Share this Story
Spotlight on the Arts at VWU for Fall 2018
VWU bids farewell to Hofheimer Theater as a mainstage space
News Release | September 14, 2018
“To send light into the darkness of the heart – such is the duty of the Arts.” – Robert Schumann 1810 -1856
In fall 1981, the Hofheimer Theater first opened with a production of “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare. With the opening of the new Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center in spring 2019, VWU bids farewell to Hofheimer Theater as a mainstage space, closing as it opened with a revisit of the Shakespearean classic. “The Tempest,” directed by Professor of Theatre Dr. Sally Shedd, opens October 24, with performances scheduled through October 28. Khari Johnson ’16 is slated to play the role of Prospero and Dr. Martine Kei Green-Rogers’02 returns to campus to serve as dramaturg.
Theatre and music alumni have been invited to come home to gather for a retrospective of programs through the years during VWU Homecoming and Family Weekend Arts Showcase (October 5 and 6), featuring an “Alumni Come Home” panel that includes Dr. Rick Hite, Emeritus Professor of Theatre and Dr. Stephen Mansfield, University Archivist and Vice President and Dean Emeritus, and current music and theatre faculty. The Showcase will provide audiences with previews from “The Tempest” and performances from the VWU Choirs, Jazz Ensemble, and Orchestra.
Theatre offerings this fall also include the One-Act Play Festival, with thought-provoking dramas and side-splitting comedies produced and directed by VWU students (November 30 through December 1).
The fall arts season opens in the with Diane Edison: Black and White, on display through November 2, followed by Clayton Singleton’s ’94 Solo Exhibition (November 15 through January 2019).
Student performances will be music to the ears with Peace: 100 Years since WWI Armistice (November 9) featuring the VWU Choirs, Winds, Strings and More, by the VWU Jazz and Orchestra (November 14), followed by a long-running VWU holiday tradition (December 7 and 8), Sing We Now of Christmas, featuring the VWU Choirs to usher in the holiday season.
The VWU Center for Sacred Music presents the : Here Comes the Bride. From Weddings and Marriage in the Christian Tradition and Someday My Prince Will Come: Marriage in the Disney Tradition (October 11) to Weddings and Marriage in the Jewish Tradition and Wedded Blitz (November 15), the series explores customs in various religious traditions through a variety of speakers and presenters.
In addition, the Fall Hymn Festival, In Time of Trouble, O God of Peace (November 11) will be at Wycliffe Presbyterian Church this fall.
Excitement for the Arts at VWU mounts as we anticipate the opening of the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center in the spring. The stunning, new 23,000-square-foot space will feature a sparkling Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano, an impressive glass-enclosed lobby, a 300-seat theater, and a plaza for outdoor programming – all a part of the first phase of a new arts complex on campus.
All events are open to the public and free to VWU students, faculty and staff. For more information such as specific times and locations, visit or the Campus Event Calendar.