Wes Driver News

Wes Driver directs a thoroughly charming and beautifully acted revival of G.K. Chesterton's first play, Magic, now onstage at the Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus in a sumptuously appointed production from Blackbird Theatre Company. Featuring a stellar cast of Nashville stage professionals, Magic might best be described as a gentle drawing-room comedy from the post-Edwardian period (it debuted in 1913) that somehow remains relevant and intriguing almost 100 years after its premiere.

Nashville's Blackbird Theater in August will mount a rare production of Magic - a play by the great, if largely forgotten, literary figure G.K. Chesterton - with performances at Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus, running August 12-27. Magic is described as 'a funny, fiercely dramatic, unabashedly romantic play that involves an aristocratic family whose conflicting beliefs and doubts about the supernatural are all challenged by the arrival of a mysterious conjurer.'

Rehearsals are going frighteningly well. Even with the cast in their street clothes, rehearsing in a community room at an apartment complex, we've already been able to establish a haunting atmosphere and some strong character dynamics. When you produce a new or unknown work like Magic, there's always that fear that you'll be in the middle of rehearsals before discovering the play's really not that good. But that hasn't been the case at all.

Teaser for Blackbird Theater's production of Magic by G.K. Chesterton. August 12-13, 19-20, 25-27. Starring Amanda Card McCoy and David Compton. Ticket information at BlackbirdNashville.com.

Nashville's Blackbird Theater in August will mount a rare production of Magic - a play by the great, if largely forgotten, literary figure G.K. Chesterton - with performances at Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus, running August 12-27. Magic is described as 'a funny, fiercely dramatic, unabashedly romantic play that involves an aristocratic family whose conflicting beliefs and doubts about the supernatural are all challenged by the arrival of a mysterious conjurer.'

Nashville's Blackbird Theater, fresh off its successful, critically lauded premiere season, is offering two rarely produced shows for audiences in the company's eagerly anticipated second season - G.K. Chesterton's Magic (running August 12-27) and Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning Pacific Overtures (February 9-19, 2012) - creating a buzz that other theater companies can only envy and hope to create for their own season announcments.

Feasting on the banquet that is the musical, magical prose of Tom Stoppard, the cast of Blackbird Theater Company's Arcadia delivers a pitch-perfect rendering of his intellectually stimulating play, under the fine direction of Ted Swindley. Certain to provoke thought and elicit a variety of responses, Arcadia is intricately crafted and imaginatively plotted, staged elegantly and confidently by the relatively new theater company in just its second production at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre.

Talk to cast members of Blackbird Theater Company's production of Arcadia and you get the idea that all this hard work we've heard so much about may actually be a whole lot of fun. And ask them why audiences should come see the show, which opens Friday night, February 25, at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre, and the answers you get may not be what you expect either.

Dedicated to her craft, she is an endearing blend of serious actress and sweet young woman. During her time on the Nashville stage, she's played a wide range of roles for a variety of companies, including Circle Players' production of Noises Off, Towne Centre Theatre's Moon Over Buffalo and Steel Magnolias, and Blackbird Theatre Company's Twilight of the Gods. And in each of those roles, she's epitomized 'versatility' with an exceptional performance every time she steps onto the stage.

Nashville's Blackbird Theater Company offers a second sneak-peek at its upcoming production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, featuring David Compton and Denice Hicks. Directed by Ted Swindley, this second production of Blackbird's inaugural season also features Amanda Card-McCoy, Jeff Boyet, Wes Driver, Britt Byrd and Scott Rice. Arcadia plays the Shamblin Theatre at David Lipscomb University February 25-March 12. For further information about Blackbird, visit the company website at www.blackbirdnashville.com.

Playwright/director Ted Swindley helms a much-anticipated production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, presented by Blackbird Theater at Nashville's David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre February 25-March 12. Swindley's cast includes Denice Hicks, Amanda Card-McCoy, David Compton, Jeff Boyet, Wes Driver, Britt Byrd, Scott Rice and Brad Forrister. Curtain is at 7 p.m. for all performances.

Mining the depths and heights of their own life experiences to bring to life onstage a plethora of challening and compelling characters, dramatic actresses in Nashville were at the pinnacle of their talents in 2010. Thoroughly captivating their audiences night after night, they put their tremendous talents on display with no-holds-barred performances that have raised the bar for actresses who follow in their wake in the coming seasons. And these ten women gave what we considered to be the most noteworthy performances of the 2010 season...

Nashville actors displayed an astonishing range in 2010, playing some of the most coveted roles in theater with imagination and creativity and exhibiting new stage personas for characters making their initial debuts in new, original works. It was a memorable year, to say the least, and Nashville men stepped up to the plate with vigor and conviction, showing greater promise for the new season now under way in 2011. These ten actors led the way for their peers during the season just past and we're proud to recognize their onstage achievements...

Not all of the Top Ten Lists announced at Winter's First Night on Sunday, January 9, were serious, high-toned salutes to all that is special and spectacular about live theater in Nashville. Sure, most of them were heartfelt and memorable, but some were (how shall I put this?) off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek and just plain fun. And not all the lists were limited to only ten entries; in fact, some had many more than that. But, for your reading pleasure, we present them to you without any real explanation. You'll have to figure that all out for yourself!

The company's mission, according to its co-founders, is 'To create entertaining, enlightening stage productions that reawaken audiences to the thrill of theater. Our shows will be intellectually challenging and imaginatively rendered, focusing on inventive original works, rarely produced plays by renowned playwrights, and one-of-a-kind special events-all of which celebrate the vitality and immediacy of the live theater experience.'

Blackbird Theater, the newest member of Nashville's burgeoning community of theater companies, makes an auspicious debut with the premiere of Wes Driver and Greg Greene's smartly written new script - Twilight of the Gods - now onstage at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre. Featuring a truly outstanding ensemble performance from the 13-member cast (with particularly impressive turns by Britt Byrd and Patrick Kramer), Twilight of the Gods might best be described as a murder mystery cum drawing room comedy cum intellectual discussion.

Jeffrey Ellis has been a fixture on Nashville's theater scene for many years - as a writer, reviewer, director and, of course, his many years with the First Night Awards. After a brief hiatus from theater, Jef's back and Nashville is glad to have him in the theater where he belongs. Writing for BroadwayWorld.com, Jef has kept the world informed of the theater life that happens in Nashville, from incisive reviews to interviews with some of Music City's best-loved local talent.

The company's mission, according to its co-founders, is 'To create entertaining, enlightening stage productions that reawaken audiences to the thrill of theater. Our shows will be intellectually challenging and imaginatively rendered, focusing on inventive original works, rarely produced plays by renowned playwrights, and one-of-a-kind special events-all of which celebrate the vitality and immediacy of the live theater experience.'

The company's mission, according to its co-founders, is 'To create entertaining, enlightening stage productions that reawaken audiences to the thrill of theater. Our shows will be intellectually challenging and imaginatively rendered, focusing on inventive original works, rarely produced plays by renowned playwrights, and one-of-a-kind special events-all of which celebrate the vitality and immediacy of the live theater experience.'