3rd Annual Southern Gothic Festival in Camden Has a Blood-Curdling Lineup! Oct. 9 & 10

The third annual Southern Gothic Festival returns to Camden on Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10, bringing together acclaimed authors, historians, storytellers, podcasters, musicians, and investigators for a thoughtful—and suitably spooky—exploration of the South’s darker side.

Set among the historic streets and famously haunted places of South Carolina’s oldest inland city, the festival considers Southern Gothic in both its literary and supernatural forms.

Programs will explore how contemporary writers continue a tradition shaped by eccentricity, moral complexity, inequality, religious fervor, and troubled history, while also celebrating the ghosts, legends, folklore, and uncanny landscapes that remain part of Southern culture.

According to Amy Schofield, Kershaw County Library Director, “The idea started with a suggestion from Robb Hinson, who works the front desk at the Camden Library and is an unapologetic book pusher. Excited about recently attending a Grady Hendrix book reading, Robb suggested the concept. From there, it's been a library effort every year with help from staff and volunteers, and support from our Friends group, the Arts Commission, Historic Camden, and the City of Camden.”

Schofield continues, “Each year of the Southern Gothic Festival has brought a different kind of excitement. The first year, we wondered if anyone would come; the second, we wondered if we could successfully turn it into a larger, two-day festival—and now, in our third year, I’m cautiously confident enough to simply be excited about what we’ve put together. We have an extraordinary range of writers, musicians, storytellers, podcasters, and historians exploring everything from contemporary Southern horror, folklore, and haunted houses to race, masculinity, true crime, and the continuing influence of writers like Edgar Allan Poe.” But, more than anything, she says, “I’m excited that the festival keeps expanding the conversation about what Southern Gothic means today while still being a really fun place to spend a couple of days immersed in the darker, stranger corners of the South.”

The festival begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Broad & Vine with “Agnes of Glasgow: The Legend and Lore,” featuring Brandon Schexnayder, creator and host of the acclaimed Southern Gothic podcast. The podcast combines careful historical research with atmospheric storytelling to investigate the history behind the South’s legends and hauntings.

Agnes is said to have traveled from Scotland to Camden during the American Revolution in search of her fiancé, a British soldier, only to die before finding him. Buried in Camden’s Quaker Cemetery, her spirit is still said to wander nearby, continuing her search. Schexnayder will discuss the research behind a new podcast episode devoted to Agnes, examining what can be documented, how the story has changed across generations, and what local ghost stories reveal about the communities that preserve them.

Broad & Vine will be open during the free program, with food and beverages available for purchase. No tickets or reservations are required.

Friday evening continues at 6:45 p.m. with a free outdoor concert by Valentine Wolfe and the Southern Gothic Opera Company at the Rutledge Street Green Space. The Greenville-based ensemble combines haunting soprano vocals, keyboards, electronics and electric upright bass in music inspired by gothic literature, classical traditions and heavy metal. According to Schofield, “Valentine Wolfe brings a genuinely Gothic musical sensibility, including a preview of music they will feature at the Harbison Theater later in October as part of the Southern Gothic Opera Company. I’ve given the bluegrass band The Mill Hands a cheerful assignment of digging through their bluegrass repertoire for murder ballads and the darkest songs they can find. They’ll also help kick off the last show of Shock, an original Southern Gothic play at the Arts Center of Kershaw County, one of several venues this year alongside Historic Camden, the Revolutionary War Visitor Center, and downtown Camden.

Historic Camden will also offer its ticketed Southern Gothic Lantern Tour beginning at 7 p.m.Saturday features a full day of concurrent programs examining Southern writing, history and storytelling. Bestselling author Karen White will discuss the historic homes, family secrets and ghosts behind her popular Tradd Street and Royal Street novels, set in Charleston and New Orleans.

“We have an extraordinary roster,” Schofield says. “For readers of contemporary horror, we have always had something. We started with one horror writer, had four our second year, and this year we have eight, writing everything from folk and body horror to slashers and more experimental forms. At the same time, writers including David Joy, Jason Mott, Ray McManus, and Scott Gould will explore the larger tradition of Southern writing and the ways it continues to wrestle with race, masculinity, history, and place. We’ll have haunted tours and ghost stories, certainly, but also serious conversations about the things that continue to haunt the South.”

Award-winning authors Jason Mott and David Joy will join South Carolina poet Ray McManus for “Southern Man: Race and Masculinity in Southern Writing,” exploring how race, class, violence, history, and identity shape their work and the lives of men in today’s South.

In “New Monsters: Contemporary Fears in Horror,” Michael Wehunt, Clay McLeod Chapman, Tanya Pell, and Chris Panatier will consider how horror transforms modern anxieties—including misinformation, technology, aging, trauma and mental illness—into new forms of the monstrous.

Other literary programs will examine the continuing evolution of Southern Gothic. “Haunted Landscapes” brings together Yah Yah Scholfield, Julia Elliott, and Robert Gwaltney to discuss magical realism, folklore, and the uncanny places that inhabit contemporary Southern fiction.

In “Beyond the Grotesque: The New Southern Gothic,” Lindy Ryan, Andy Davidson, Nathan Ballingrud, and Scott Gould will explore how the tradition now reaches into horror, humor, historical fiction, literary fiction, and science fiction.

Poe scholar Dr. Scott Peeples and horror author Clay McLeod Chapman will consider Edgar Allan Poe’s Southern roots and continuing influence in “Poe and Place: The Original Southern Gothic.” A related display of Victorian mourning jewelry presented by author and living historian Kim Poovey will be open from 2 to 5 p.m.

The festival will also celebrate the South’s oral traditions. USC professor and storyteller Nancy Tolson and Craig Dominey of The Moonlit Road will discuss folklore and the enduring influence of African American storytelling, concluding with a live story by Tolson.

“Where History Meets the Unexplained” will explore Carolina cryptids, paranormal sightings, and the research, history, and traditions behind regional legends.

One of the day’s most serious programs, “Behind the Headlines: The Susan Smith Case,” will revisit the investigation and trial that captivated the nation in 1994. Camden Mayor Vincent Sheheen will moderate a conversation with prosecutor Tommy Pope, former SLED Chief Robert Stewart, and Mark Brandenburg, who served as clerk to the presiding judge. The panel will reflect on the investigation, media coverage, and the case’s lasting impact on South Carolina.

Scott Gould

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, visitors can also meet independent and regional authors. Local favorite Miles Gardner will offer books, including Murder and Mayhem in Kershaw County. South Carolina writers include Julia Elliott, a recent winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, whose magical realism transforms familiar Southern landscapes, and Scott Gould, whose work celebrates deep family connections and small-town Southern life. Arcane Carolinas will bring its knowledge of Carolina cryptids and regional lore, while other participating authors will offer ghost stories, horror, history, and fiction grounded in recognizably Southern experiences.

A vendor market will feature gothic ceramics, jewelry, artwork, and unusual merchandise, while Books on Broad will offer books by featured authors. Food trucks will be available, and visitors can also explore downtown Camden’s restaurants, coffee shops, and a variety of retail experiences.

The Millhands

Saturday evening begins at 6 p.m. with “Dark Strings,” a free performance by Columbia bluegrass band The Mill Hands featuring Appalachian murder ballads and mournful mountain songs—the kind of music that might once have been heard in Camden’s nearby mill villages.

The festival concludes with two ticketed partner events: the Fine Arts Center’s original play SHOCK at 7 p.m. and Haunts and Spirits at Historic Camden at 7:30 p.m. According to Chad Henderson, Executive Director of the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, “ We are absolutely delighted to partner with the Southern Gothic Festival to bring Shock to the Arts Center’s Black Box. There is something meaningful about collaborating with a festival that celebrates such a distinctive part of our Southern culture and imagination, while also welcoming longtime Camden theatre favorite Larry Hembree back to direct.” He continues, “Larry has been an important and beloved part of this community’s theatrical life, and we’re thrilled to have him leading this production. Partnerships like this are what make the Arts Center so special —bringing together talented artists, community traditions, and new creative experiences for our audiences to enjoy together.”

Most Southern Gothic Festival events are free and require no reservations. Complimentary shuttles will operate from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday among Historic Camden, the Revolutionary War Visitor Center, the Arts Center, and downtown Camden.

Together, the festival’s programs celebrate something Southerners have long understood: places hold stories. Some are carefully documented, some are passed from one generation to the next, and some may still be wandering just beyond the edge of the light.

“What I love is that the festival has become big enough to ask a question we’ve been interested in from the beginning: What is Southern Gothic now?” says Schofield. “We want to honor the literary tradition, but we also want to explore how contemporary Southern writers, artists, and storytellers are expanding it—who gets to tell these stories, what histories need to be confronted, what still frightens us, and why the South remains such fertile territory for stories that are dark, strange, funny, and sometimes beautiful. This year feels like our fullest exploration of that question yet.”

For the most up-to-date information visit the Southern Gothic Festival website here.

SC Academy of Authors Announces a CALL for Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowships in Poetry and Fiction

Submission period begins: November 15, 2026
​​Deadline: January 15, 2027

The Jasper Project is excited to help spread the news that the SC Academy of Authors announces the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker CALLS for Fellowships in Poetry and Short Fiction opening on November 15th

Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry

The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of poets in the state of South Carolina.
 
The award is $1,250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
 
There is no restriction on form or content. Submit up to 5 unpublished poems (totaling no more than 10 pages). You may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be accompanied with entry fee.

The entry fee is $20 per entry. Entry fee will be made to the SCAA PayPal account under the Donate category on this website.

Authors grant the SCAA first publication and electronic reprint rights to prize-winning work. Authors retain all re-publication rights and are free to reprint the work in any publication, subject to acknowledging original publication in South Carolina Academy of Authors annual publication. The author guarantees that the submitted work has not previously been published elsewhere. Entries generated by AI will not be accepted.

We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats. 

Applicants must be full-time residents of South Carolina and must not have won this fellowship (previously known as the Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship in Poetry) in the previous three years. 
 
Your name should not appear anywhere on the poems submitted. Include contact information with a brief bio in the body of the email. Submissions should be sent to scaacokerfellowship@gmail.com.
 
The 2026 contest will once again be judged by Rachel Hadas.
 
Questions about the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry should be sent to: scaacokerfellowship@gmail.com.
​

Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Fiction

The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Fiction, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of fiction writers in the state of South Carolina.
 
The award is $1,250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
 
There is no restriction on content, but submissions may not exceed 15 pages double-spaced and must be either one original, unpublished short story or one excerpt from a longer, unpublished work. You may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be accompanied with an entry fee.

​The entry fee is $20 per entry. Entry fee will be made to the SCAA PayPal account under the Donate category on this website.
 
Authors grant the SCAA first publication and electronic reprint rights to prize-winning work. Authors retain all re-publication rights and are free to reprint the work in any publication, subject to acknowledging original publication in South Carolina Academy of Authors annual publication. The author guarantees that the submitted work has not previously been published elsewhere. Entries generated by AI will not be accepted.

We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats. 

Applicants must be full-time residents of South Carolina and must not have won this Fellowship in the previous three years. 
 
Your name should not appear anywhere on the pages submitted. Include contact information with a brief bio in the body of the email. Submissions should be sent to scaacokerfellowship@gmail.com.
 
Judging the 2026 Coker Fellowship in Fiction will be Wiley Cash.
 
Questions about the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Fiction should be sent to: scaacokerfellowship@gmail.com.

WILEY CASH

Wiley Cash is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of four novels, host of the Our State Book Club Podcast, and co-owner of Floodplain Books in Wilmington, North Carolina. He teaches fiction writing at UNC-Asheville and lives in North Carolina with his wife, photographer Mallory Cash, and their daughters. He is the 2025 recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature, the state’s highest civilian honor.
https://www.wileycash.com/

RACHEL HADAS

Rachel Hadas is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent poetry collection is Pastorals (2025). Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Ingram Merrill Foundation Grants, the O.B. Hardison Award from the Folger Shakespeare Library, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Hadas taught English at Rutgers University-Newark from 1981 to 2023, and was named a Board of Governors Professor in 2001. She has also taught courses in literature and writing at Columbia and Princeton Universities, the Ninety-second Street Y, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the West Chester Poetry Conference, and the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. https://www.rachelhadas.net/

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELIZABETH COKER FELLOWSHIP IN STUDENT POETRY AND HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELIZABETH BOATWRIGHT COKER FELLOWSHIP IN STUDENT SHORT FICTION.

Jasper Welcomes Artist Patrick Parise to our Nook Gallery in the Koger Center for the Arts + Black Nerd Mafia

The Jasper Project’s newest resident artist in The Nook Gallery is Patrick Parise! Parise’s work will be on display through October 11 over at the Koger Center, and we cordially invite you to stop by for the opening reception on September 17, from 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Jasper will be on site both inside by the gallery and outside during the Koger Center Presents: Levitt AMP Columbia Music Series concert this Thursday, featuring Black Nerd Mafia. Light snacks will be provided inside, but you can grab a drink from the concert concessions outside and bring it in while you experience Parise’s artwork in person.

All paintings in the exhibit are for sale, and during the reception, Parise will also have some additional etchings available for purchase in Jasper’s Nook Gallery on the Koger Center’s second tier.

About the Artist: “When I was young,watching my mother and others paint, it moved me toward wanting to learn more about painting to pursue an art career,” Parise writes. “As a young student thinking only as a painter and sculptor, I never contemplated other ways to make my art. Over the years, oils, and acrylics have been my main mediums, but some newer works are with enamels. Landscapes will always be my favorite subject matter, but I have never shied away from an abstract thought. In my junior year as an undergraduate I was introduced to printmaking, and my entire world changed about making art. Whether etching plates to make limited editions, mono-prints, mono-types, or working a lithograph, a wood block, or a mixed media piece, I began to see the beautiful and innovative ways I could create work with this new medium. So instead of graduate school, I jumped right in and purchased a Charles Brand Etching press and opened my own studio, Southern Printworks, where I have continued to paint and make original prints for over 30 years. I guess we all have a moment of truth on how to pursue a creative path, and by committing to this large purchase, it was my moment of truth. I understand now it was the only choice because, to this day, I haven’t looked back.”

 

“Over the years I have realized you can spend your art career focusing on the nuance of one process, which many artists find very rewarding. Or you can use that information and leap into the unknown, in new directions, to learn other mediums and to change things up,” Parise continues. “With my paintings, I use varied surfaces - canvas, paper, panels, and plexiglass – and vary the subject matter among landscapes, florals, and abstracts – keeping things interesting for me and the viewer. With printmaking, I often introduce color into my limited-edition etchings, using acrylic washes to create a stronger original print. I use multiple etched plates to produce dynamic images with unique combinations of color, shapes, and design to create one-of-a-kind monoprints or, painting on metal and plexiglass allowing me to create one-of-a-kind mono-types. Printmaking, painting, and sculpture are the mediums I will continue to focus on and I will see where it leads me. So here I am, years later, still learning and developing innovative ways to make my art and trying to become a better artist along the way. It has been a fun ride, so far. Enjoy!”

From the Print Issue - Sharing the Spotlight: Collaboration vs. Competition in Midlands Theatre By Jane Turner Peterson

Jasper noticed that at least one other theatre writer in the area is engaging in a conversation Jane Turner Peterson started in the spring issue of Jasper Magazine about community and regional theatres and the problems of competition in booking shows. So we thought it might be helpful to reprint Jane’s original article from the magazine.

Jane is the theatre editor for Jasper Magazine, a member of the Jasper Project board of directors, and she just finished up serving as leader of the 2026 Play Right Project which midwifed D.K. Turner’s wonderful play, The Counting Table, onto the literary landscape.

How many local theatres can you name here in the Midlands? More importantly—how many have you actually visited or been involved with? Do you find yourself loyal to just one theatre, or do you venture out to Lexington, Chapin, or even Newberry to see or participate in or see work on other stages?

Right here in the Columbia area, we’re home to an impressive lineup: Town Theatre, Workshop Theatre, Trustus Theatre (with both its Mainstage and Side Door spaces), Chapin Theatre, Village Square Theatre, Soda City Theatre, Broad River Arts Center (BRAC), and The South Carolina Shakespeare Theatre, which performs on multiple outdoor stages. Add to that the University of South Carolina’s three venues—Longstreet Theatre, Drayton Hall, and the Benson Theatre black box—and you have a remarkable number of creative spaces for a community our size.

That doesn’t even include the region’s thriving youth programs, such as Columbia Children’s Theatre and Broadway Bound, or the classes and performance opportunities offered by nearly every community theatre. Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College also hosts a wide range of professional productions while providing space for local companies with larger-scale needs.

And with these spaces comes something even more valuable: people. The Midlands boasts a deep well of talented actors, directors, musicians, designers, and volunteers who care deeply about the work. It’s a vibrant, passionate theatre community—and we’re lucky to have it.

But that talent pool, as strong as it is, isn’t endless. And lately, there’s been a growing concern that we may be stretching it thin—not because of a lack of passion, but because of how we’re operating within our own ecosystem.

“Because at its core, theatre is about connection.”

In recent seasons, there’s been a noticeable trend: multiple theatres producing the same—or very similar—shows within a short window of time. It’s easy to understand why. Everyone wants to bring in audiences. Everyone wants a successful run. Familiar titles and newer, buzzworthy shows feel like a safer bet when the goal is getting “butts in the seats.”

But it raises an important question: are we truly serving our audiences—and ourselves—when we program this way? Are we building something sustainable, or are we unintentionally competing for the same limited resources?

Curious about whether this was unique to Columbia, I turned to a national Facebook group, Community Theatre Resource Group, and posed the question. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Dozens of theatre-makers from across the country chimed in, and the consensus was clear: this isn’t just a Midlands issue. It’s happening everywhere.

Stories poured in of overlapping productions—sometimes in the same city, sometimes within just a few miles. Popular titles like Kinky Boots, The Play That Goes Wrong, Frozen, and Come From Away appear multiple times in the same season, often drawing from the same pool of actors and audiences.

Many pointed to a shift in how production rights are managed. In years past, licensing companies maintained tighter control, limiting how close in proximity or timing the same show could be produced. Today, with fewer companies controlling more titles, those restrictions have loosened significantly. The result? A kind of theatrical free-for-all.

To be clear, no one is doing anything “wrong.” The desire to produce exciting, recognizable work is natural—and necessary. But without communication, we may be unintentionally undercutting one another.

And yet, within those same national conversations, there were glimpses of a different approach. Some communities have found ways to collaborate rather than compete—sharing calendars, coordinating seasons, even creating joint awards programs that celebrate the entire theatre ecosystem. In those places, success isn’t measured by one theatre’s box office, but by the health of the community as a whole.

That’s the model worth striving for.

Because at its core, theatre is about connection. It turns first-time attendees into lifelong supporters. It builds relationships. It creates community. An audience member today might be a volunteer tomorrow, a donor next season, or even a performer down the line, especially in a community theatre setting. Every production is an opportunity to grow that circle.

“The goal isn’t uniformity—it’s balance.”

When we think of ourselves as competitors, we risk shrinking that opportunity. But when we think of ourselves as collaborators—as part of a shared mission to keep theatre alive and thriving in the Midlands—we expand it.

Actors already understand this. They move fluidly between companies, following roles that excite them and working with artists who inspire them. Loyalty isn’t tied to a single stage—it’s tied to the work itself. And from an audience perspective, there’s something refreshing about seeing new faces in new spaces, discovering different interpretations, and experiencing the breadth of talent our community has to offer.

Still, there are practical realities to consider. Casting is challenging, especially when multiple productions are drawing from the same pool at the same time. Directors know how difficult it can be to find a full cast of “triple threats”—performers who can sing, dance, and act at a high level. When several theatres are producing similar shows simultaneously, that challenge only intensifies.

Audiences, too, are affected. With overlapping productions, they’re forced to choose—sometimes missing out on shows they might otherwise have attended. And as actors move between theatres, their friends and families follow, creating a ripple effect that spreads audiences across venues. While that can introduce people to new theatres, it can also dilute attendance when too many similar offerings compete at once.

“… when one theatre succeeds, it doesn’t take away from the others—it adds to the cultural fabric of the entire region.”

So what’s the solution?

It doesn’t require a major overhaul—just a shift in mindset. Communication is a powerful first step. Imagine if theatre leaders, board members, and directors gathered once a year—virtually or in person, to share season plans, compare calendars, and look for opportunities to complement rather than compete.

From there, collaboration could grow naturally. Costumes, props, and even set pieces could be shared or rented between companies. Knowledge and resources could flow more freely. And programming could become more intentional, offering audiences a wider variety of experiences across the region.

The goal isn’t uniformity—it’s balance.

The Midlands has everything it needs to be an extraordinary theatre community. The talent is here. The passion is here. The audiences are here. What’s left is the willingness to work together in a way that strengthens the whole.

Because when one theatre succeeds, it doesn’t take away from the others—it adds to the cultural fabric of the entire region.

And that’s something worth building, together.

 

Jasper Galleries Presents the Opening Reception for Wilma Ruth King at Harbison Theatre

Friday September 18th 6:30 pm

Harbison Theatre, 7300 College Street, Irmo, SC

Join The Jasper Project on Friday night, September 18th at Harbison Theatre for a reception honoring our featured artist, Wilma Ruth King.

Beginning at 6:30 PM, guests are invited to explore the exhibition and meet King before the curtain rises for Mike Super's "Three's A Charm." Artwork will be available for purchase.

The exhibition is free and will remain on view through December 2026.

Artist Bio:
South Carolina native, Wilma R. King, endeavors to combine her experiences of living in 11 states (including Alaska) with her educational background into a visual storytelling collaboration through her painting. Her pursuit and passion goes beyond a daily practice of technique and development. She believes that universality — seeking common ground — is what makes art purposeful. She taught public relations, communication studies, advertising design, publication design, and photography for more than 30 years in American universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Texas, and South Carolina, and taught Study abroad courses in Italy several years. She was an associate professor of Public Relations at both Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY) and Rochester Institute of Technology (Henrietta, NY), and served on faculty at Benedict College (Columbia, SC), where she wrote the curriculum for, and taught the first courses in the college’s now defunct commercial art program; O’More College of Design (Franklin, TN); Texas Southern University (Houston, TX); The Art Institute of Houston (Houston, TX).

Artist Statement:
I am a contemplative contemporary painter. The context of my paintings is based on personal memories, and my style is described as a montage of times, places, and spaces. My goal as an artist is to give broader meaning to my personal experiences, build long-term relationships with communities, invite two-way communication, embody, expand, and present art and culture as significant and socially responsible. I seek to tell inspiring stories about the communities and cultures that were significantly changed, destroyed, or devastated, and to preserve the memories through my paintings.

I also share my love of art and my skills as an artist to positively affect others, particularly through portraits of children with special challenges or those in various stages of cancer, living out their dreams. In addition, some of the most important work I’ve done was commissioned to hang in private homes. Such works include a painting for a fellow parishioner who could no longer attend Eucharistic Adoration as she had done so for years, so wanted to create a prayer room in her home; a painting requested by a 9-year-old that represented his longing to hug his grandmother while she suffered with the shingles; and, a painting from my photographs of neighborhoods in Italy for a third generation Italian family who had never been there; a painting for a young woman who was able to purchase a house after living in a motel for two years, Portraits of children with special challenges or those in various stages of cancer living out their dreams. Of equal significance to me -- five of my paintings hung in the office of a mental health counselor, and another one in an office of a Ronald MacDonald’s House.

The exhibition is free and will remain on view through December 2026.

REVIEW: Jon Tuttle Reviews Dear Evan Hansen at Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County

“So Big/So Small”: Evan Hansen Takes Camden

Kyle Mayson with Dominic Coletti

The Arts Center of Kershaw County describes its production of Dear Evan Hansen as “a remarkable musical about loneliness, belonging, and our very human longing to be seen and understood,” and all of that’s true, but let’s say it’s about much less.

Let us say, oddly, that this is a show about only its production elements—the scene design, the lighting and sound and so on—and presents, therefore, as a hyper-techno-cyberscape in which people exist only as extensions of their gadgetry. The set is spare, cold, consisting primarily of television monitors on which are displayed representations of a remote dimension: a suburb, a lawn, a bedroom, a school, a toaster, a coffee maker. On the proscenium curtains and flat black surfaces appear The Matrix-like, computer-code-looking social media posts while, between beats, electronic beeps and bloops remind us that our lives are now virtual. At times, a laser-like grid appears, graphing the world like a brutalist wall of windows through which we all desperately wave or, on one particularly stirring occasion, fixing a crosshairs on the broken heart of our distraught, eponymous protagonist.

Upstage, on a riser, with no attempt to disguise it, is the band, consisting of eight fine musicians (Katie Miller, Patty Boggs, Cully Salehi, Kathryn O’Shields, Dottie Hanlin, Nigel Grant, Kevin McKinney, and Christopher Cockrell who, pro that he is, conducts from the keyboard.)  No attempt is made to create a mise-en-scène that is what we’d call realistic. Rather, this production channels Brecht in that it constantly shows us that we are always being shown something—that these characters are not people but figments, and that by extension we are all just ghosts in a machine. To sum up: this medium is the message. It’s all stunning and disturbing.

Even before the lights come down, fans of director Chad Henderson (who is also the Arts Center’s Executive Director) will immediately recognize his virtuosity. Since his days helming Columbia’s Trustus Theatre, he has solidified a reputation for pushing the limits of the theatrically possible. Here, he is aided ably by lighting designer Sebastian Liafsha, sound engineer Cam Mullikan, media designer Chris Harre, and other members of his crew. He also masterfully choreographs a cast of veterans and newcomers from around the midlands who provide the play with what it desperately needs: a soul.

On which note, let us now say, incorrectly, that this production of Dear Evan Hansen is only about parenting, particularly the agony endured by Larry and Cynthia Murphy, who have recently lost their teenage son Connor. Dad’s coping mechanism is a refusal to feel anything, while Mom’s consists of the nearest available trends—Pilates, eastern mysticism, farm-to-table organics. As played by Kevin Bush, who commands every stage he sets foot on, and Jennifer Erickson, for whom this role is a debut, Larry and Cynthia break our hearts by trying to steel their own. So poignant as to leave bruises is their attempt to replace their lost son with our distraught, eponymous protagonist.

Meanwhile, our protagonist’s mother Heidi (played here by Brittany Hammock, of whom this reviewer can never speak highly enough) is a study in maternal resilience, having been abandoned by her husband and left to juggle jobs and coursework and housework with the needs of her damaged son. Her song “So Big/So Small,” in which she swears never to abandon him, is just as heart-rending as Larry’s serenade to late son’s baseball glove. To sum up: if this production of Dear Evan Hansen were about nothing else, it would be about the futility of trying to raise healthy children in a world that isolates them in their rooms and reduces them to beeps and bloops and tweets and likes.

Kevin Bush

Kyle Mayson with Brittany Hammock

If that’s all there was—if Dear Evan Hansen were about only its production values and parenting—it would never have moved to Broadway and won six Tony Awards, including best musical, best score and best book for its creators Benj Pasik, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson. Nor would the Washington Post have called it “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history.”  It would be unspeakably bleak.

It is not. It’s actually quite charming at times even hilarious as it confronts what Henderson calls “our fundamental need for real human connection. It explores that need through the lens of social media and online communication, revealing how these tools can sometimes become an unhealthy substitute for genuine relationships.”  Henderson licensed the play for his September slot to “start the season off with a bang” and to give his audience the opportunity not just to witness good theatre, but to “participate in it. There’s something especially powerful about experiencing this story live: in a play about the challenges of connecting with one another, the audience, the cast, and musicians are all sharing the same human experience together in the same room.”

That room, as the play begins, is the bedroom of its distraught, eponymous protagonist, a high schooler hobbled by awkwardness, hopelessness, and friendlessness. He, Evan, is discovered writing letters to himself—an exercise recommended by this therapist to buoy his drowning spirits. From the very top, then, Dear Evan Hansen announces itself as a play about a boy trying to befriend himself. As it goes, it becomes a valentine for anyone who has ever felt the same, which, judging from the ovation it received on opening night in Wood Auditorium, is everyone.

The inciting incident is, figuratively and perhaps literally, a bang: the death, by his own hand, of the aforementioned Connor, whom we get to know only briefly as a callow jerk. But then, as the play continues, we reinterpret him as an outcast who, in a world full of fashionable influencers, never stood a chance. As played by Dominic Coletti, for whom this is also a debut, and a fine one at that, Connor is not callow but so embittered by isolation that he must mete out his revenge on himself.

The rest of the first act traces the machinery of myth-making—the resurrection of Connor as a saintly but misunderstood martyr. It is Evan who, inadvertently and reluctantly, spearheads this Connor Project, as it is called. Abetted by fellow cultists Jared Klineman (Sam Siceloff) and Alana Beck (Jayda Bracey), Evan spins himself in a web of deceit woven partly from his own good intentions and partly from our culture’s hypocritical insistence on lionizing its casualties. Their collective desire for visibility drives them to such absurd extremes as an online fund-raising scheme to purchase an orchard.

The orchard is crucial but hard to explain. It is, let us say, a real place, but extinct now, defunct. It is therefore the old world, the organic, Edenic world, where grew the very apple of knowledge which destroyed it. The orchard is a brilliant device that reminds us of all we’ve lost, which is our innocence, our minds, and our way.

In the second act, Evan’s rise to social prominence not only necessitates his fall but quite wonderfully complements it. Sure, he manages to score a beautiful girlfriend, but she is Zoe, Connor’s own sister, who would be devastated if his subterfuge were revealed. Tension becomes panic. No wonder, then, that Evan eventually appears in a bland hoodie very much like the one worn by Connor: they are melding. Evan is about to lose his grip—or let go.

One of the most wonderful ironies in the play is that, for a boy trying desperately to like himself, he has an audience full of fans who adore him. This is owing to actor Kyle Mayson, who embodies Evan magnificently. Mayson is, according to his bio, a theatre veteran of eight years. In that time, he has clearly mastered timing, posture, pitch, timbre, gesture—everything necessary to inhabit a goofy, endearing, lost soul without appearing merely to imitate one. To sum up: Mayson is a revelation and well worth the price of admission.

Zoe, his romantic counterpart, is played by Bella Coletti Pender. You’d think that all this young talent might render this production sometimes clunky and amateurish. You would be mistaken. Guided, presumably, by Henderson’s high standards, Pender and the other actors engage us as recognizable, realistic characters trapped in a synthetic world.

Are there problems? Sure. Not all the actors hit all their consonants. Sometimes, volume levels between those playing and those singing are in conflict. And, as for the writing, more jaded viewers might object to the play’s reliance on such platitudes as “everybody matters.” 

What is equally true, however, and what Evan Hansen is really about, is that everybody fabulates. It’s a theme that runs through plays as disparate as The Iceman Cometh, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and The Playboy of the Western World: our identities are built on lies. How else could we survive?

 

Dear Evan Hansen runs at the Arts Center of Kershaw County on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (and one Sunday) through September 26. Admission is $30 and up.

Tissues are encouraged.

Tickets available here.

 

Jon Tuttle is author of The Trustus Collection (2019) and editor of South Carolina Onstage (2024).

Photography by Perry McLeod.

 

REVIEW: Beth DeHart Reviews Come From Away at Village Square Theatre

by Beth DeHart

Our grandparents could tell us where they were when they heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Our parents could tell us where they were when they heard that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. We can tell you where we were on the morning of September 11, 2001.

The attacks on America that day changed our nation forever. Twenty-five years later, it can be hard to believe that so much time has passed. To those of us who lived through it, it certainly doesn’t seem that long ago. Yet much has come from the tragedy of that day, including many beautiful things—art, music, and even theater.

On September 11, 2026—25 years to the day after the horrific events of 9/11—Village Square Theatre opened its production of Come From Away. Director Pat Gagliano mentioned that dozens of theaters across the nation did the same. It seems fitting that, on this anniversary, theaters would offer something beautiful in homage to a day remembered for terror and tragedy.

Come From Away is the celebrated musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein about the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, which welcomed 7,000 stranded airline passengers in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. When the United States closed its airspace, planes already in the air were diverted to destinations far from where their passengers expected to land that day.

At its heart, Come From Away is a simple story about human kindness—and one very worth seeing. But it is also a carnival of movement, action, and remarkable music.

Pat Gagliano admits that Come From Away is his favorite musical, which is saying something for someone who has spent more than four decades in theater education. That experience is evident in this production. Gagliano’s direction allows the performers and the people they portray to shine, which is ultimately what this story is about.

The set, effects, lighting, and costumes are intentionally minimal, allowing the story to take center stage. There is nothing grand about these people or their lives. They are ordinary people who harness their ordinary kindness to change the lives of the “plane people” forever.

The show features a true ensemble cast, with every actor playing multiple roles while singing, dancing, carrying chairs, and changing costumes—all seemingly at once. The cast does a beautiful job juggling the many fast-moving parts of the production.

The only permanent piece of scenery is the enormous painted scene at the back of the stage depicting Gander as seen from an airplane window. Everything else is created through chairs, a few tables, and quick costume changes. The cast appears completely at ease with all these moving parts, with nary a hiccup or hang-up. They move effortlessly through shifts in energy, tone, humor, and emotion, keeping the audience fully engaged. This production is unpretentious yet powerful. On opening night, the audience could not get out of their seats fast enough to offer a standing ovation.

Hats off to Amanda Hines Wrona for excellent music direction and to Katie Hilliger Page for impressive dance choreography. The full cast deserves mention by name, as each person played an equally key role in presenting the story: Heather Miller, Kaeleigh Miller, Olivia Wamai, Kristin Ferrante, Caroline Clarke, Kristi Parker Byers, James Galluzzo, Nick Good, Eric Jewell, Jordan Mendenhall, Todd Gustafson, and Frank Thompson.

Kudos also to Matthew Fuller for scene and lighting design, Melissa Sheppard for costume design, Vicky Saye Van Horne as Associate Director, and Paula Riddle for her excellent Ugly Stick artistry!

Columbia continues to produce some incredible vocal talent, and this production is further evidence of that. One of the overarching highlights was the cast’s lovely harmonies and beautiful vocal pairings. Three moments in particular were enthralling: “28 Hours/Wherever We Are,” “Stop the World,” and “Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere.” The vocals, energy, and storytelling in each were simply delightful.

We’ve all had those evenings that ended with the thought, There went two hours I’ll never get back. But if your evening includes seeing VST’s Come From Away, you won’t feel that way… Instead, you’ll go away singing “I’m an Islander,” and you may find yourself wondering when you can see the show again.

 

Memory is a Verb: Exploring Time and Transience

Ten Women Artists Examine Memory, Loss, Legacy, and the Meaning We Make of Time

PhotoSC will present Memory is a Verb: Exploring Time and Transience, an exhibition featuring the work of ten women artists from diverse geographies, experiences, and backgrounds. The exhibition opens September 17, 2026, at 918 Lady Street in Columbia, South Carolina, and runs through October 17, 2026.

The project began as a conversation during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time marked by fear, uncertainty, isolation, and loss. As the ten artists longed for a return to normal life, they also found themselves looking back—seeking comfort in their histories and in their connections with one another. The experience of the pandemic gave the group a chance to see the past differently. Rather than simply looking back with nostalgia, the artists in this exhibition ask what our memories mean to us now. What still matters? What has changed? And what is worth carrying forward?

The exhibition Memory is a Verb: Exploring Time and Transience has traveled across the country and has resonated with audiences along the way. PhotoSC is excited to present this important and beautiful work that travels to Columbia, SC from the Vermont Center of Photography in Brattleboro, Vermont. As Building Bridges Art Exchange curator and founder Marisa Caichiolo writes – “the idea that memory exists in the present moment is something that can also be applied to all the artworks presented. As a cohesive collection of works, the exhibition grounds memory as a vital concept in our fast-moving world.”

At its heart, Memory is a Verb is about our desire to connect, to remember, and to be remembered. The work is about honoring the past while deciding what to carry into the future. The exhibition invites us to consider what we hold onto, what we let go of, and what we leave behind. Through ten distinct perspectives, Memory is a Verb: Exploring Time and Transience explores how we make meaning from a changing world and from the lives we have lived.

The exhibition’s participating artists are Aline Smithson, Sarah Hadley, Diane Hemingway, Susan Lapides, Annette LeMay Burke, Rosalie Rosenthal, Lori Ordover, Dena Eber, Jennifer Pritchard and Elizabeth Bailey.

Jasper Announces Filmmaker Roster for our 2026 2nd Act Film Project

THE FILMMAKERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED!

The Jasper Project is pleased to partner with Coal Powered Filmworks to announce the roster of independent South Carolina  filmmakers selected to participate in the 2026 2nd Act Film Project, the 10th in the organizations’ history. More than 30 filmmakers applied to take part in the project with a total of 16 being chosen by a committee of judges to compete for prizes that include cash and artisan-created trophies. All 16 films will be screened at Harbison Theatre (7300 College St., Irmo, SC) on Thursday, October 15th at 7:30 pm.

The 2026 slate of 2nd Act Film Project filmmakers includes: Tom Baire, Jennifer Baxley, Chris Bickel, Jason Berry, William Clay, Ed Connolly, Mathew Cothran, Ethan Lopez, Jessica Lyle, Trevor Mawhinney, Chris Refo, Liz Stalker, Alex Steele, Trey Weaver, USC1080c, and Jonathan Raban and CIU students.

The brainchild of filmmaker Wade Sellers, the 2nd Act Film Project began in 2013 as a way to bring independent SC filmmakers under the umbrella of one project in order to foster collaboration and innovation, as well as to build community among SC filmmakers. The 2nd Act Film Project is unique in its structure: Participating filmmakers receive the 1st and 3rd acts of an unfinished filmscript. Their challenge is to write the 2nd act of the script and produce all three acts as a finished film. There is no fee to enter and selected participants are automatically awarded a $100 stipend to help with the creation of their films. Films must not exceed 6 minutes in length including credits.

Thusfar, Jasper’s 2nd Act Film Project has produced 100 films by independent SC filmmakers.

TOM HALL

At least $2500 will be awarded on the night of the official screening at Harbison Theatre, including the Tom Hall Indie Spirit Award for the best overall film, named for the late Tom Hall, a SC filmmaker and attorney whose independent film, Compromised, is cited as contributing to the removal of the Confederate Flag over the SC Statehouse. The Tom Hall Indie Spirit Award is sponsored by the Krewe de Columbi-Ya-Ya. Other prizes include the Audience Choice Prize as well as awards for Best Actor, Best Script, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Director.

For more information about Jasper’s 2026 2nd Act Film Project contact Wade Sellers (above) or visit the website at secondactfilmproject.com where you can also buy tickets to the event.

 

 

Important Reminder: Sunday Sept. 6th is the Last Call for The Counting Table Post-Performance Dinner - DINNER TICKETS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR

The Jasper Project Presents the Premiere Staged Reading of the Winner of the 2026 Jasper Play Right Project, The Counting Table by DK Turner, September 13 at 4 p.m. at the Columbia Music Festival Association.

This year, guests can break bread with the cast and crew following the play with a special meal inspired by The Counting Table ($25 for dinner + a ticket).

A LIMITED NUMBER of dinner tickets are still available but they MUST be purchased by midnight September 6th.

Advance tickets to the performance only ($10) will be available until September 12th.

Tickets to the performance only on the day of the show will be available at the increased price of $15.

Space is limited and this event is expected to sell out soon.

DINNER TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 6TH!

Jasper Welcomes Jana Willis as our Tiny Gallery Artist for September

Artist - Jana Willis (photo courtesy of the artist)

The Jasper Project welcomes artist Jana Willis to our 24/7 virtual Tiny Gallery!

Jasper’s Tiny Gallery is a virtual gallery that gives artists an opportunity to show a selection of smaller pieces offered at affordable price points attractive to beginning collectors and patrons with smaller budgets. Pieces can be any medium but must be under 15” x 15” and cost less than $200, with no more than 50% of works being above $100; artists typically show around 15-25 pieces.

Artists are featured monthly with a solo show for all months but December, which is group holiday show. This gallery runs via the Jasper website, so patrons have access to the art 24/7

Lapse in Vision by Jana Willis

About Jana Willis

Jana Willis is a visual artist from Columbia, SC who works primarily in oil, acrylic, colored pencil, and pen. They blend translucence, abstracted figures, and illusion to describe memory, spirituality, and insomnia. While pursuing a BFA in Drawing at the University of South Carolina, Jana exhibited work in the Visual Art and Design Showcase at the President’s House and Flux/Flow at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Since graduating in 2025, Jana’s creative inquiry has led to an interest in visual processing and phenomena and further experiments in layering, texture, and scale.

See more art by Jana Willis at Jasper’s Tiny Gallery page.

Distant View by Jana Willis

All visual artists in the SC Midlands are encouraged to apply to show their work in Jasper’s Tiny Gallery or one of the many other gallery spaces that we program! Our Galleries Committee selects artists for the coming season in the fall and will contact those who have been accepted at the end of the year.

Learn more about showing your work with jasper.

Apply here to show your work via the Jasper Project.

Calls for Art that You Want to Know About - ArtFields, Kershaw County, Cottontown, & McMaster

Sharing a few calls for visual art. Do you have anything to add?

From our friends at the Arts Center of Kershaw County -

Our Annual Holiday Market is returning to the Arts Center of Kershaw County, and we’re looking for talented local and regional artists to join us! 

From December 4–13, the Bassett Gallery will be transformed into a festive marketplace featuring unique, handmade works perfect for holiday gifting.

The best part? You don’t have to be here the whole time! Our Arts Center staff will handle sales throughout the market. We simply ask participating artists to:
Keep your inventory replenished as items sell
Volunteer for one day during the market
Bring your creativity and help us make this year’s Holiday Market special!

Whether you create paintings, pottery, jewelry, textiles, woodworking, photography, handmade goods, or something entirely your own—we’d love to hear from you.

APPLY HERE

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From the SC Arts Commission, if you’re straight, I guess.

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2027 ARTFIELDS SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN –

DEADLINE - NOVEMBER 1

All submissions must be completed and paid for by 11:59 PM on November 1st, 2026. Use our simple submission tool, ArtBooth, to upload your artwork photo, artist statement, and bio. The submission fee is $25.

Artists must reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia for at least 6 months and be over 18 years of age.

  • 2. Acceptance

    All submissions will be reviewed by an independent panel of arts professionals and rated on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = lowest score; 10 = highest score).

    Up to 400 artists receiving the top average ratings will be invited to exhibit and compete during the 2027 ArtFields Festival in Lake City, South Carolina.

    All artists will be contacted about their submission status via e-mail in December 2026.

  • 3. Invitation

    Venues will view accepted artworks through a private gallery and work with the ArtFields team to choose which pieces to display.

    Artists will be invited by the venue via email in February 2027.

    To confirm participation, artists will electronically sign an Artist and Venue Hosting Agreement.

    Then we’ll coordinate shipping/installation, and your artwork will become part of a town-wide celebration of art and compete for prize money!

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Applications to participate in the Cottontown Art Crawl are now open.

All artists who wish to participate (including previous CAC participants and artists who reside in Cottontown) must complete the application (including payment) by Friday, October 16, 2026.

The 9th Annual Cottontown Art Crawl will take place on Saturday, March 6, 2027 from 10am-4pm. The rain date will be Sunday, March 7, from Noon-5pm.*
*Please make sure you are available for both dates.

APPLY HERE!

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McMaster Gallery at USC


REVIEW: Town Theatre's Come From Away by Paul Smith

Opening last Friday at Town Theatre, Come From Away takes the audience into a swirling storm of emotion, moments of heartbreak and triumph as we are transported back to the events of September 11th, 2001, and invited into the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, where, for a short period of time the world is turned upside down.

A period piece, Come From Away is a musical set during the week of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. This true story follows Operation Yellow Ribbon, a Coordinated effort by Transport Canada to divert all international flights into various Canadian airports after the US closed its airspace. The little slice of this story that we are privy to takes place in Gander, an island in the Newfoundland Province whose population of 9,000 quickly doubled when 38 aircraft landed in their airport.

The audience sees the stories of the townsfolk who are working as hard as they can to accommodate 7,000 people from around the world as they learn to communicate with each other and make space for people with very different diets and religious beliefs.

The other side is the story of the people on the planes. The audience sees little snippets of people's lives who were drastically changed in the wake of 9/11. There is love, loss, and almost everything in between. For approximately 5 days Gander became one of the most multicultural places in the world.

The Cast of Town Theatre’s Come From Away does an amazing job of telling this story, and their success starts with the foundation of any good theatrical show, the ensemble which, in this case, has admirable structure and chemistry. This musical goes at a lightning-fast pace, punctuated by the actors putting on and removing their jackets to swap characters in record speed. The actors are always supporting the scene, allowing each moment to have weight and depth. There are many different dialects and accents in this musical and although there were a few questionably delivered lines, the cast does a fine job with their accent work.

As I sat down in my seat in the theatre I was handed a CAE Passport Booklet with some interesting items inside: A leaflet about Columbia Metropolitan Airport, a coupon for parking at the airport, and a little blank notebook. Town Theatre’s performance of Come From Away was sponsored by CAE and this was their novel idea of creating an immersive element for the production. It was nice to have something physical to hold onto. At first, I just felt like I had a ticket to board this journey to Gander with everyone else in the audience. However, upon reflection, I feel like this was a missed opportunity to personalize the passports with the names of the passengers on the aircrafts or something more specific to the show itself. As it is right now the packet feels a more like the free stress ball you often receive at the start of a business seminar.

Come From Away features some outstanding performances from Megan Anderson (Diane) and Jeremy Hansard (Nick) whose characters find love in an unexpected place; Raymond Elling (Claude), who plays a convincing mayor whose presence commands the space; Emily Banks (Bonnie) who tells the story of taking care of all the animals on the planes, finding beautiful highs and lows within her character; and Rebecca Seezen (Beverley), who tells the true story of the first female pilot for American Airlines, Beverley Bass. I was impressed by Michael Seezen(Oz), whose characterizations and specificity found the audiences drawn in every time he was out on stage.

Every actor in this show has moments where they shine, including Brianna Grant, Inaara Jadavji, Jennifer Kraus, Paul Lindley, Jacob Kirby, and Jerimy Woodall.

The Cast is supported by an excellent live band consisting of Gage Banks, James Ibson, Linnea Hahn, Mary Lee Taylor, Kinosian, Bert Ligon, Kris Phelps, and Gloria Wright. In a musical where the pace never slows, the band never missed a beat.

The set design by Jeremy Hansard and Shannon Scruggs was purposefully very bare and used rolling chairs and tables to create different settings and set pieces. At the back of the stage were piles of luggage which, thanks to Gina Jarvin, cleverly conceals props which could be accessed at a moment's notice.

Dell Goodrich served as costume designer. It feels odd to call a musical set in 2001 a period piece but the clothing was carefully considered and crafted to bring the audience back 25 years to the start of the 21st century.

No production could work without the crew and this musical runs smoothly thanks to the efforts of the stage manager Chelsey Art, Assistant Stage Manager Reid Moser, and crew members Mat Eberhardt, Nae Houghton, and Troy King.

The Music Director Lou Boeschen also did a fine job making sure the music had its breakout moments but also underscoring the scenes when it needed to. A lot of the dialogue is spoken over the ensemble singing and it is done in a way that is audible to the audience and accentuates the tone and feeling of the piece.

Shannon Willis Scruggs directed this production of Come From Away. Through her vision, the cast and crew of this show told a story of selflessness, unity, and the resilience of the human spirit.

I strongly recommend seeing Come From Away! In a world constantly being divided by foreign policy and big political forces bashing heads against heads, this story shows us that when an emergency knocks us off course, we find that human connection is stronger than any tragedy.

Come From Away is running from Aug 28th to Sept 13th. Ticketing Information can be found on https://towntheatre.com/.

Come from Away is a 2013 musical, with book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein..

Spotlight on Jasper's FIRST THURSDAY Featured Artists in the Jasper Alley at Tapp's: Emily Moffitt, Cam Moore, & Kate Timbes with Special Guest Andrew Phillips

Jasper has an exciting show coming up on for our next First Thursday gallery opening on September 3rd as we welcome three singular artists into the Jasper Alley at Tapp's: Emily Moffitt, Cam Moore, and Kate Timbes, each bringing a distinct voice to the space, from illustration to upcycled collage to ecological sculpture. Joining them will be Andrew Phillips, a special guest artist who is showing his work for the very first time.

Color Has Other Plans by Andrw Phillips - 24x24 $400

Guest Artist - Andrew Phillips

Phillips paints the way he lives—boldly, on his own terms, and without waiting for anyone's permission to take up space. He communicates using an AAC device and gets around by wheelchair, but neither has ever slowed down his imagination; if anything, painting gives him a language all his own, one that doesn't require words to say exactly what he means. Working in acrylic paint with an adapted paintbrush created for him by fellow featured artist and camp art director, Cam Moore, Phillips is drawn to bold color and rich texture, which is no surprise from an artist who's also an active member of the Inclusive Theatre Company of South Carolina and brings a bit of flair to everything he touches.

The piece in this show is his first painting. Moore recalls the moment Phillips first took hold of the brush himself: "It was his first time painting, and his reaction was pure joy. He had this huge smile, and you could see the curiosity and pride on his face." Andrew started with simple strokes and was soon experimenting on his own, moving between dotting and longer brushstrokes to see what he could do.

"I paint because I have something to say," Phillips writes in his artist statement, "that life is full of color and excitement, that it takes unexpected turns, and that dreams get fulfilled. This piece is my proof."

Artist - Cam Moore

Featured Artist – Cam Moore

Cam Moore is a multidisciplinary artist and art educator whose work turns what most people throw away, thin cardboard and packing paper, into mosaic-styled collage pieces detailed with charcoal. "There's usually a moment where the viewer realizes that what they're actually looking at wasn't meant to be beautiful in the first place," Moore says, "and that surprise is a big part of what I'm going for." His work has been shown at Richland Library Main and at Stormwater Studios via Jasper’s Degenerate Arts Project Part II, where it won the Artists’ Choice Award.

Beyond the studio, Moore is the Art Lead at Camp Cole's Camp Rise Above program, he founded the community art series The Sessions, and is currently building The Source Columbia, a creative studio space aimed at underserved neighborhoods. He's been showing publicly since early 2025 and moving fast ever since.

Artist - Emily Moffitt

Featured Artist – Emily Moffitt

Emily Moffitt is an illustrator based right here in Columbia, and a familiar face in Jasper's world. She serves as Secretary on the Jasper Board of Directors and as Visual Arts Editor for Jasper Magazine, alongside her day job as Gallery Curator for the Koger Center for the Arts. A graduate of USC's School of Visual Art and Design, Emily has exhibited at the Driggers Center for the Arts in Greer, at Stormwater Studios for Jasper's inaugural Degenerate Art Project, and at the Richland Library. She's spent her post-grad years deep in the Columbia arts scene and says helping build exhibits for fellow artists keeps pulling her back toward her own studio practice.

Artist - Kate Timbes

Featured Artist – Kate Timbes

Kate Timbes is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculpture, painting, and digital media, weaving paint, seeds, handmade paper, and other materials into pieces that make us think hard about where our resources come from. Her practice, as she describes it, searches for "a finish that borders raw, vaguely familiar, and other worldly all at once." Timbes has exhibited nationally and internationally, including the Koger Center, The Morgan Paper Conservatory, Visalia Arts Center, and the DIS Student Hub in Copenhagen, and she teaches papermaking workshops across the Carolinas. She runs Woven Studios, holds a BA in Studio Art from Wofford College, completed a Work-Study Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Craft, and is a member of Zero Space Collective. Originally from South Carolina, she is currently based in Charlotte.

Come shop, have a drink, and hang out with all the cool kids in the alley. We have DJ Saiteron scheduled to keep us dancing throughout the evening, as well as the featured artists aboce and Jasper Board members on site to chat about the work and what’s next for Jasper.

This Thursday, September 3, 6–8:30 pm at Tapp's, 1642 Main Street.

Al Black's Poetry Church is Saturday & You Don't Have to Be Religious to Attend

Al Black - Poet (photo courtesy of the artist)

Traditionally, Columbia-based poet Al Black’s Poetry Church events are not limited by the constraints of expectations surrounding either poetry or church, and the Poetry Church gathering coming up this Saturday, August 29th to the historic Ensor Keenan House is no different. Packed with performers and participants that include visual artist Lucas Sams*, who will be live painting, Al Black’s Poetry Church offers readings from singer-songwriters, jazz artists, the president of the Columbia Writers’ Alliance, Jerlean Noble, and more.

But you don’t have to be a church-goer to go to this church.

“For several years I have organized and hosted Poetry Church with churches and art galleries in South Carolina,” Black says. “This coming Saturday, starting at 10 am we will be hosting another Poetry Church in Columbia. I have no restrictions on how you express your relationship with the Divine or Creation. What and how you believe is sacred to you and is important.”

Participants include Bentz Kirby, Lang Owen, and Alyssa Stewart, all of whom are Columbia-based cross-over artists who both write poetry and lyrics (similar, but not quite the same) as singer-songwriters.

Cassie Premo-Steele, author of more than a dozen books of poetry and prose, will be participating. Premo-Steele’s novel Beaver Girl (Anxiety and Outcast Press, 2023) was selected by the Jasper Project for the One Book reading challenge in 2024.

Additional participants include Seitu Amenwahsu, Afrofuturist professor Len Lawson, Moses Freedman, Spanish poet Loli Munoz, Chrisso, and Teeb Al-Rubaiawi.

Ensor Keenan House is located at 801 Wildwood Avenue in Columbia at the corner of Wildwood Avenue and Monticello Road.

*Lucas Sams will also conduct a silent auction of the piece he creates during Poetry Church with proceeds benefitting the SC Progressive Network.

REVIEW: Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical at Trustus Theatre

After the applause and the final bows Saturday night for Trustus Theatre’s World Premiere of Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical (Jesse Corbin – playwright, composer, lyricist) my friend who attended the play with me looked at me and said, “What did we just see?”

To be candid, I’m still trying to figure that out, but here are some of the pieces of the puzzle we’re working with.

We saw a beautiful set, far more complex than we typically see for a late summer Trustus production; the unofficial time when the theatre typically stages its biennial Playwrights’ Festival for new works. Kudos to USC-based theatrical designer Jim Hunter for this lovely work. (Note: the Trustus website explains that the next Playwrights’ Festival returns in 2027.)

We heard an elaborate and highly professional score, stunningly executed and punctuated with tight harmonies and exceptional vocals.

We witnessed the well-done work of a roster of some of Columbia’s best behind-the-scenes artists including Chris Harre, Marc Hurst, and Colleen Kelly.

We read from a playbill that listed an assortment of additional SC-based theatre artists mixed into a large pot of non-local Equity actors, all of  whose performances were almost flawless.

But it’s the final two puzzle pieces that still leave me scratching my head and trying to figure out what we saw. For one thing, we saw fine actors working from a script that, surprisingly, seemed to have been written for an audience of adolescents sometime during Reagan’s 1980s. I sincerely hate to use such harsh words to describe any piece of art, but the ones that come most easily to mind are vapid and platitudinous. As for the second confounding puzzle piece, we witnessed the results of apparent advice from director Marlo Hunter that must have asked those fine actors to lean into the awkwardness of the early teenage years with as much geekiness as they could muster.

The quality was there but the framework upon which all these fine attributes were draped was so far removed from the typical Trustus faire of incisive, cutting-edge, and thought-provoking performances that, scene after scene, it felt more and more off-balance and out-of-place.

Here’s why.

The story of Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical is simple. Very simple. Two friends fresh out of the 8th grade plan to continue their tradition of running a summer lemonade stand but, this year, they are also competing for the award of being the best of the area’s summer youth businesses. These are the Good Guys.

Their nemesis is a Mean Girl who cheats, generally plays dirty, and who has forcefully recruited two newbies to her team selling “homemade” cookies and giving away free milk. They are the Bad Guys.

After a few minor confrontations, the Good Guys start to play dirty, too, just like the Bad Guys, but ultimately they give in to their collective moral compass and suggest a compromise with the Bad Guys, who immediately agree to work together. And then the play is over.

Well, there are actually a couple of undeveloped, nonessential subplots that, further developed, could lead to a more interesting and challenging play.

In the first, the Mean Girl has two rich dads (hello 21st century) who we never see and know little about except that they can afford a “priceless Baccarat” platter because they got rich off of milk money and, big reveal, they are getting a divorce.

The second subplot involves the lead character’s dead dad and his widowed mom who has recently re-entered the dating scene. We do see and hear from this parent, but always in relation to her role as the parent. We know little about her life or desires or the nebulous Mike with whom she occasionally goes out.

That’s it.

Throughout the play, my friend and I waited patiently for the added conflict, the complexity, the twist, the deeper metaphor that would make this story more compelling. Unfortunately, it did not come.

What did come our way was a stellar cast (kudos to USC grad Taylor McCullough who returns to the Trustus stage after a successful run in Urinetown: The Musical), many of whom surely must have been directed to take the gawkiness of being an 8th-grader (or the parent of an 8th-grader) and turn it up a notch, or two, or three. Think Andy Samberg portraying a 13-year-old in an SNL sketch that is supposed to make us laugh at the character. It was odd, a little off-putting, and staggeringly out of place on the Thigpen Main Stage, and I couldn’t help but wonder how founders Jim and Kay Thigpen would have responded to this play. (Happily, Trustus opens their season with the always-spicy Cabaret in September, followed by such titillating titles as The Niceties and Dear Evan Hansen later in the year.)

Sadly, Lemonade just didn’t work for this reviewer despite the best and successful efforts of the cast and crew.

Still, as always, congratulations to Trustus Theatre for facilitating and producing new work. This doesn’t happen enough, especially not in SC. Clearly, a lot of financial and physical energy went into bringing Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical to the stage. But having been beaten over the head throughout the evening with the banality of the singular old adage, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” a saying that many if not most of us respond to with annoyance, the script and its message fell on battered eyes and ears. The problem with the repetitive application of this exhausted metaphor in Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical is that while there was little added sugar in the mixture, there was more than enough saccharine to go around.

 

See Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical at Trustus Theatre through August 30th For tickets visit the Trustus website at TRUSTUS.ORG.

 

More About the Cast of The Counting Table by DK Turner (& ticket info, too!)

Tashera Pravato

Tashera Pravato is a Columbia-based actor and designer with a love for bold storytelling and theater that creates connection. A company member at Trustus Theatre, she recently made her assistant directing debut with Clyde's and has appeared in People, Places & Things, Down in the Holler, and Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play. Her work also includes costume design for Blues for an Alabama Sky and producing the short film It Takes a Village. A U.S. Army veteran, Tashera is passionate about stories that make space for voices, experiences, and joy too often pushed to the margins. She is proud to support new work through Jasper's Play Right Project and Columbia's vibrant arts community. Offstage, she's mom to two brilliant daughters who remind her why stories matter. 

 

Bonita Peeples

Bonita Peeples had the great fortune of sharing the stage earlier this year with our esteemed playwright in The Nia Co./Columbia Children's Theatre collaboration of Wiley and the Hairy Man.  In 2019, they also worked together on Harlem South: A View Through The Lens (Live at the CMA), a jazz and theatrical celebration of photographer, Richard Smauel Roberts.

Over the years, Bonita has been an actor of stage and screen, singer, forensic actor, teaching artist, and adjudicator for the Richland One Visual and Performing Arts Dept.  However, her greatest role is that of Momma to Bryce and Braylen. 

The Counting Table

A Play by DK Turner

Premiere Staged Reading

Sunday September 13th at 4 pm

Columbia Music Festival Association

914 Pulaski Street

Reserve your seat now!

In this sixth installment of the Jasper Play Right Project, 2026’s winning playwright D. K. Turner invites the reader and the viewer into one of the most intimate settings in the life of a family—the dinner table. But like most tables sitting in kitchens throughout the American South, this table serves many functions, one of which is a place to reconcile expectations and interpretations of the past and the future. The Counting Table is the story of how one extended Carolina family comes to terms with the legacy of both responsibilities and worldly possessions. Pull up a chair to Mama Rut’s table. The cornbread is cooling and the rice is starting to steam.

CALL for Literary Art - Jasper Degenerate Art Project III (2027) -- The Conversation Continues

CALL FOR POETRY, ESSAYS, & CREATIVE NONFICTION

DEADLINE - DECEMBER 15, 2026

In conjunction with the upcoming Degenerate Art Project III: The Conversation Continues exhibition (2027), The Jasper Project is issuing a call for literary art (poetry, critical essays, and creative non-fiction) for an anthology of work by South Carolina writers in response to the current socio-political environment, nationally and internationally.

Tentative Title: Degenerate Art: The Conversation Continues

·         Work should be original and unpublished in any format including social media.

·         The call is limited to literary artists currently living in SC.

·         There is no fee to submit.

·         Poetry should be left justified.

·         Individual poems should not exceed four pages, double spaced with 12-point font.

·         Essays and creative non-fiction should be double space with 12-point font and should not exceed 1000 words each.

·         Writers may enter up to five poems and up to five essays and/or works of creative non-fiction.

·         This is not a blind Call. Writers should submit a 75 word or less bio written in the third person with their submission.

·         Selected writers will receive a complimentary book copy.

·         Selected writers will be asked to attend a to-be-scheduled book launch and reading in conjunction with the opening weekend (May 2027) of the Jasper Degenerate Art Project III: The Conversation Continues at Stormwater Studios in Columbia, SC.

 

Dates:

Publication date: May 18, 2027

Deadline to submit: December 15, 2026