love for the art form held here,” Birch-Bibiloni said. “We really want to connect with the other departments here and have a lot of big ideas on how to achieve that.” Their rehearsals make the guests walking around the second level stop in their tracks and tilt their head towards their meeting room, and strangers stop by their office hours to ask questions about their passion for opera. The board has taken this as an extremely good omen, giving them the platform to prove that opera is in fact, the complete opposite of a boring art form.
As part of the expectations for Artists in Residence, the group has created a curriculum of free workshops that caters to all the age groups that the library aims to work with. Mitchell will host a prop making workshop in the children’s area where kids will get to create their own props inspired by The Pirates of Penzance, which they will get to take home with them. For both younger audiences and parents, Mitchell states that she is extremely excited about their group story time event in November. “We’re hosting an aria and story time event where we read stories to young kids and listen to arias that correlate with the content of the story,” Mitchell said. “This provides early exposure to the world of opera for the young audiences while also helping defeat the stigma around the genre for adults, too.” COLab continues to look for more vocalists to support and welcome to their family, and they have an open audition day as part of their library schedule on August 28. “We always want to make sure that we have a safe and welcoming space for all of our performers,” Birch-Bibiloni said. “We hope that this invitation to audition expands our reach to audiences we do not always connect to as well.”
The desire to disperse the stigmas surrounding opera and to foster support for the library motivates COLab to make the absolute most of their residency. Mitchell has made note of the immense number of “statement questions” they have received and takes the opportunity to reiterate that all one needs to get into opera or to learn how to sing, is to simply want to learn. “We get a lot of questions asking about how we got into the field, and people are always surprised to hear just how much work is involved with opera outside of just singing and performing. Singing is not just a skill that someone is born with; if you want to be able to sing, you can absolutely learn how to do it!” The drive that the COLab board harbors to help develop the cultural landscape of Columbia is palpable; Birch made a poignant point about COLab in relation to the greater city limits: “COLab is a very communal project and mission for a misunderstood art form. We’re a small part of the change it always goes through and sharing it through a direct line of communication to the cultural scene of Columbia is meaningful. It is also an opportunity to marry the missions of both us and the Richland Library, which we have always been big supporters of as a system.” There are many moving parts behind an opera and putting one together. COLab has managed this challenge with aplomb as they continue to perform at venues of all kinds around Columbia, from churches to local dive bars, with the same effervescence and care. Their end-of-year performance of The Pirates of Penzance is a big production of theirs that the board decided to bring back, and it also functions as a sing-along for the audience to participate in. The production has always focused on community, but with their library residency in full swing, the board is able to make it even more community oriented from the beginning, incorporating rehearsals and opportunities to learn the lyrics into their outreach curriculum. COLab is filled with hard workers and catalysts for cultural change, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.
The full schedule of COLab’s educational events can be found on their Facebook page as well as the Richland Library’s calendar of events. Their next event is an informational session where audiences can learn more about COLab’s mission on August 24, from 6-7 p.m. They will also have a percent day at Sweetwater’s Coffee and Tea on Park Street on August 25. There is a plethora of educational resources available on behalf of the Richland Library and COLab about the art of opera for any interested audiences, including a “summer reading list” of books related to the field available for checking out.
Jenifer Bartell's Traveling Mercy -- Launching this Fall, Preorder NOW!
“A Jennifer Bartell poem unwinds like “a Black tea-stained river water… on its way to the Atlantic.” A Jennifer Bartell poem houses the bucolic gospel of a Bluefield griot and the abstract blues of our present world. Lucille Clifton appears with tiny packages of light. A stone grows gills and lives at the bottom of a woman-built lake. You find the poet in the mouth of the fish. Jennifer Bartell makes fabulous poems. Traveling Mercy is a fabulous debut.” –Terrance Hayes, MacArthur Genius and author of American Sonnets for my Past & Future Assassin
“Bartell’s Traveling Mercy is such an intimate history of a Black girl raised by Black women, raised by church fans and magnolia memories, dream-hymns of Black people pushing through mud and disease and held together by traditions. This rich collection of poems, by a Black girl who knows how and why to style okra seeds in her hair, spills with fat oysters and a community’s petrified pounded grace. Bartell assures she will never give us one chance to hold our breath, as we jump into this never-ending deep end of blazing life, therefore, prepare to be drenched.” –Nikky Finney, National Book Award Winner and author of Head Off & Split
Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the Poet Laureate of the City of Columbia. She teaches at Spring Valley High School, where she was named the 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year. She was born and raised in Bluefield, a community of Johnsonville, SC. She received the MFA in Poetry from the University of South Carolina. Her debut book of poetry, Traveling Mercy, will be released in November 2023 under the name Jennifer Bartell. Her poetry has been published in Obsidian, Callaloo, pluck!, As/Us, The Raleigh Review, kinfolks: a journal of black expression, Jasper Magazine, the museum americana, Scalawag, and Kakalak, among others. An alumna of Agnes Scott College, Jennifer has fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole. She is pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science at USC to become a school librarian. You can reach her online at www.jenniferbartellpoet.com.
Traveling Mercy navigates the journeys of a Black woman from rural South Carolina. Her travels transcend time as she encounters history, nature, and grief. She sits with the eldest residents before her birth, with the first ancestor who came to these shores, with her parents through their marriage, and through her own loneliness in the wake of their deaths. Planting as she harvests, this book is a lament and a love story to survival.
Pre-order Traveling Mercy for $20.99 (USD)
This is an advanced sales price that will increase after its release
Traveling Mercy will be released on November 17, 2023. The pre-order sale price is guaranteed through September 15, 2023. Reserve your copy today!
COLUMBIA REPERTORY DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS “IN OUR TIME” FOR TWO EVENINGS AT CMFA ARTSPACE
Professional dance company from Columbia, SC presents fourth annual concert on August 18th and 19th, 2023
The Columbia Repertory Dance Company will present a full evening of dance for two nights at the CMFA Artspace, 914 Pulaski Street, August 18th and 19th, 2023 at 8 pm.
IN OUR TIME explores the stages of life and addresses the human capacity for vulnerability, strength, and growth.
With IN OUR TIME, Columbia Repertory Dance Company presents their fourth annual summer concert and second as a nonprofit organization. Featuring South Carolina choreographers Angela Gallo, Erin Bailey, Dale Lam, Kiyomi Mercadante Ramirez, Jennifer Deckert and Andre Megerdichian, and Stephanie Wilkins, the organization will mount an evening of versatile and exhilarating entertainment that demonstrates the depth and range of talent in dance in Columbia, and follows their mission statement in helping to both employ SC dance artists and ultimately provide dance opportunities that will allow exceptionally skilled professional dancers the opportunity to call Columbia, SC their year-round home.
The company will present works that portray the unique perspective of each choreographer. By collaborating with local artists and organizations and blending the highly physical with the highly emotional, Columbia Repertory Dance Company aims to create an experience that draws people in and encourages them to make dance a regular part of their arts consumption.
Pictured front - Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, co-founder & managing director, formerly of Spectrum Dance Theatre (Seattle) and principal dancer with Columbia City Ballet
Left to right - Megan Saylors - who has danced with Joel Hall and Dancers and Innervation Dance Cooperative in Chicago
Olivia Timmerman - apprentice - currently pursuing a BFA in Choreography at Coker College
Lindsay Fallow - freelance artist
photos from “Two Vulnerable People” photo credit Meghann Padgett
In 2018, co-founders Bonnie Boiter-Jolley and Stephanie Wilkins founded the Columbia Summer Repertory Dance Company with a desire to offer dancers more options in a city focused heavily on ballet. They started with the financial sponsorship of the Jasper Project, a plan focused on summer performances (Columbia’s dance offseason) and a sold-out debut performance in 2019 which was followed by a sold-out concert in 2021. The company has extended their season length and become a 501c3 non-profit organization. The group’s popularity among Columbia natives comes from their commitment to exploring refreshing narratives and styles of dance in their work.
The Columbia Repertory Dance Company will perform IN OUR TIME on Friday, August 18th, 2023, at 8 PM and Saturday, August 19th, 2023, at 8 PM at CMFA Artspace (914 Pulaski St, Columbia, SC 29201). Admission is $30 for this event, and more info and tickets can be found at www.coladance.com or https://donorbox.org/events/479213 for Friday and https://donorbox.org/events/479216 for Saturday.
Pictured left to right - Ashlee Taylor who performs with Moving Body Dance and the Johnson Company in addition to CRDC
Sakura Oka - 2017 World Ballet Competition Bronze Medalist who has performed with Columbia Classical Ballet, Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet, and Columbia City Ballet
This program is supported in part by H-tax funding from the City of Columbia and by the South Carolina Arts Commission which is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborates in its work with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and South Arts.
~~~~~
The Columbia Repertory Dance Company’s mission is to broaden the experience of professional dance artists and patrons in Columbia, SC through multidisciplinary collaborative performances year-round. We aim to retain the talents of South Carolina dance artists and provide a spectrum of professional opportunities while inspiring and developing a broader and deeper understanding of dance in Columbia and surrounding areas.
For more information about the Columbia Repertory Dance Company, please visit www.coladance.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram
Celebrating the 2023 Play Right Series and Everyone Involved ~ a message from Cindi
Congratulations to the Cast & Crew of the PRS 2023 Winning Play THERAPY by Lonetta Thompson!
Cast & Crew of Lonetta Thompson’s THERAPY
Emily Deck Harrill, Ric Edwards, Marilyn Matheus, Michelle Jacobs, Allison Allgood, Elena Martinez-Vidal and center front Lonetta Thompson
Forgive me if this message still reads a little giddy but we’ve just completed the culmination of the Jasper Project’s 2023 Play Right Series and it just feels so good!
Here’s a little history. I came up with the idea for the Play Right Series in 2017 as a way to promote and support original playwrighting from SC artists while at the same time gently informing members of the community about how much time, energy, talent, and WORK HOURS go into the creation of theatre.
I have this theory that one of the reasons arts (of all disciplines) are not valued as they should be is that, due to our lack of proper arts education and appreciation in schools, among other reasons, the average working South Carolinian doesn’t learn and build their worldview knowing that in addition to art being a talent, it is also work. If the arts are not a part of one’s life, many people think of art as a hobby or something only children engage in until they grow out of it. Think piano and ballet lessons. The average person may not discern the difference in hobbyists, crafters, and artists—all important parts of our culture, but also distinctly different. They may not realize how many of their fellow South Carolinians make their livings as professional artists or in one of the unique and highly skilled jobs that fall under the profession of arts administration.
When we started the Play Right Series in 2017 with our first play, Sharks and Other Lovers written by David Randall Cook and directed by Larry Hembree, I hoped that by inviting Community Producers to become a part of the process they would act as diplomats of local theatre, sharing their experiences and encouraging others to make live theatre part of their entertainment options. The plan was—and still is—that we ask Community Producers to invest $250 each in the production of a brand-new juried play by a SC playwright with their investment going to pay a cast and crew (and playwright) to workshop that play from the first table reading to a ticketed staged reading. (Some, like Bill and Jack, donate even more.) The CPs are invited to meet with the cast and crew over the course of a month or so and take part in the workshopping of the script before serving as our guests of honor at the public staged reading.
In 2022, Chad Henderson directed last year’s winning play, Moon Swallower by Colby Quick to a SRO audience. It was almost a full production of the play.
Last night, under the direction of Elena Martinez-Vidal with stage management by Emily Deck Harrill, this year’s Community Producers and generous sponsors produced the staged reading of Therapy by SC theatre artist Lonetta Thompson. The cast included Marilyn Mattheus, Allison Allgood, Michelle Jacobs, and Ric Edwards. Illustrious SC playwright and Jasper Project board of directors member Jon Tuttle oversaw the entire project for the second year in a row and all I did was bring cookies.
RIC EDWARDS
ALLISON ALLGOOD
MARILYN MATTHEUS
MICHELLE JACOBS
LONETTA THOMPSON (LEFT) AND EMILY DECK HARRILL
Some of last year’s CPs were so pleased with the project in 2022 that they came back this year –thank you to Kirkland and James Smith and to the incredibly supportive Bill Schmidt for this. New CPs and sponsors included Shannon and Steven Huffman, Jack and Dora Ann McKenzie, Betsy Newman, and Amy and Vincent Sheheen, as well as new JP board members Keith Tolen and Libby Campbell. JP board president Wade Sellers and I were CPs again, as well.
This morning, messages streamed in on the group email thread Jon initiated for ease in communication, showering each other, actors, CPs, and playwright alike with congratulations and heartfelt feedback. Keith Tolen says, “I will never watch a performance the same without thinking of the work that makes it seem effortless. Thanks to all because you made it an experience that I will not soon forget.” Kirkland Smith says, “It was a wonderful experience and I very much appreciate your openness, honesty, and talent!”
AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK
AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK
AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK
It is extremely unusual for me to use the term “I” when referencing anything the Jasper Project does. That’s because without an enthusiastically working board of directors who share the same passion that board president Wade Sellers and I have about the importance of service to our fellow artists and arts administrators, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything. But this time, I’m so proud of how this little seed of an idea of mine has been implemented and improved upon by the generous and talented individuals who participated in Play Right Series 2023, that I want to claim it! It’s a legacy thing, but also, the Play Right Series is Jasper at its finest. An idea becomes a mission and good people play parts small and large to fulfill that mission, making it a reality.
Congratulations to everyone involved in Play Right Series 2023. In addition to everyone already mentioned, this includes board member Bert Easter, who shared some of his beautiful items from Easter Antiques at the Red Lion for the stage set, and to Ed Madden for helping Bert haul said stuff to and from CMFA; also to Christina Xan, Libby Campbell, and Kristin Cobb for working the event; to Bekah Rice for her graphic arts skills and for laying out the book that many attendees and all CPs and sponsors took home with them; to Bob Jolley at Muddy Ford Press for donating his time and financial resources to this project; and to One Columbia and Columbia Music Festival Association for rehearsal and performance space.
Clearly, we have the village that it takes to birth new art in Columbia, SC.
Poetry of the People with Al Black featuring Jeff Bryson
Given his years of service to the poets of SC and beyond, Jasper asked board of directors member Al Black to curate a weekly addition to Jasper Online featuring some of his favorite local poetry. A Poet of the People himself, Al produces gatherings of writers and musicians both in Columbia and throughout the Southeast. He is the author of two collections of works, I Only Left For Tea, and Man With Two Shadows.
I have chosen W. Jefferson Bryson as our first Poet of the People, because of the unvarnished immediacy of his truths; no bells and whistles or other affectations; just his truths in his words.
I know Jeff as poet and sometimes musician who grew up in the upstate and spent most of his adult life in the midlands as a social worker and then twelve years as the State Ombudsman and still was able to retain his integrity and humanity.
PTSP: Post Traumatic Stress Poetry 1970
How it Was
Until it Wasn’t
Two years down
How quickly it happens
On a Wednesday
Walking a path
Crickets and comrades
Then little dark men
In black pajamas
With old AKs
As big as they are
Leap out ahead of us
And scream and fire
And their aim
So poor, so terrified
Of hulking, red-eyed
American Devils
Their shots tear apart
The jungle around us
We aim together
And render them
Red mist, mostly
Painting the foliage
And the ground
All around.
And suddenly
Wednesday, again
Tour over, discharge
A duffle-bag
Jeans and a work shirt
Commercial flight
DC-9 to San Diego
Teach Your Children
On the radio
And all I know
Is friendly
Or foe
And me, now
Without a weapon.
Flashback, With Soundtrack
Listening to Creedence
Reminds me of the jungle
The sound of M-16 fire
Of helicopters, of brown water
Of 50 cals, of F-4 Phantoms
The smell of rice paddies
Hot in the afternoon
Or drowning in rain
The smell of Napalm
The smells of Saigon
Viet Nam.
My Brothers
My God
Where are they
What has happened
To us all.
Zero-Dark-Thirty, One More Time
Three-thirty in the dark. Again.
And I’m awake. Again.
And I remember. Again.
All gave some. Some gave all.
And the elephant grass
Grows tall and thick
Through my memory
And I forget
Until I dream.
And the sound of M-16 fire
Suddenly returns in the deep night
And the thump of 50 cals
I feel them in my ribs
My own heartbeat
Even now, quickens
And I remember
The smell of Napalm
And screaming death
And I will sleep no more
Tonight.
Steppenwolf
You hear
Magic Carpet Ride
I see fire
Blossoming, rising
Red and black
Mushroom clouds
Of Napalm
In forever-green
Jungle.
Hueys
Cobra gunships
F-4 Phantoms.
Burning villages
Cluster bombs.
It won’t hurt you
It only kills plants.
Mekong catfish,
Twelve feet long.
China Beach.
Saigon.
Vietnam.
Some of us
Never went.
Some of us
Never left.
Something As Simple As a Song
Creedence
Steppenwolf
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Da Nang
Dok To
Long Binh
My Lai
Khe Sanh
Hue
Suddenly
How can it have come to this?
To be a sick, sad old man
Alone in a small apartment
In a raging city of angry strangers
All my comrades
Lost or gone
Ghosts of memory
Living or dead
And the greatest tragedy of all
Not a trace of senility
Or forgetfulness
Or rest
Or peace
In me.
W. Jefferson Bryson is a retired Social Worker. He has spent a lot of time with Vietnam vets and heard a lot of stories. Sometimes they come back in bits and snatches in poems like these.
A Poem by Randy Spencer
In this summer of Oppenheimer (and Barbie) mania, Chapin poet Randy Spencer was reminded of this poem, which he read in 2002 at a gathering for Richard Rhodes when he came to USC for a discussion of his "The Making of the Atomic Bomb." Jasper is pleased to share this with you 21 years later.
Georgia O'Keeffe Discusses Her Poem
[1945] My Ghost Ranch in New Mexico is due North
of Los Alamos. I have painted two canvases of the sky
pouring through the pelvic bones of cows, the first where
that light is deep blue, and the second where the sky turns
yellow and blood seems to pore from the circle of bone.
Pelvis III, 1944, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 40
Pelvis Series, Red and Yellow, 1945, 36 x 48
Pelvic bones, held up, are wondrous against the sky's blue
I felt would always be there, fixed, long after Man's
Destructiveness is finished. Cut sharply, they are a beauty
At the center of something unique, both horrifying and grand,
Empty, yet keenly alive. Perfect ovals, my eye captures
Them as elopements toward Infinity, absent any middle ground,
No perspective intervening between Birth and Death, treasures
I searched for among the camposantos until they were found.
Now red encircles the yellow, the acetabulum, the vinegar cup,
The foramen of blood, Batter, then, my heart,
Oppenheimer, quoting Donne, Three-personed Deity, now his Trinity,
His opening of an orifice for God to sculpt.
What colors, I would ask, could be left for the pacifist artist
Who magnifies emptiness, who paints Death against the desert sky.
- Randy Spencer
Photos courtesy of the Georgia O’Keefe Museum
Randy Spencer is a retired child psychiatrist living on the lake in Chapin. He is a published poet and short story writer, who most recently was a Pushcart Award nominee for a poem about the Ukraine war. His upcoming book from Muddy Ford Press is a series of interconnected poems taking place in Andersonville Military Prison in Georgia during the Civil War, but the themes are universal and timeless. He is currently working on a novella that reimagines Remarque's classic World War II novel, A Time to Love and a Time to Die, but is set in the current conflict in Ukraine.
Deadline for Fall Lines Extended to August 14th! Whew!
It’s not too late to submit your poetry and prose to the 2023 Fall Lines - a literary convergence journal and competition.
Because at Jasper, we know how it feels to juggle art and life, we’re extending the deadline for submissions to 2023 Fall Lines volume X until midnight Monday, August 14th.
This gives you two weekends to create a poem or some flash fiction, or to finish and polish that short story you’ve been building in your mind, if not on the screen or paper.
Don’t forget that this year we’re offering Three Prizes!
The Saluda River Prize for Poetry and the Broad River Prize for Prose, sponsored by the Friends of the Richland Library, as well as the Combahee River Prize for South Carolina writer of color in either poetry or prose, sponsored by the SC Academy of Authors.
So relax. You have plenty of time to burnish your words and send them on to Jasper.
We can’t wait to read what you’ve written!
Music for All Ages–The Columbia Arts Academy Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
By Liz Stalker
Saturday, August 12th, the Columbia Arts Academy will be hosting open houses at all of their locations to celebrate their 20th Anniversary! The open houses will take place that day from 3-6 p.m., and the public is encouraged to stop by any of the three locations spread throughout the Columbia area: the Columbia Arts Academy (Rosewood Dr.), the Lexington School of Music (Barr Rd.), and the Irmo Music Academy (Lake Murray Blvd.). The festivities will include free food, tours, and an “instrument petting zoo” where guests can get a taste of the various instruments the school provides lessons for. As a part of the celebration, the school will also be giving away door prizes, including a grand prize of a year of free music lessons!
Starting in 2003 as a small-scale studio with founder Marty Fort as the only instructor to 30 students, the Columbia Arts Academy has since grown into the largest private music school in the state of South Carolina. The journey has involved plenty of ups and downs. In fact, when Fort first acquired the Rosewood space, he had a lot of work to do to make it habitable for his business. “When I started Rosewood,” he says, “there were rats, there was broken glass, there was no carpet, no wall. It was $60,000 on a Visa and a MasterCard to get Rosewood off the ground.”
But get it off the ground he did, with the school expanding into a second location just a decade later in 2015. This expansion was necessary as the Columbia Arts Academy had hit 500 students and counting, a huge milestone for the company, though it pales in comparison to the over 1700 students the school now serves.
The school offers instruction for an incredibly wide range of instruments–piano, guitar, voice, bass, drums, banjo, ukulele, violin, and even mandolin. Fort himself is well-versed in most, if not all, of these instruments. In the spirit of modesty, he admits that violin would likely be his weakest instrument but notes that, “Once you really lock into music, there’s so much crossover.”
The school also sees an incredibly diverse age range among its students, with the youngest of its pupils being just three and four years old and its oldest musical scholars approaching their eighties and nineties. This broad range of ages reflects the school’s highest purpose: to serve the musical passions of the community at large.
In addition to music lessons, the Columbia Arts Academy has provided opportunities for its students to perform at highly respected and admired venues and performance halls, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Guest House at Graceland. Most recently, students traveled to New York to perform at the Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall.
Closer to home, the Columbia Arts Academy band, including Fort himself, performed alongside Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica, at the Columbia Museum of Art, an opportunity that opened the school up to a massive platform.
Fort is immensely proud of the growth and success his business has seen over the last two decades. He has such an obvious and enthusiastic love for each location he has been able to bring to life, describing them all as “kind of like kids–they all have their own personalities.” Their perpetuity within the community is a testament to not only his robust work ethic and the excellence of his staff, but the surrounding community’s love and appreciation for music.
“You know, most businesses don't make it five years,” he says. “20 years is a long time, I’m just so proud, and now, I think for me, it's a reset. High fives, we've got a great party planned.”
Regarding this party, Fort says he’s most excited just to see the community turn out and show their support. “We love it when people come and check us out,” he says. “We work very hard to keep our places nice, clean, looking awesome, and what I'm looking forward to is people coming and saying ‘hi.’”
For more information visit the Columbia Arts Academy website, or call or text (803)-787-0931.
David Dohan on Blurring the Boundaries Between Imagination and the Natural World
David Dohan’s Jasper Galleries show at Sound Bites is coming to a close after a month of sharing his unique perspective on the natural world.
A Columbia artist, Dohan was born in Connecticut of Italian, Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, and Polish descent.
“My family, generations of fisherman, carpenters, mechanics, and engineers, moved down to Naples, Florida, in the early 80’s for work in a place that was just starting to boom,” he recalls, “There I grew up amongst temperate pine forests, lowland swamps of the everglades, limestone filtered lakes, and crystal-clear waters of the Florida Keys.”
It wasn’t long after this that Dohan had his first experience with art, but it was not simply making art in a class that served as the catalyst—it was early childhood defiance.
“The power of art and how it affects people has been burned into my memory from a very early age. My first memorable moment of its power was as early as first grade. When the teacher had to step away for an emergency and told us all to remain seated…I grabbed my chair and slid it up close to the chalkboard, grabbed the chalk, and stepped up onto it,” he reminisces, “On my tippy toes I drew the biggest cartoon dinosaur I could. A three-foot-tall T-Rex that, as I recall, looked amazingly like Barney. The students were amazed, and for the first time in my life I felt talented. My heart is filled with such pride whenever someone says my art is beautiful.”
That moment led Dohan to draw every day until the point, as a teenager, he never left home without a sketchbook and tools. When it was time to go to college, he knew an art path was the only option. He chose to attend Ringling School of Art and Design, where he graduated with a BA in Fine Arts, majoring specifically in computer animation and video production. At Ringling, however, he experimented with a plethora of tools and techniques.
“Ringling is renowned for teaching classic foundational techniques with experimentation of all mediums while being trained in composition, color, design, and appeal with a focus on the ways of the masters,” he shares, “It was vigorous and immersive at the same time. We were given creative freedom but had to follow specific goals in order to complete our projects as we rotated through all the mediums.”
The mediums Dohan explored there included charcoal, pastel, oils, acrylics, clay, wood, metal, photography, and printmaking—however, among all these, one stood out: watercolor.
“I love the way watercolor is immersive, unpredictable, and chaotic. I found myself drawn to the way it flows, reacts, and is defined by the paper, gravity, and additives in the water,” he shares, “I found it challenging to control and it led me to search for the best techniques to produce the qualities I was looking for.”
As he has honed his techniques over the years, Dohan finds that he utilizes various ones even today as it is the subject matter that truly determines the technique.
“Sometimes I do a piece with straight on brushwork, wet on wet, dry on dry, or washes. I also like to photograph my subject in multiple angles and lighting. This allows me to construct my artwork using this imagery to produce my compositions,” he details,” I use one of my favorites which is masking and pouring. It allows me to fully think of the subject and create the details needed to fully capture the subject while building detail with additional techniques like scraping, stippling, spattering, even using soap, and salt for texture.”
To prepare for this exploration of subject matter and technique, Dohan often starts with an image; this image may be a specific, singular leaf or an idea in his head that he needs to storyboard and sketch.
As he emphasizes, “Finally after completing hundreds of thousands of marks the piece is completed but only when every millimeter of the page has been realized, all positive and negative space has been balanced, and the idea can be understood from a stranger's perspective.”
The image these strangers will find when looking at Dohan’s work will almost always be that of the natural world, specifically landscapes.
“I always felt landscapes are very relaxing to paint. I enjoy being able to prepare some paper, throw some paint on it and just see what comes of it,” he explains, “This is how the canyon series evolved. They were experiments in different palettes and techniques and how the paint reacted to different papers. I slowly evolved them and pushed myself to create depth, perspective, form, texture, and build each piece with each additional technique and readjusting with each addition.”
Though Dohan paints landscapes, paints images of the natural world as it is, this does not limit his creativity—not in the least. In fact, it compounds it.
“I draw a lot from my imagination. Creating characters, alien worlds, underwater reefs, and landscapes that I have gleaned from my various travels around the country. I love science, technology, and the natural world,” he effuses, “I am amazed at how our universe works. The physics of it and the life in it. I try to see good in everything, all the while, trying to make it through this life without harmfully colliding with everything else. I am amazed by the flow of time, growth, and how life evolves. How everything affects the things around it.”
For his show at Sound Bites, Dohan decided to select a number of pieces from across his career, a sampling of his vast imagination’s take on the world’s vast landscape.
“All of these pieces are from different time periods of my career, very early to quite recent. I tried to show a good variety of styles, mediums, and subject matter. I also pulled some pieces out of my personal collection that I have held onto for decades,” he intimates, “I hold a very personal attachment to all of my artwork since I mostly do my artwork for myself. I try to create something that I feel is beautiful and that I would put on the walls of my home. I believe that people try to surround themselves with beauty and to showcase their personal style.”
For those who viewed the show at SoundBites—and all those who view his work in the future—Dohan’s main goal is to craft a bond between patron and painting: “I just hope that someone will have a special connection with the art I create and love it enough to own it. Only then it can have the chance to show those around you a little piece of your personality that is sometimes untold.”
And connections he has made. Dohan’s art career has a thread of success running through it, having a healthy handful of recognition and exhibition under his belt, including:
1994 – First year college works - The Eleven Young Artist Exibition – Cove Gallery, Naples, Florida
1995 – Naples Art Association Scholarship in Art Competition Award – Emerging Artist Show
1998 – Ringling School of Art and Design – Best of Ringling Award – Annual Juried Student Exhibition
1998 – Siggraph 98 -International Conference of Computer Graphics and Interactive Technology
Senior Thesis – The Wonder of It All – Computer Animated short - Was included in the broadcasts on kiosks throughout the conference.
1998 – Sixth Annual Digital Salon – Wonder of it All - Computer Animated short
1998 – Ventues- Visual Art Museum – New York
1999 – Circulo de Bellas Artes – Madrid, Spain
1999 – Triennale di Milano - Milan, Italy
1999 – Centro de Cultura Contemporanea – Barcelona, Spain
1999 – Sala de Exposiciones CAM – Alicante, Spain
2000 – Electronics Exhibition – University of Tampa Scarfone/Hartley Galleries
Dohan’s work may come down from Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites this weekend, but he isn’t going anywhere.
“I have the Cottontown Art Crawl in the spring of next year lined up. I try to have a collectors show every year. I invite my fan base to come and look at the newest of my works, but a venue has not been decided,” he shares, “I am always working on new pieces and these days they take longer and longer. Especially since life sometimes gets in the way of its creation.”
You can see Dohan’s current and past work at his website or on his Facebook page.
Curious patrons and interested artists can learn more about Jasper Galleries here.
SC Academy of Authors Sponsors Jasper's Combahee Prize for a SC Writer of Color in this year's Fall Lines
The Jasper Project is delighted to announce that the South Carolina Academy of Authors will be the sponsor of the 2023 Combahee Prize for a SC writer of color in this year’s Fall Lines – a literary convergence journal.
Founded in 1986, the South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA) is a nonprofit organization which recognizes distinguished South Carolina writers, living and deceased, through induction into the Academy. It also supports developing writers with its Coker Fellowships and Student Prizes in Poetry and Short Fiction.
"The SCAA is very pleased to join with The Jasper Project in supporting the Combahee River Prize,” says Marybeth Evans, chairman of its Board of Governors. “The Academy is dedicated to nurturing and supporting South Carolina’s literary talent. It deeply values the multicultural diversity displayed in the work of all the extraordinary writers in our state."
The SC Academy of Authors joins the Friends of Richland Library in sponsoring these three prizes: the Broad River Prize for Prose, the Saluda River Prize for Poetry, and the Combahee River Prize for a SC Writer of Color in Poetry or Prose. Each prize offers $250 cash and publication in Fall Lines - a literary convergence, volume X.
The deadline for submitting your work for consideration in this year’s Fall Lines - a literary convergence is July 31, 2023.
Submit to Fall Lines volume X here.
Jasper Wants YOUR Review of the Barbie Film!
In the 24 some odd hours since the movie Barbie has been released Jasper has been reading some fascinating insights and reviews on social media. Clearly, this film is serving as a catalyst for emotions, retrospection, contemplation — all the feels.
It strikes us here at Jasper that by sharing our thoughts about the film we might also grow as people, as film viewers, and as a community of individuals who want the best for our children, ourselves, and each other.
Please send us your personal reviews of Barbie as well as the take-away message you brought home with you. Your response is important and valid. We’ll publish a selection of them in next week’s Sundays with Jasper (subscribe at bottom of page link).
Just send your words to us as an email, a word doc, or a pasted clip from your socials and let us know if you are cool with us using your name or if you’d like to be anonymous. The email is JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com and we’re looking forward to hearing what you think.
JJ Burton on Being Self-Taught, Teaching, and Expression Through Acrylic
JJ Burton, also known as J2ester, is a young local artist far from new to the Columbia scene and presently featured as our July Tiny Gallery artist.
A native from the Philippines, Burton has been drawing since a child—nearly as long as she can remember. Painting, however, started in 2005, strangely enough due to her love of koi. In her desire to explore through replication the living creatures she loved, she began watching painting online, particularly Bob Ross.
As she began exploring painting, she decided to experiment with acrylic, specifically. A match made in art, she has never gone back, with acrylic being the only medium she uses. She only deviates to place her creations in small pendants so that her art can become wearable.
Burton describes the style she places on canvas and pendant alike as “impressionistic,” mostly painting “animal and tree subjects.”
“[My themes] are nature, water, animal anything that captures movement or reflection. I also explore from time to time, some abstract that I tried,” Burton details, “I wanted to capture some movement of the paints. I select colors; mostly I am drawn to blues family then try to express how I feel and capture it through the movement of the paint.”
Her process typically starts with an idea and a song. She turns on her meditation music and, with an image already in her mind, approaches the canvas.
“Whenever I have an idea, I try to record those in the [sketchbook]. When I am ready to paint, I go to my book and select one to paint,” Burton shares, “It goes pretty easily if it is a smaller piece. Larger ones or commission pieces take me forever to decide if I am finished—sometimes I rest for a day or two to check it again if I needed something to add.”
For this show, Burton is showing new works, all created this year. There are a few canvases and a handful of hand-painted necklaces that feature both abstract images and figures like parrots, zebras, or her beloved koi fish.
“The necklaces are fun to make; it always starts with some abstract, then later on I somehow see a figure in it, and finish it with more details,” Burton explains, “Those are the fun ones cause you never know what will be the finished product; it is always a surprise. I hope that people see the feeling or vision I see in this world through my art.”
Self-taught, Burton now teaches her own classes in the city. Being able to teach students what she loves as well as seeing the reactions of those who interact with her art are the highlights in her career.
“[I love] to see the eyes of an individual light up seeing my art and connecting to them. With every smile and joy it brings to them looking at it is an amazing sight,” she intimates, “One lady cried looking at my horse field, and she said it related to when she was young.”
Burton’s work will be up until July 31st on our virtual gallery site. To see Burton’s work after the show, you can find her at Soda City most Saturdays, restaurants around the Columbia area, and various festivals and events. You can also follow her on Facebook @ JJ Burton, YouTube @backyardkoi&art, Instagram @_j2ester_, and her website.
Stormwater Announces Group Exhibition as part of BIPOC Residency Program
From our friends at Stormwater Studios —
Stormwater Studios is thrilled to announce a group exhibition titled "Cultural Heritage | Creative Expression” which showcases the finalists of the inaugural Stormwater one-year Residency Program, designed to support and celebrate diverse voices within the artistic community. The program was made possible by the generous contribution of an anonymous donor with matching funds from One Columbia, to help foster an inclusive culture at Stormwater. The exhibition will be on display July 19-30th, with an Opening Reception on July 20th, from 5-8pm, and an Artist Talk and Closing Reception on July 30th, from 1-3pm.
The Stormwater Residency aims to provide a professional working environment that welcomes all forms of visual creative expression. As part of this year-long residency, the selected artist will have the opportunity to step outside their usual creative settings, allowing for reflection, research, experimentation with various materials, and the creation of a comprehensive body of work, which will culminate in a solo exhibition.
To identify the resident artist, Stormwater engaged prominent leaders in the art community to form a dedicated committee. Drawing upon their extensive expertise, the committee thoughtfully nominated and meticulously narrowed down the selection, culminating in the final selection process at Stormwater.
In recognition of the exceptional talent among all the residency finalists, Stormwater will proudly host a two-week art exhibition that will serve as a platform to showcase their extraordinary work. The participating artists include Nakisa Beigi, Malik Greene, Raishad Glover, Lori Starnes Isom, Quincy Pugh, Maya Smith, and Cedric Umoja. Through a diverse range of artistic expressions, the artists comment on their respective cultures, the immigrant experience, and convey emotions through poignant and nostalgic narratives. The themes explored will revolve around identity, culture, and politics, facilitating a deeper connection between the viewers and the artwork.
The exhibition will be open to the public from July 19th to July 30th, providing an opportunity for art lovers and the wider community to experience the powerful and thought-provoking artworks created by these exceptional artists. To kick off the exhibition, an opening reception will be held on July 20th from 5-8pm, allowing attendees to engage with the artists and gain deeper insights into their creative processes. Furthermore, a closing reception and artist talk will take place on July 30th from 1-3pm. Art historian and critic, Frank C. Martin, II, Ph.D., a member of l’Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art (AICA - an international art critics’ association) will act as moderator. Dr. Martin will provide an opportunity for attendees to engage in meaningful conversations with the individuals whose works will be on display, intending to enhance their understanding of the artists' visions.
This program is sponsored by South Carolina Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture, and heritage.
Storyboarding Workshop with Corey Davis at 701 CCA
Corey "Roc Bottom" Davis Storyboarding Workshop
701 Center for Contemporary Art
Saturday, July 15, 2023
1 pm to - 3 pm
Join multi-talented creative, Corey “Roc Bottom” Davis for a workshop exploring the process of storyboarding. In conjunction with Tyrone Geter’s Artist in Residence at 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Corey will guide the participants through the history of graphic novels while helping them develop their own hero’s storyline.
Corey Davis has vast knowledge and expertise in utilizing ink and pencils to create comics. He will explain how to communicate ideas through visual scenes in a sequence during this workshop. You will learn the step-by-step creative process to create your own storyboard. By the end of the session, you will have a storyboard outlined to take home and use again to develop your own characters and stories and share the new worlds you create with the community.
For more information on Roc Bottom and to view his work please visit https://www.rocbottomstudios.com
For more information about the workshop please visit https://www.701cca.org/.../storyboarding-workshop-with.../
We are located at 701 Whaley Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Please take the elevator to the second floor to the Main Exhibition Gallery.
Chapin Theatre Company's 3rd Annual 10 Minute-ish Play Festival
Chapin theatre Company’s third annual 10 Minute Play Festival will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 3 & 4, 2023, at our new building at 830 Columbia Ave, Chapin, SC.
Submissions of short plays or sketches written by local peeps is a great opportunity to see your words come alive on stage. If selected, you will have an option of directing and/or casting your play.
Specific requirements:
Playwright must live in or be from South Carolina.
Must be 10 minutes or less.
Maximum of 5 characters
Must have minimal set and technical requirements
Keep it PG 13 or less
Should be in a "play format" and saved as a pdf, using our guidelines. Play title and page number must be written on each page
This is a blind submission, so your name must NOT be written on the script
Only two plays will be accepted by each playwright. Only one can be included in the festival
Winning plays cannot be revised after selection
All entrants must complete and submit the entry form