Category — Mary T. Christian Auditorium

Please read about the sensational TNCC-Iron Street production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” The musical 10/14 at 8:00 in the Mary T. Christian Auditorium with a Sunday matinee tomorrow at 3:00; it will also run next weekend, Friday-Sunday. It’s an historic first musical for the College and one I guarantee you won’t want to miss.

From the AltDaily review:

If there is one genre of music to listen to for eternity, it’s 60s soul: Archie Bell and the Drells, O.V. Wright, Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Band, Dyke & the Blazers, the roll call could go on all day.

Stepping into the Mary T. Christian auditorium at Thomas Nelson the other night, the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places, I beheld heaven as musical director Michael Sunblad led the Doo-Wop Girls through the first song from Little Shop of Horrors, which premieres Saturday the 14th.

Read full review @ AltDaily

Thomas Nelson Community College’s (TNCC) Department of Performing Arts, TNCC Players, and Iron Street Productions (ISP) will present “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium (MTCA), Templin Hall, on the Hampton campus. Performances will take place November 13-15 and November 20-22 at 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Open to the public, the play is about a hapless florist shop assistant who discovers and raises a mysterious plant that craves fresh blood. As the story unfolds, the blood-thirsty plant named Audrey II grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers the main character, Seymour, fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite. Featured songs composed by Ashman and Alan Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, include “Skid Row (Downtown), ” “Somewhere That’s Green,” and “Suddenly, Seymour” as well as the title song. The classic musical is one of the longest running Off-Broadway plays and is based on the 1960 dark comedy film of the same title.

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Iron Street Productions brings the play “Pirates of the Chemotherapy” to the stage at Thomas Nelson Community College’s (TNCC) Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium, Templin Hall, Hampton campus. Performances begin at 8 p.m. on Oct. 23 and 24, and the final show on Oct. 25 starts at 3 p.m.

In this original dramatic comedy written by Paul Schutte and directed by Brandon Lyles, six breast cancer survivors portrayed by local actresses unite to take on more than just their cancer and the disease’s side effects. They band together to take on life, and in the process they find new meaning for their lives through love and laughter. The women even refer to themselves as pirates and don pirates’ attire complete with scarves and eye patches.

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Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeffrey Gaines comes to Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC) on Wednesday, September 9 performing a free concert at the Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium, Hampton campus.

The event, sponsored by TNCC Cultural Affairs, is open to the public and no tickets are necessary.

After Gaines’ last successful performance at the College in 2006, TNCC Cultural Affairs Chair Shar Wolff is pleased to be able to bring him back. “We are excited to be bringing in a national recording artist of Gaines’ caliber to perform at the College.”

A rising musical star, Gaines has opened for Tori Amos and toured with Sting, Tracey Chapman and Melissa Etheridge. “The audience is in for an exceptional musical experience … he puts on an absolutely incredible show,” said Wolff.

Gaines is a Pennsylvania native who grew up listening to soul music by the likes of Gladys Knight and Pips and Otis Redding. He found his own musical niche as a teen when he became exposed to an eclectic mix of pop/rock and began mastering the guitar. His debut album “Always Be” was released in 1992 and he has since released his fifth album “Toward the Sun” in February on Artemis Records.

In 2001 his star rose when his impressive remake of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” was in heavy rotation on the radio nationwide. Gaines delivers his crisp soulful vocals and powerful guitar riffs in emotionally charged songs that masterfully communicate love, desire, fear, joy and regret. Among songs on his concert play list are “Headmasters of Mine,” “To Be Free, “Come Out Tonight” and an inspiring remake of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.”

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The Daily Press

The competition is low stress, and if you go Tuesday night you can watch and pick your favorites.

Thomas Nelson Community College’s Spring Digital Film Festival is part of a semi-annual event where art students show off their productions. The fall competition features judges and prizes, but the spring version takes a lighter tone.

Since October, students have had the college’s new green-screen production studio, which provides a background for computer animation, to play with.

“They have some really strong pieces, three or four, using that green screen,” said Cece Wheeler, TNCC associate professor of art and computer arts department head.

Between 30 and 40 pieces will be shown. They include commercials, music videos and public service announcements. Motion graphic works, including animation, typography in motion and network logo pieces will be featured as well.

“It’s just another way to showcase those videos because we have students who do beginner work in the fall and enter, but then might take an advanced class and want to show that as well,” Wheeler said.

Projects shown will be from spring semester classwork. This includes a beginning and two advanced computer arts classes, one of which is an animation class with some two-dimensional animation as well, Wheeler said.

She started the festival eight years ago during the fall semester only, with jurors coming in to judge it and award prizes. But after finding some students took a spring class and wanted to put their videos in, Wheeler expanded it.

Because of the range of the different works in the spring, it’s hard to compare them to one another for judging.

“You’ve got beginning and then really advanced motion graphics classes that are in there,” Wheeler said. “So it’s really hard for that to be a fair piece against a music video or a comedy, because they are mostly graphic design pieces. That’s why we don’t have jurors because that’s too many apples and oranges to put together.”

Tuesday’s audience members will receive a ballot to vote for their favorite work.

“The spring one is more fun,” she said.

Want to go?

Thomas Nelson Community College’s Spring Digital Film Festival is Tuesdayat 7 p.m. at the Mary T. Christian Auditorium on the Hampton Campus. It is free and open to the public.

Thomas Nelson Community College’s concert choir will present a spring concert Wednesday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium, Templin Hall, Hampton campus. Titled Eclectic Voices, the concert is free and open to the public.

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Best known for his political thrillers and his series “The Camel Club” and “King and Maxwell,” all of Baldacci’s 16 novels have become national and international bestsellers. His newest book, “First Family,” will be released April 21.

Baldacci will share humorous tales of his experiences in researching and writing his novels under the title, “Life Between the Pages.”

Free tickets for the author talk, question-and-answer session and book signing are available beginning Sept. 15 at the sponsoring libraries of the Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium, which consists of the public libraries of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and York County and the academic libraries of Christopher Newport University, Hampton University and Thomas Nelson Community College.

Tickets will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to two per person while supplies last. Open seating at the event, to be held in the Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium in Templin Hall, is limited, and attendees are advised to arrive early. Ticket holders will be seated first. Any remaining seats will then be open to the general public.

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The Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC) Art Department will showcase student talent during the semi-annual Digital Film Festival on Tuesday, April 28. The event will start at 7 p.m. in the Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium, Templin Hall, Hampton Campus and is free and open to the public.

Unlike the fall festival, the upcoming spring festival will not including judging or prizes. Instead, the students will display their work without the pressures of a contest and benefit from audience feedback. The opinions from the audience will be valuable tools for the students as they work to enhance their creativity and production skills. The department will showcase 30 to 40 pieces this year.

The festival will include a diverse lineup of entries, including commercials, music videos and public service announcements. Motion graphic works, including animation, typography in motion and network logo pieces will also be featured.

For more information about the Spring Digital Film Festival, please call Cece Wheeler, Associate Professor of Art and Computer Arts Department Head, at 757-825-3608.

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