Join visual artist Alex Ruskell on Wednesday December 3rd at 6 pm at The Hallway: Community Art Gallery at 701 Whaley for the opening reception of his exhibition.
Special LIVE performance by Les Merry Chevaliers!
The artist Alex Ruskell with Les Merry Chevaliers
By Christina Xan
Carla Damron writes with one foot in the world of fiction and the other in the very real, very personal world of social work. In Columbia, SC where Damron herself is deeply rooted, her books feel less like imported thrillers and more like dispatches from our own streets. Her last novel, The Orchid Tattoo (Koehler Books, 2022), introduced readers to Georgia Thayer, a social worker caught up in a case involving human trafficking. With The Weird Girl (Stillwater River Publications, 2025) Damron continues Georgia’s story, this time shifting the focus to the fentanyl epidemic. The message is clear: these crises don’t just happen out there. They are happening here, woven into the fabric of Columbia. And even more striking, these crises don’t just happen but are willfully created and supported.
The plot begins with a party. Sara Clark, a high schooler, leaves the Hawthorne family’s gathering impaired by fentanyl and is struck by a Hawthorne car. Who was behind the wheel remains unclear at first, and the uncertainty becomes central to the novel’s unraveling. It looks at first like a teenage tragedy compounded by privilege, the kind of scandal that might be swept aside by lawyers and money. But in Damron’s telling, this hit-and-run becomes the key to a much larger story about how fentanyl seeps into schools, families, and emergency rooms. By the time Sara is stabilized in the ER where Georgia works, we’ve already seen this community is tainted: Cooper’s father Fletcher, a solicitor with political ambitions, will do anything to protect his son, even if it means leaning on Marcus Landry, a local drug boss. What follows isn’t so much an investigation as a slow peeling back of how deep the rot goes.
As in The Orchid Tattoo, Georgia is the heart of the novel. She is a foster mother as well as a social worker, and that dual role makes the crisis achingly personal. Her teenager Tessa hovers at the edges of temptation, just one bad decision away from the ER cases Georgia sees night after night. And Georgia herself isn’t a flawless hero: she struggles with the stigma of her own mental health history, and DSS officials question whether she is “fit” to foster at all. That tension—between how institutions judge and how individuals care—gives the book its power.
Pulling from her own experience in care work, Damron writes in short, fast-moving chapters that keep the pages turning. Her style isn’t about excess lyricism or flourish but about clarity and momentum. Conversations carry much of the weight, and sometimes you can feel the exposition slip in a bit too neatly. But the accessibility is the point: the book is designed to move, to pull you through the overlapping crises with emotional immediacy. She also shifts perspectives, weaving between Georgia, the teenagers, the Hawthornes, and even those entangled in the drug trade. That kaleidoscopic structure keeps the story from narrowing into a single vantage point and forces us to see the crisis as it ripples across every layer of the community. The result is a thriller that doesn’t just keep you hooked but keeps you alert to what’s at stake. You don’t forget that Georgia’s exhaustion mirrors that of real ER staff, or that Sara’s overdose echoes the tragedies that have played out in real schools.
What continues to help The Weird Girl stand out from more formulaic crime fiction is how it blends genre with social realism. The bones of a police procedural are here—an abduction, a cover-up, a climactic raid—but Damron keeps pulling us away from the lone-wolf detective narrative. Georgia is no hard-bitten cop; she’s a woman whose strength lies in care, in community, in refusing to look away from suffering. Even the simmering tension between her and Detective Lou, which could feel like a genre cliché, is rooted in trust and mutual reliance rather than sweeping romance. The book isn’t interested in distracting us with passion so much as reminding us that these characters are human, bruised and still reaching for connection.
The strongest thread of all is the way Damron interweaves the personal and the systemic. On one side, our characters each have their own struggles: Georgia holding onto her foster daughter, Sara fighting for her life, Lily Grace abducted after witnessing too much, Tessa wavering between rebellion and trust. These are characters—often women and girls—who do not fit, whose weirdness becomes their power. Their voices are distinct and their struggles tangible, which prevents the fentanyl crisis from collapsing into abstraction. On the other hand, you have the structural forces: Fletcher’s backroom deals, Marcus’s grip on the supply chain, DSS threatening to rip a family apart on a technicality. What could feel like two novels occurring side by side, Damron expertly merges together through her cast of distinct characters and interactions. A party overdose ripples into political corruption, a vigilante firebombing underscores the desperation of citizens abandoned by institutions, and every small story reveals the larger system grinding in the background. The book doesn’t let readers rest with the easy conclusion that drugs are bad, one we can easily separate ourselves from. Instead, it insists we reckon with how entrenched power protects the pipeline, and how entire communities are complicit in the harm.
Reading The Weird Girl feels urgent because Damron refuses to exoticize the crisis. She writes Columbia as Columbia, with no comforting distance. And while that specificity makes the book hit especially hard for those of us here, its urgency isn’t limited by geography. The networks of privilege, corruption, and exploitation Damron exposes are recognizable in cities and towns everywhere. The point isn’t just that it happens here, it’s that it can, and does, happen anywhere. The result is a thriller that doesn’t just entertain but unsettles, reminding us that these networks of corruption and compromise are not only possible but present. It’s a crime novel that asks readers to face the realities behind the headlines, and to consider what it means to fight for care in systems designed to fail.
If The Orchid Tattoo announced Georgia Thayer as a protagonist worth following, The Weird Girl confirms it. Damron has carved out a space in the crime genre that is less about puzzle-solving and more about moral witnesses, less about lone heroes and more about collective survival. For readers in Columbia, the novel lands close to home, but its reach extends well beyond these stories could unfold in any city where privilege shields the powerful and fentanyl devastates the vulnerable. Damron’s accomplishment is to make us see both at once.
Christina Xan is a former intern and member of the board of directors for the Jasper Project and is currently assistant professor of English at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
The original version of this review appears in the Fall 20025 issue of Jasper Magazine.
Columbia’s newest theatre company has officially arrived — and what a debut! Located inside Brookland United Methodist Church in West Columbia, Soda City Theatre launches its very first season on a high note with Second Samuel, delivering a show that’s both laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly moving.
Directed by Jeff Sigley, Pamela Parker’s Second Samuel takes us to a small Georgia town in the 1940s, where life seems simple… until it isn’t. When a beloved resident, Miss Gertrude, passes away, her friends and neighbors discover a secret that rocks their little community to its core.
This play may be set in another time, but its themes are as relevant as ever. One of the cast members, Ripley Thames, summed it up perfectly — Second Samuel touches on “the trifecta” of issues that still challenge us today: homophobia, racism, and prejudice toward people with disabilities. And somehow, the show manages to explore all of that with humor, warmth, and a whole lot of heart.
Sigley’s direction really shines here. He uses the stage cleverly to create three locations — the Bait and Brew, the beauty salon, and Miss Gertrude’s front porch — and the smooth scene transitions, supported by smart lighting, keep things flowing beautifully. The set design makes great use of the space, and the period-appropriate costumes and props (kudos to Joanne Shaw and team!) really help transport the audience to the 1940s.
Now, let’s talk about this cast — because hats off here.
First, keep an eye on Cash Conroy. His performance as B Flat, the young autistic man who narrates the story, is simply stunning. He brings so much heart and honesty to the role, guiding the audience through the story with charm and depth. It’s no surprise he’s already been in several local youth productions — this young actor is definitely going places.
The rest of the cast is just as strong. Debra Leopard is a joy as Omaha Nebraska — her timing is impeccable, and it’s wonderful to see her back on stage. Nathan Wright had the audience in stitches as June Cline, the town caretaker, with his expressive reactions and storytelling flair. Ripley Thames made Mr. Mozel perfectly intolerable (in the best way), and Bill Arvay brought a grounded, easy energy as Doc.
In the beauty shop scenes, Gayle Stewart (Marcella) and Ginny Walker (Ruby) were a hoot, trading zingers, and sass with Tammy Smith as the bigoted Jimmie Dean. And rounding out the Bait and Brew gang — Roderick Haynes (U.S.), Mark DiNovo (Frisky), and Barry Smith (Mansel) — each added their own spark to the mix.
All in all, Second Samuel is the kind of show that reminds you why community theatre matters. It makes you laugh, makes you think, and makes you feel connected — to the characters, to the town, and to each other.
If this production is any indication, Soda City Theatre has an exciting road ahead. Here’s to a fantastic start and many more stories to come!
Catch Second Samuel at Columbia Soda City Theatre before it’s gone. Performances run November 8, 13-15 at 7:30 pm and on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3:00 pm. For tickets and more information, please visit their website at sodacitytheatre.com.
Greg Stuart and David Kirkland Garner
Experimental composer Robert Ashley’s seminal work Perfect Lives, an “opera” (of sorts!) about bank robbers, cocktail lounges, and reincarnation (sort of!), was first produced for television in 1984. Since then it has gained a cult following and been called “nothing less than the first American opera, written within an American language using various American attention spans …” (Fanfare).
Southern Exposure’s special presentation of three scenes from Perfect Lives is led by USC faculty composer-performers Greg Stuart and David Kirkland Garner, who contribute the music (the sometimes-inscrutable text is by Ashley) and play alongside USC’s New Sounds Quartet. USC English language and literature professor Ed Madden, former poet laureate of Columbia, [& Jasper Magazine Poetry Editor!] is featured as narrator.
This multi-media program also features a video by Greg Stuart, and includes a related visual art display by Columbia painter [& previous featured artist in Jasper Magazine & Jasper Galleries] Mary Ann Haven.
This FREE concert – no tickets or reservations required, general admission seating – is on Friday, November 14 in the USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St., Columbia.
For more information, visit/contact: Southern Exposure New Music Series
In a few weeks we’ll gather with friends and family ‘round our family hearths and dining room tables to celebrate the original Thanksgiving, one of our most joyous holidays, which commemorates a brief détente during bloody upheavals between the Pilgrims, who did not wear all black and big buckles, and the Wampanoag tribe, who had been decimated by leptospirosis, Europe’s most lucrative export, and which starred Squanto, who having escaped slavery in Europe, assisted the pilgrims only as a means of gaining political advantage. We will recall that the main course was probably venison and waterfowl, not turkey, and that in 1621 there were in the colonies no potatoes, sweet or otherwise, no bread, no gravy, no scrumptious desserts, and that after the three-day truce, all the old hostilities were renewed, and all of these truths were buried when the occasion was fictionalized during the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln, seeking détente, declared it a holiday.
In preparation, go enjoy Workshop Theater’s production of The Minutes, running through Sunday, November 9, at Cottingham Theatre, a play which pillories our desperate presumptions of civility and harmony and is really quite astounding.
The Minutes is by Tracy Letts, who in 2007 received a Pulitzer Prize for his play August: Osage County, which has been produced locally and in 2013 was adapted for the screen. The Minutes was nominated for the Pulitzer and for a Tony Award after having moved to Broadway in 2022. His other plays, most of them originating at Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theatre, include Killer Joe (1993) Bug (1996), and the brilliant Man From Nebraska (2003), which is about a man searching far and wide for the purpose and fulfillment that is literally sitting in the chair across from him. Letts has become, in addition to being an accomplished actor, one of our finest playwrights.
Therefore, when you see this play, make sure your expectations are high.
At first, you will feel you’ve been tricked. The play presents as a city council meeting in the town of Big Cherry, a middling little burgh about fifty miles from Anywhere, USA. The meeting is as vapid and fatuous as any you’ve ever attended. The council members are all recognizable types—the Old Codger, the Neurotic, the Social Crusader, the Stolid Secretary, The Righteous Gasbag, and the Probably Drunken Visionary—who proceed, following the Prayer, and according to Robert’s Rules of Order, from one tedious agenda item to the next, culminating in the Closing Ceremony. The whole thing comes across, at first, as a harmless cartoon satirizing our best civic intentions.
Our Mr. Blake, played with aplomb by Brandon Campbell, proposes a new “Lincoln: Smackdown!” cage-fighting event to be staged during the town’s annual Heritage Festival, Abe Lincoln having had nothing to do with the town’s founding, but cage fighting being a crowd-pleaser. Our Mr. Hanratty (Marshall Spann, also excellent) lobbies for a new fountain in the village square fully accessible to his crippled/handicapped/disabled/impaired sister, which leads to a debate about inclusion versus costs, idealism versus practicality. Yawn. The most scandalous topic, for a while, is the apparent resale of lost and stolen bicycles by the town’s sheriff.
But then, but then….
The trick being played here is that this meeting only seems boring. It’s the same trick Thornton Wilder played on us in Our Town, which for two acts shows us how empty and mundane our lives are--but then, but then, in the third act, reveals their immensity.
There are two extraordinary moments in The Minutes that reveal the play’s bait-and-switch gadgetry, one of which I will spoil. It is the spontaneous re-enactment, by the council members, for the benefit of newcomer Mr. Peel, of the Battle of Mackey Creek, upon which Big Cherry was founded. Amazingly, breathtakingly, they assume many dozens of roles—farmers, hostile Sioux, American militia—pantomiming the heroic rescue of little Debbie Farmer, who would grow up to be the town’s wealthy matriarch, by one heroic soldier, Otto Pim, who for his valor would earn the Medal of Honor, and so “the Town of Big Cherry is Saved!”
That moment was greeted on the night I attended by an enthusiastic roar from the audience, which was small because the performance was competing with game seven of the World Series and the University of South Carolina football game, the irony of which I will return to later. The point here is that, from this point out, director Patrick Michael Kelly reveals just how deft he is at theatrical sleight of hand. Kelly is well-known and rightfully respected in the midlands as a meticulous, scrupulous orchestrator of theatrical events, and this production can only add to his reputation. From this point out, the play was utterly stunning.
The other extraordinary moment I will not spoil, except to say that it occurs in flashback, when ousted council member Mr. Carp (Glenn Rawls, whose native honesty and compassion suit his character well) re-educates the council about the town’s actual founding and the myths that have been piled upon it since. “We have built this town upon a fiction!” he declares, and so reveals his colleagues as uninformed at best, ruthless hypocrites at worst.
Had the play stopped there, it would have been fulfilling, if perhaps a bit too easy, too moral, because it reveals to us what we already know: that America has always and is still now dancing as fast as it can to validate old lies and invent new ones. Kelly chose to direct The Minutes because, he says, with each news cycle, it keeps becoming more relevant: “In our era of misinformation, disinformation, and alternative facts, in a country that is deeply divided despite our common humanity, this play skewers national and local politics and blurs the line between parody and truth.”
Kelly cites, as an instance, the recent controversy surrounding the nineteen Medals of Honor given to American soldiers who, at the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee, slaughtered 300 Lakota men, women, and children, many of them after they had been promised mercy. About the carnage, American general Nelson Miles, who arrived a few days after, noted he had “never heard of a more brutal, cold-blooded massacre.” In reaffirming the validity of the soldiers’ medals, current Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that “this decision is now final, and their place in our nation’s history is no longer up for debate.”
But the play does not stop there—at the revelation about the Battle of Mackey Creek. Instead, it twists back upon itself and implicates us, as citizens in the gallery, as hypocrites as well, showing us our willing complicity in historical revisionism, because we prefer, over truth, our “cocoon of comfort and safety.” That climactic sequence is enacted by the town’s Mayor Superba, played here and well by John Brunty, who also transforms before our eyes from one thing into something very other. Resplendent, at the beginning, in his red blazer, he looks more like a game show host and comports himself as the voice of reason and moderation. But then, but then, at the end, he declares that “history is a verb” and gathers the council in a horrific, chilling, primal, brutal closing ceremony worthy of Shirley Jackson.
Though I found the acting existed at times on different levels, the cast did a fine job of creating a unified ensemble out of disparate characters who find safety in numbers. Among my favorites were the sanctimonious Mrs. Innes (Carol Beis,), who proclaims, “you all know how I adore low-income children,” and the manipulative Mr. Breeding (Laurens Wilson), whose every posture reveals exaggerated self-worth. Particular mention must be made of Cameron Muccio, whose Mr. Peel, though earnest and guileless, performs an honest interrogation of the council’s motives, only in the end to be subsumed, and also the set designed by Patrick Faulds, which in its cherrywood stolidity and attention to surface detail becomes its own character.
I returned from the play too late to catch the Gamecocks’ loss to Ole Miss, which is a shame, because like every other American, I like the ritual of a familiar story. I did manage to catch the last two incredible innings of game seven, during which the announcers proclaimed that the name Will Smith—the Dodger catcher who hit a game-winning solo homer—will live in our history forever, provided it does not get confused with the other Will Smith, whose name now lives in infamy, and even though two years from now most of us will have completely forgotten who won the 2025 World Series, though it must have been the Yankees.
Because history is indeed a verb. Because it is constantly changing, depending on who’s telling it, it requires persistent inquiry, which is different from denial. The Minutes warns us of this, because outside the committee room, it’s been raining for days, and won’t stop.
Wed, Nov 5 - 8:00 pm
Thu, Nov 6 - 8:00 pm
Fri, Nov 7 - 8:00 pm
Sat, Nov 8 - 8:00 pm
Sun, Nov 9 - 3:00 pm
Jon Tuttle was for many years a professor and administrator at Francis Marion University and is the author of THE TRUSTUS COLLECTION, which gathers six of his plays produced by Trustus Theatre, and SOUTH CAROLINA ONSTAGE, a representative history of theatre in the Palmetto state. He is a member of the board of directors for the Jasper Project.
You’re invited to join the Jasper Project on Saturday, Nov. 8th at Gemini Arts for a Celebration of the Release of the Fall 2025 Jasper Magazine.
It’ll be a night of music, poetry, prose, visual art, and just hanging out with other like-minded Soda Citizens who believe the arts give us hope, solace, and joy! Plus we’ll be fulfilling a little wish that Cindi and Wade have had for a long time—bringing as many of Columbia’s Scorpio Babies together as possible to celebrate the exhilarating madness of being born a Scorpio!
The evening will start with poetry and prose readings by Carla Damron, Ivan Segura, Rhy Robidoux, and Naya Lanai Jackson, many of whom will be signing and selling their newest books. There’s a rumor that there will be a theatrical performance – we’ll keep you posted. And our musical guest for the evening is JB SamSon!
JB SamSon
And, of course, there will be cake and plenty of freshly baked Jasper Magazines!
Scorpios are invited to wear Black and/or Red and to find Cindi or Wade at the party to get your Official Scorpio pins.
We can’t wait to see you at 6pm at Gemini Arts at 2847 Commerce Drive. And Stay tuned – we have more surprised in store for you as the celebration continues to develop!
From our friends at Palmetto Luna Arts
Join Palmetto Luna Arts on Boyd Plaza to celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). This FREE annual event includes a Day of the Dead altar, arts and crafts, live music, folkloric dances, Latino artists market, a live painting session, and other cultural activities.
Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition to honor those who have departed before us. Within Mexican culture’s complex fusion of customs including Aztec, Mayan, and Spanish traditions, death is merely one part in the wider cycle of existence. The Day of the Dead celebration is the result of the ancient ritual venerations and offerings to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (“Lady of the Dead”) for deceased children and adults as well as the Spaniards' desire to accommodate these festivities within the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
Organized by Palmetto Luna Arts. Sponsored by The City of Columbia, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Rick Steves in Cinque Terra
The South Carolina Philharmonic presents Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey on Monday, November 10, at 7:30 PM, at Koger Center for the Arts. Audiences will embark on a multimedia journey across Europe with Rick Steves live and in-person as the SC Phil performs sweeping anthems of the Romantic era while also examining the modern spirit of unity and freedom that defines the continent. The program features works by such luminaries as Johann Strauss II, Edvard Grieg and Giuseppe Verdi. This is an especially rare opportunity for Midlands audiences to witness one of travel’s most beloved voices on stage with a major symphonic ensemble.
The experience of Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey will be a unique one for Midlands audiences. Rick Steves himself will take patrons on a personally led journey through Europe, with stops in Austria, Germany, Italy, England, France, Norway and the Czech Republic. For each country, Rick has personally curated a program that features anthemic works by the Romantic Era’s celebrated composers which will be performed by the SC Philharmonic. In addition to the music, Rick provides entertaining insights and cultural examinations for each country, as well as the work that is being performed. A large screen positioned over the orchestra will display beautiful footage that will accompany each work – bringing the joy of travel into the concert hall.
Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s — and now, more than 40 years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.
Rick’s hit program Rick Steves’ Europe continues to run on public television stations across the country including SC ETV. Rick’s book, "On the Hippie Trail," has been named a New York Times Bestseller, and is about his 1978 journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu along the popular overland backpacker route of the 1960s and 1970s.
Rick is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a small-group tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. Each year, the company contributes to a portfolio of climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax.
Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple opened Friday evening at Village Square Theatre in Lexington, bringing laughter, nostalgia, and a delightful dose of 1960s charm to the stage. Under the sharp direction of Allison McNeely, this production captures the timeless humor and heart of Simon’s beloved play while offering a fresh, lively take on the story of two polar-opposite roommates. From the first moments, the show delivers exactly what audiences hope for—snappy dialogue, hilarious physical comedy, and a genuine sense of camaraderie among its cast.
Director Allison McNeely has crafted a production that feels both authentic and full of energy. Her attention to pacing and character dynamics keeps the comedy crisp without losing the play’s warmth. The 1960s setting is beautifully realized—Dell Goodrich’s costume design perfectly captures the era’s style, from the guys’ sloppy dress to the mod dresses and shoes for the girls, and the set transports the audience straight into Oscar Madison’s cluttered New York apartment. It’s clearly a labor of love, with many members of the cast and crew contributing to its creation. Every detail, from the furniture to the period-appropriate props, feels thoughtfully chosen and true to the time.
While the production was strong overall, there were a few technical hiccups with the wireless microphones on opening night. But that’s live theatre—anything can happen—and the cast handled it with professionalism and ease, never breaking character or losing momentum. In fact, the moments when the mics faltered proved that the actors didn’t need them; their projection and clarity carried beautifully across the intimate space. In smaller venues like Village Square, strong vocal work often serves better than amplification, and this cast proved that point with confidence.
The cast of The Odd Couple was uniformly strong, led by David LaTorre as the neurotic Felix Ungar and Davis Herndon as the lovable slob Oscar Madison. LaTorre fully embodied Felix’s nervous energy—his fussy mannerisms, anxious pacing, and relentless tidying perfectly captured the character’s comic tension. Herndon, by contrast, brought an easy charm to Oscar, a man who lives for poker nights, cold beer, and controlled chaos. Together, the two actors found a natural rhythm, their chemistry and timing making the famous odd pairing feel both believable and fresh.
Adding to the fun were the delightfully ditzy Pigeon sisters, played by Ivy Munnerlin (Cecily) and Melissa Frierson (Gwendolyn). Their infectious giggling and lively energy lit up the stage, serving as a perfect foil to Felix’s nervous breakdown and Oscar’s barely contained frustration. The result was comedy gold.
Oscar’s poker pals added another layer of humor and heart to the production. Clayton King, Charles Zuber, Steve Reeves, and newcomer Cole Allen created a believable band of mismatched friends who clearly enjoy one another’s company—both onstage and off. Each brought a distinct personality to the table: the sarcastic wit, the mild-mannered pushover, the no-nonsense realist, and the good-natured joker. Their overlapping dialogue and easy camaraderie made the poker scenes feel wonderfully natural, as if the audience were eavesdropping on a real group of lifelong friends ribbing each other through a Friday night game. Their chemistry grounded the show and reminded us why The Odd Couple continues to resonate—because friendships, however messy, are what make life bearable.
In the end, Village Square Theatre’s The Odd Couple delivers exactly what audiences come to the theatre for—a night of laughter, nostalgia, and genuine connection. Under Allison McNeely’s direction, the cast brings Neil Simon’s iconic characters to life with heart and humor, reminding us why this play remains a timeless classic. Whether you’re a longtime fan of The Odd Couple or discovering it for the first time, this production is a delightful reminder that even the most mismatched friendships can endure. It’s smart, funny, and filled with charm—an evening well spent at Village Square Theatre.
The show will run through November 2, so hurry and get your tickets before they are gone. You can purchase them online at villagesquaretheatre.com.
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Last night at Curiosity Coffee, the Jasper Project and Black Nerd Mafia teamed up with our hosts at Curiosity Coffee for our traditional pumpkin carving contest among local artists. Participants included Gina Langston, Roxanne Mockabee, Sean Krumbolz, Keith Tolen, Ija Charles, Billy Guess, and Cynthia Bowie. We’re excited to announce the winners:
FIRST VIEW, BUT LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER …
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Congrats to all our pumpkin carvers and thanks to our partners in mayhem, Black Nerd Mafia and the always cozy Curiosity Coffee!
Last night, Thursday, October 23rd, the Jasper Project celebrated the 9th iteration of one of our favorite and most long-lasting projects, the 2nd Act Film Project. Having grown out of our previous venues, it was thrilling to see an almost-at-capacity 400-seat Harbison Theatre full of rowdy, mutually-supportive SC filmmakers who had traveled from throughout the state to be together and screen this year’s films. “We were excited to have filmmakers from all regions of the state this year,” says project director and Jasper Project board president Wade Sellers. “Spartanburg, Greenville, Aiken, Charleston, and Columbia independent filmmakers showed why the independent film community in our state as is as strong as ever.”
With 16 filmmakers participating this year, in addition to the 84 films produced in previous years, we can officially announce that, since the beginning of the 2nd Act Film Project in 2013, the Jasper Project has produced a total of 100 films by independent South Carolina filmmakers!
“This year, we named our best film award, previously the Producer’s Award, after a close friend of the Jasper Project, Tom Hall,” Sellers announced to the audience last night. A documentary filmmaker, visual artist, and musician, Hall had worked closely with Sellers on a number of films, including Compromised, a 2015 film that examined and rejected the argument for the Confederate flag flying above the SC Statehouse. Hall died unexpectedly on January 20, 2024, leaving behind a shocked community and devastated family and friends. According to Sellers, “Tom’s passion for filmmaking, music, and supporting artists in our community was unmatched. The Tom Hall Indie Spirit Award is awarded to the Filmmaker whose film best exemplifies this passion.”
The winning films are as follows:
“Our Audience Award this year went to William Clay for his film, The Beautiful Confusion,” Sellers continues. “It’s a beautiful and complex, short film, and the type of project that sets the bar very high for what filmmaker’s should strive for as part of the 2nd Act Film Project.” The Audience Award is selected by the attendees at the screening, all of whom are issued one ballot per person.
Group Shot of 2025’ 2nd Act Film Project Filmmakers at Harbison Theatre with Audience Members - photo by Perry McLeod
Other awards were pre-selected by a panel of judges who, this year, included Tamara Finkbeiner, Chad Henderson, Patrick Rutledge, and Chris White. The first and third act script lines were written this year by award-winning filmmaker Robbie Robertson along with award-winning writer, Julia Liz Elliott, both from Columbia, SC. 2nd Act Project filmmakers were charged with writing the 2nd act of the screenplay and then filming the script in its entirety. The 2nd Act Film Project is the only project of its kind of which we are aware.
“One of the 2nd Act’s missions is to amplify the diverse creative voices that are in our state,” Sellers says. “This year‘s group of filmmakers was our most exciting group yet!”
Congratulations to all of our filmmakers and winners! And special thanks to the Harbison Theatre Crew for hosting us and to Chef Joe Turkaly for filling our stomachs with yumminess and our hearts with love!
There is so much to be proud of about this project that it is hard to know where to start. So, in no particular order, let’s just jump in!
#1 - What about our fabulous poster from local artist extraordinaire Cait Maloney — How Cool is That? Check out Cait’s other work at the link above and hit her up if you ever want graphics that rock the socks off your audience! (You’re barefoot now, aren’t you?)
#2 - Having already produced 84 films from some of SC’s most talented and creative indie filmmakers, Jasper’s 2025 2nd Act Film Project raised the number of accepted entries this year to 16, bringing our total number of films produced across the years by our 2nd Act Film Project to 100!
#3 - In keeping with the Jasper Project’s policy of NEVER charging any artist a fee to submit or show their work, not only is it FREE for filmmakers to enter our 2nd Act Film Project, but Jasper gives all participating filmmakers a modest, but meaningful, $100 stipend to use freely at their own discretion. Need a new piece of equipment to make your film? Use this stipend to help you rent or buy it! Want to make your film punch higher with cool props or costuming? Here’s a hundred bucks to help out! Want to treat your cast & crew to dinner or celebrate with a wrap party? The pizza is on us!
#4 - Thanks to our generous sponsors, Jasper is able to award $2250 in cash prizes to our winning filmmakers in the following categories:
$500 PRODUCER’S AWARD
$250 BESTSCRIPT
$250 BEST DIRECTION
$250 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
$250 BEST ACTOR
$250 BEST EDITING
Plus, we bring the folks who come out and support the project with their ticket purchases into the action by giving them a voice in who takes home the big bucks via the
(Each audience member is issued one ballot to cast on the film of their choice!)
#5 – Speaking of our Generous Sponsors, we are incredibly proud of the trust they have placed in us to use their funds wisely and for the good of the Arts. Thank you so much for making tonight possible to
#6 - Finally, we are still dismayed to have received an unsolicited financial award of $5000 from our sisters & brothers in the Krewe de Columbi-Ya-Ya! We thank you. We love you. We honor you.
And to that end, we are immeasurably proud that, more than a year ago, we decided to rename our TOP film award for the 2nd Act Film Project to the
The Jasper Project announces the 6th cycle of its Play Right Series, a collaboration between area theatre artists and Jasper Community Producers—or theater aficionados, supporters and even newcomers. The project will culminate in summer 2026 with the staged reading of a brand-new South Carolina play.
Submitting A Play
The play submission window is now open.
Playwrights must be residents of South Carolina currently and during the summer of 2026.
The winning playwright must be present for development sessions with Community Producers in Columbia during the summer, 2026 (specific dates to be determined later), and must agree to offer program credit to The Jasper Project at any subsequent productions or publications.
Plays may address any topic, using language appropriate to the subject matter; we are not, however, considering musicals or children’s plays.
Plays should have no more than 5 cast members, though cast members may play more than one role.
Submissions must be one-act plays, 45-75 minutes in length, typed according to industry-standard format (see our Sample Format).
Please include, as a cover sheet, a brief bio of the playwright and description of the play, including cast size and any unusual technical demands, bearing in mind that smaller and fewer are usually preferable.
One submission per playwright, please.
Please submit your play no later than midnight on February 28, 2026, to playrightseries@jasperproject.org
When the submission window closes on February 28, 2026, the Play Right Series committee will read and select a play for development through the spring and summer. “Development,” in this case, means round-table readings with paid actors and directors that are attended by Community Producers and Professional Others, followed in the summer by rehearsals and presentation in early September 2026.
The process will be facilitated by Jasper’s Community Producers—community members and theatre aficionados invested in the development process and supportive of the state’s literary and theatre talent. In exchange for a modest financial contribution, Jasper Community Producers will be offered insider views of the steps and processes inherent in creating theatrical art by attending readings, rehearsals, informative talks, and presentations, including conversations with the actors, director, playwright, stage manager, costumer, and sound and lighting designer. The result: Community Producers learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become invested personally in the production and success of the play and its cast and crew, thereby becoming diplomats of theatre arts.
Busted Open by Ryan Stevens (2025)
One of the perks of winning the Play Right Series Project is having your play published in book format and filed with the Library of Congress. AND, we give you a large stack of books to distribute to the producers, directors, and family members of your choice!
(Don’t forget your Mom!)
Moon Swallower by Colby Quick (2022)
Therapy by Lonetta Thompson (2023)
Let It Grow by Chad Henderson (2024)
By Emily Moffitt
If you missed the chance to check out Colleen Cannon-Karlos' exhibit in the Jasper Project’s Nook gallery space during her opening reception for October’s Third Thursday, mark your calendars for her free artist talk at the Koger Center!
Join us on November 4, from 6-7 p.m. for her free talk where she’ll give an in-depth look at her artistic processes, inspirations, and more. A Q&A will follow her talk, and all the work in Cannon-Karlos' exhibit is available for purchase.
Cannon-Karlos' Artist Statement:
My new work consists of deconstructing recycled corrugated cardboard and transforming it into an alternative surface to create new imagery. I became interested in working with cardboard because it is cheap, ubiquitous and unfortunately very wasteful in our consumer driven, throwaway society. Mixed media includes cardboard, recycled plastic shopping bags, acetate and more. At least I can do my small part and turn discarded objects into artwork that celebrates its beauty and integrity.
The corrugated or fluted lines contain their own design aspect of regularly spaced, machine engineered parallel lines. Removing and/or adding layers by distressing and manipulating the cardboard reveals amazing texture characteristics in layers that are enhanced with the application of paint and other materials. The cardboard itself reveals levels of unique textures that give a relief quality and tangibility to the imagery. This work also reflects my interest in physics – understanding the nature of reality as energy coalesces into form. The imagery present in the distressed cardboard seems to be in the process of both emerging from and dissolving into existence. The resulting artwork is mounted on wooden panels.
For additional questions, contact the Koger Center.
Cover art by Michael Krajewski
Fronted by vocalist and songwriter Kimber Carpenter, KIMBER is a rising force in Columbia’s ever growing local music scene, delivering a big, soul-driven sound rooted in original songwriting, rich harmonies, and unshakable musical chemistry.
Formed just two years ago by Carpenter and drummer Garrick Turner, the lineup solidified as bassist Donovan Amason, lead guitarist Shayla Hunt, and keyboardist Mandy Applegate joined the fold—all lending dynamic elements that elevate Kimber’s raw lead presence into a wall of harmony and power.
Vocally and lyrically, Kimber is influenced by fearless artists like Ani DiFranco, Sinéad O’Connor, and Amy Ray whose vulnerability, intensity, and unapologetic truth-telling inspire the band’s commitment to authentic expression. The result is a sound that’s both expansive and intimate—progressive in structure, soulful in delivery, and deeply human at its core.
Now, Kimber is set to release their debut single, “Moon & Stars,” a playful yet powerful track, Moon & Stars captures vulnerability, hope, and the magnetic pull between love and heartbreak. Adding a unique artistic dimension to Moon & Stars is the collaboration with local visual artist Michael Krajewski, who created the single’s cover art. Known for his neo-expressionist style, Krajewski did not disappoint with this stunning interpretation of the song. This partnership is more than visual—it’s a merging of two local creative voices. As a local Columbia artist, Kimber’s music now meets Michael’s visual expression, forming a unique conversation between art and sound.
Give them a follow on Facebook and Instagram @kimber_theband to keep up with live shows and upcoming announcements of more music being released this year.
Moon & Stars can be found on most streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
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The purpose of this exhibition is to answer an overwhelming request by artists and patrons of Jasper’s inaugural Degenerate Art Project (July 2025) for an additional exhibition which will involve an open call for visual artists and an extended calendar for exhibition. This iteration of the project will also include prizes for visual art and representation by additional arts disciplines.
Learn more about the project →
Artists must live in one of the following counties to be considered: Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter, Lee, Clarendon, Newberry, and Aiken.
Artists may submit up to three pieces.
2D Art must be framed, wired, and/or mounted for presentation and delivered to Gemini Arts during a designated time period on January 17 and 18, 2026.
All art must be for sale and artists must agree to allow the Jasper Project a 25% commission on sold art which will go toward project costs, with any potential extra going toward the publication costs for Jasper Magazine.
All submissions should be of NEW work. Nothing previously exhibited or repurposed for this exhibition is allowed.
Artists who participated in the Jasper Degenerate Art Project in 2025 are invited to submit new work, but art previously exhibited at the Jasper Degenerate Art Project in 2025 should not be submitted for the second exhibition.
No AI-generated imagery or significant alterations of others' work is allowed.
The purpose of this exhibition is to answer an overwhelming request by artists and patrons of Jasper’s inaugural Degenerate Art Project (July 2025) for an additional exhibition which will involve an open call for visual artists and an extended calendar for exhibition. This iteration of the project will also include prizes for visual art and representation by additional arts disciplines.
The title, Degenerate Art Project, is a contemporary SC-localized reflection of the Nazi Party’s 1937 Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Munich at which more than 650 pieces of Modernist art were haphazardly displayed alongside graffiti and mocking text labels with the goal of denigrating and ridiculing the art and artists. The exhibition included the work of 112 artists including Picasso, Mondrian, Chagall, Kandinsky, Klee, Dix, and many other groundbreaking artists. The website of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum offers an excellent overview of this period of world history.
The purpose of the Jasper Degenerate Art Project is threefold:
To provide a platform for expression and/or protest via art for Midlands area artists
To bring our local arts community together both physically and in spirit during this challenging time in order to support and encourage one another
To preserve for posterity, via the Jasper Project website, Columbia, SC’s artistic interpretation and response to our country’s current socio-political situation.
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors, opened Friday night, October 3rd at Chapin Theatre Company and grabbed the audience by their throats, tickling their collective funny bones, sucking every laugh possible from the applauding fans. In the slapstick, standup comedy tradition of Mel Brooks and Monty Python, this silly spoof of Bram Stoker's classic 1897 vampire novel is dazzlingly acted out by five of the most versatile actors Columbia theatre has to offer. Four playing a brew of manic, murderous multitude of roles, not unlike last Chapin Theatre season's role-switching The 39 Steps where the starring lead male then was none other than this show's fang-tastic director, George Dinsmore.
This 90-minute blood-thirsty play offers these actors—Debra Kiser, David Fichter, Frank Thompson, Katie Mixon and Josh Kern—the challenge of a theatrical lifetime, throwing puns, punchlines, and naughty innuendos against the ever-changing castle walls amid the nimble narrative, with lightning quick costume changes (some hilariously done on stage) and with a plethora of accents! The big character role winners by a Transylvanian mile are Fichter and Kiser, blending proper British and German accents along with a variety of other dizzy dialects and personalities making for a madcap cocktail of fun. But let's toss kudos of garlic-laced funeral wreaths to the entire cast of this bawdy farce.
David Fichter is a dead-on hoot playing the misogynistic Dr Westfeldt, who begins as the arch-nemesis of Kiser's strict, straightlaced German Van Helsing. But their second act reactions take a decided turn for the better. Fichter's loony, bug-eating, straight-jacketed Renfield almost steals the night's spotlight from Kiser's redhead coiffed Mina, a desperate date-deprived spinster in need of some serious orthodontal intervention. Fichter also manages to step into the role of a salty Sea Captain with both actors early on, becoming ferocious howling wolves along with Mixon.
Mixon is the epitome of the courageous but romantically confused heroine, Lucy Westfeldt, hitting every nuanced note and her role switch to the kleptomaniac mental nurse, Kitty, is a delicious surprise. Mixon also plays a rowdy carriage driver in the opening scene. Master comedian, Frank Thompson plays the night's straight man in the role of the cowardly real estate agent, Jonathan, and in one scene (with a bow to Sesame Street) plays three characters at once in the guises of the Scottish Lord Cavendish, the very British Worthington, and the Texan, Lord Havemercy. Thompson also easily polished off the double roles of a scurvy Bosun and a drunken Gravedigger.
But with all the night's multiple role switching, is the leading actor short-changed playing only a single role? Hardly. Josh Kern in the sexy buff role of Dracula proves a deadly, charming centerfold and an equal opportunity romancer of both Lucy and even her intended, Jonathan Harker. As Harker, Thompson enjoys a late act romantic renovation after his rendezvous with Kern which proves to be a neck-biter twist. Earlier this season, Kern perfectly played the comic lead of Paul in Barefoot in the Park, so here, his sly, narcissistic, revisited take on this horror icon shows his considerable versatility on the Chapin stage in two radically different performances in one season. Bravo!
Special honors goes to Dracula Producers, Jim DeFelice and Tiffany Dinsmore for bringing this comedy gem to their Chapin stage. The beautiful, facile set, sound, costume, props, and dramatic projection designs are ambitious, but all laser quick transitions came off with nary a hitch on opening night.
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Adapted by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen plays for two more weekends
October 3, 4, 9-10-11 and 16-17-18 at 7:30 pm evening performances with
October 12 and 19 on Sunday 3:00 pm matinees.
Chapin Theatre Company is located at 830 Columbia Avenue, Chapin 29036
For tickets: chapintheatre.org [803] 240-8544
by Cindi Boiter
Last night, I popped by Earlewood Park amphitheater to scope out the situation for our little party that is seeing South Carolina Shakespeare Company's Titus Andronicus tomorrow night (and to get hugs from my kids). I only stayed 30 minutes, but wow. Full disclosure that director Chad Henderson is my son-in-law, but I’ve got to say that he and his team have really pulled off something brilliant with this production. It’s absolutely out of the box —innovative and surprising and a little surreal.
For example, in the photo below, we see Jennifer Hill in the role of Tamara, Queen of the Goths, but behind her we see the imposing face of Darion McCloud as Aaron, her lover, projected onto the draped screen as he delivers yet another menacing line.
In this photo we see Catherine Hunsinger, in the role of Lavinia, the daughter of Titus Andronicus, on the actual stage but also projected behind her giving the audience a larger than life look after an unspeakable act has befallen her character. Evidently this is the work of videographer Adrian Williams with Megan Claxton pulling focus.
The cast also includes Stann Gwynn (as Titus), Tracy Steele, Richard Edward, Christopher Cockrell (as Saturnius), Marshall Spann, Chris Aimone, Brandon Martin, Dakota Walker, Tristan Brown, young Aden Cobb, Sunni Greene, Brittany Bierman — you probably know many of these folks yourself. But Bonnie, my daughter, was explaining that every night of this multi-media production, all these actors - the whole cast and crew, plus some noble volunteers - have to break down the stage and load out all the equipment, only to load it back in the next afternoon.
If this isn’t dedication to one’s art, I’m not sure what is.
And by the way, the event is free. All you have to do is roll up like I did last night. Parking was easy in the lot and there are designated spots along the road. Head to the small covered pavilion with picnic tables and then just follow the winding sidewalk down to the amphitheater. It’s a short walk. The amphitheater has concrete seating so I’m taking a tailgating chair and, since it’s supposed to be fall Saturday night, I’ll take a blanket, too as well as some vino (Vino Garage is 2 minutes away) and cheese and stuff for a nice pre show picnic. I hope we get to see a lot of friends there!