The NiA Company Presents Jasper's Play Right Series 2023 Winning Play THERAPY by LONETTA THOMPSON

August 29, 30, 31

at the Trustus Side Door Theatre

Few things make us happier at the Jasper Project than seeing art that we had some small hand in helping to launch continue to grow, thrive, and take on a life of it’s own. We are so pleased to share the news about one such theatrical project coming to the stage this month – Lonetta Thompson’s 2023 Play Right Series-winning play, Therapy!

As the third of our Play Right Series winning plays, Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy was workshopped and presented as a staged reading in August 2023. The book, Therapy: A Play by Lonetta Thompson, was published the same month. Now, after a workshopping session in June, Therapy is coming to the Trustus Side Door Theatre August 29, 30, and 31,as a production of the NiA Company.

Jasper’s 2023 Cast of Therapy — Left to right - Jon Tuttle - Play Right Series Manager, Emily Deck Harrill - stage manager, Rick Edwards, Marilyn Matheus, Michelle Jacobs, Allison Allgood, Elena Martinez-Vidal - director, and front & center Lonetta Thompson - playwright.

THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY PRODUCERS WITHOUT WHOM WE WOULD BE UNABLE TO LAUNCH THESE PLAYS!

Jasper caught up with a very busy Lonetta Thompson and asked her what she’s feeling as she goes into the final weeks before a full production of Therapy comes to life.

“Winning the Jasper Project's Play Right Series and watching the staged reading was thrilling but watching it come to life with this amazing group of people is beyond anything I could have imagined,” Thompson says. “Being on this side of the story can be nerve-wracking, but I know it's in the best possible hands. We're still technically workshopping it, but I don't know how the experience could get any better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the Jasper Project, all those involved with the staged reading, Trustus Theatre and the always amazing NiA Company! 

The cast for this production includes Dr. V. played again by Marilyn Matheus, Max - Andie Lowe, Alex - Ellen Rodillo-Fowler, Charlie - DaMarius Allen, Young Alex - Kerasan Ulmer, and Chris is played by De'On Turner. Darion McCloud is the director with costumes from Taylor Thompson and Lights/Sound/Set Design by Teddy Palmer.

Jasper wishes broken legs and happy times to the cast and crew of Therapy, especially our award-winning playwright Lonetta Thompson, and encourages all of you who enjoy seeing new theatre art in Columbia to grab your limited seating tickets and look forward to a night of excitement – presented by NiA Company at the Trustus Side Door Theatre the last weekend in August!

Reserve Your Ticket Here!

SEPTEMBER 14th -- A Double Dose of Jasper

Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, September 14th, after the LSU/Carolina game, to come out to Harbison Theatre for a double dose of Columbia Arts. Help Jasper welcome renown graphic artist Nate Puza to the walls of our Harbison Gallery with a free drop-in opening reception starting at 6 pm. Enjoy meeting Nate and hearing about his art, sip a little something, have a little snack, and chat with friends until 7:30 when the curtain rises on more new art coming out of Columbia, SC!

Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson, winner of the Jasper Project’s 2024 Play Right Project series, will premiere as a staged reading  and offer us the right to say I saw it first when it inevitably moves on to other stages near and far. Directed by Marybeth Gorman Craig, and starring Libby Campbell-Turner, G. Scott Wild, Kayla Machado, and David Britt, Let It Grow is a sweet and poignant comedy that looks at the expectations we share about family-like relationships, what happens when players outside of those relationships insert themselves, and PLANTS! The Play Right Series is administered by SC playwright Jon Tuttle and is in its fourth cycle of midwifing new theatre art onto the stage exclusively from South Carolina playwrights.

Previous Play Right Series winning plays include Sharks and Other Lovers by Randall David Cook, Moon Swallower by Colby Quick, and Therapy by Lonetta Thompson. Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy will be fully produced by the NiA Company August 29, 30, 31st at the Trustus Theatre Side Door Theatre and Jasper strongly encourages you to come out and support this new art, too! Tickets for Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy are here.

NATE PUZA OPENING RECEPTION

6 PM – FREE

 

LET IT GROW by Chad Henderson

7:30 pm -TICKETS

 

And while we have you, check out Harbison Theatre’s exciting calendar of events for 2024 – 2025 including Ensemble Eclectica on August 24th, South Carolina’s own singer-songwriter Cody Webb on September 6th, and The Box Masters featuring Billy Bob Thornton with opening act The Capital City Playboys, Friday October 18th!

Large-Scale Urban Canvas Art Tapestry Unveiling at Todd & Moore Sporting Goods

A new Urban Canvas tapestry, a component of the Columbia Streams Art public art program is scheduled to unveil on Tuesday, August 20 at 11:30 am by Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, representatives from Todd & Moore, the host of the new piece of public art, and the artists themselves.

*The featured artists include:

Jennifer Bartell Boykin

Diane Condon

Wilma King

Tabitha Ott

Kristine Hartvigsen

Michael Cassidy

Lori Starnes

Michael Dwyer

Austin Sheppard

Anna Redwine

The tapestry measures 15 feet wide by 10 feet tall, and is comprised of images and artistic expressions by ten different local visual artists, poets, and jewelry designers.

The City of Columbia will also recognize the 20’ wide by 15’ tall Urban Canvas which was recently unfurled in the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, which mirrors the original 10’ by 10’ original canvas first exhibited outside of Art Bar in The Vista in November 2022.

*The Jasper Project Congratulates and Appreciates All the Artists Involved in this Project and Wants to Make Sure Your Names are Heard, Known, and Celebrated!

Todd & Moore Sporting Goods exterior

(Back of the building facing Blossom St.)

620 Huger Street

The South Carolina Writers Association Storyfest 2024

The South Carolina Writers Association will host its annual conference, 2024 Storyfest, Sept. 27 through 29 in Columbia, featuring more than a dozen acclaimed authors, agents and editors.

The event, to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, will include talks and classes by writers from South Carolina, Georgia, California and New York, including Lynn Cullen, national bestselling author of “The Woman with a Cure” and “Mrs. Poe;” Grady Hendrix, screenwriter and author of “How to Sell a Haunted House” and “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires;” and Tiffany Yates Martin, author of six novels and the how-to book “Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing.”

Other features of 2024 Storyfest will be masterclasses, free talks, panels and keynotes addresses, manuscript critiques, craft classes, and meetings with sought-after editors and agents, including Andrew Geyer, the award-winning author or co-author of 10 books and editor of SCWA’s literary journal, The Petigru Review.

Other speakers include award-winning South Carolina novelist and short story writer Scott Gould; Southern Indie Bookstore bestselling author Mindy Friddle; Columbia poet laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin; New York Times noteworthy author Cinelle Barnes; military science fiction and post-apocalyptic writer Alex Rath; and screenwriter and producer Alan Roth, a winner of the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship Award in Screenwriting.

Some of the South’s top publishers also will attend, including Arcadia Publishing, Palmetto Publishing and the University of South Carolina Press.

Registration is open with early bird registration fees for the full three-day conference of $250 for members and $325 for nonmembers; those fees will increase by $30 on June 16, so register early to save! Student registration for the full conference is $140. A one-day ticket for SATURDAY SESSIONS ONLY is available for $195. Masterclasses, manuscript critiques and query pitches will be available for additional charges as add-ons to your registration. For full details go to 2024 Storyfest. If you are not a member of SCWA, join now to enjoy the member rate for Storyfest along with other SCWA benefits. Membership is $75 annually; go to Join Us. (Be sure to renew if you haven't already!)

The hotel rate is $169 (plus taxes and fees) for 1 king or 2 queen beds. For reservation information, go to the 2024 Storyfest main page.

CALL for Visual Artists -- Jasper is Accepting Applicants for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series

We’re looking for a few good artists!

It’s already time for Jasper to plan our schedule for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series and we want to hear from YOU! Just follow the instructions on the handy graphic above to let us know you are interested in sharing your work with the Jasper Project and your adoring fans.

In addition to our online 24/7 Tiny Gallery, Jasper has gallery spaces at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, The Nook at the Koger Center for Arts, the Lobby Gallery at Harbison Theatre, and at the Sidewalk Gallery in the Meridian Building Windows at Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia.

Application Deadline is October 15th.

We’re looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Special thanks to the good people at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, Koger Center for the Arts, Harbison Theatre, and the Meridian Building for supporting Columbia’s visual arts community by opening their walls to the Jasper Project for programming. We encourage you to support these businesses with your patronage. And if the walls need some love in your place of business, please contact our

Galleries Manager, Christina Xan at cxan@JasperProject.org,

to make plans for a Jasper Galleries arrangement custom created for you and your clientele.

Art Reception Double Feature at the Koger Center by Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts underwent a large cosmetic upgrade during the summer months, including new carpet and the installation of telescopic seating in their large rehearsal room to create a black box theatre. Aside from the physical facelift of the building, the two gallery spaces now hold new exhibitions for patrons to enjoy before an event or any time throughout the day. The two new exhibits are “The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition” in the Gallery at the Koger Center, and in the Nook, one of our Jasper Galleries locations, Marius Valdes is the featured artist of August. A large-scale opening reception for both exhibits is scheduled for August 15, 2024, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.  

The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition features the winners of the Koger Center’s annual art competition. The 2023 iteration winners are Yvette Cummings, Roberto Clemente de Leon, Gerard Erley, Jo-Ann Morgan, and Susan Lenz. “The Project: A Call for Art” is a competition that began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is dedicated to uplifting and featuring visual artists across the state of South Carolina.

A variety of media is included in this exhibit: from oil paintings to sculpture, from collage to quilting. Stop by the Gallery at the Koger Center and mingle with artist peers from across the state!

 As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. We feature a different artist every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. August 2024's featured artist is Marius Valdes.

Marius Valdes is an artist currently based in Columbia, SC. Valdes has been recognized by design publications such as Graphic Design USA, HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Creative Boom, Creative Quarterly, Step, and industry competitions including American Illustration, and The World Illustration Awards. In 2022, the UK's Creative Boom website named Valdes as one of its "20 Most Exciting Illustrators" to follow.

Valdes is a Professor at the University of South Carolina. He teaches graphic design and illustration in the GD+I program in the School of Visual Art and Design. He lives in Forest Acres with his wife, Beth, and their daughter Emma. Mary, the dog, is always around for a good laugh.

Finney Center Kicks Off Black Philanthropy Month with an Open House August 15 6 - 8 pm

Bounded by two historic districts, the Robert Mills District and the Waverly District, The Finney Center connects the heart of the African American community, past and present, to an ever-changing downtown Columbia, South Carolina.

MIKKY FINNEY

The Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center is hosting a drop-in Open House on Thursday, August 15th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for the community at-large as it launches a $2 million capital campaign to transform the former Southern Electric Company historical building, originally a tobacco warehouse from the 1940s, into a gathering place for people of all ages who view art as community building.  

The Finney Center will break ground on the renovation this fall, using a plan developed by the Boudreaux architectural firm. It will include a stage with seating for 200, which can be opened to the outdoors, an exhibition space with a 360-degree view, a dance floor, studio rooms, and other spaces for multidisciplinary endeavors.  

Bounded by two historic districts, the Robert Mills District and the Waverly District, The Finney Center connects the heart of the African American community, past and present, to an ever-changing downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It is housed in a former tobacco warehouse from the 1940s, which was renovated and repurposed in the 1960s for the offices of the Southern Electric Company. 

“Black Philanthropy Month is an annual August reminder for us in the Black community to look behind and to also look ahead,” says Director and Poet Nikky Finney. “Both my paternal and maternal grandparents taught me that it was just fine to focus on my own dreams as long as I also donated time, attention, and money to the community in which I lived, worked, and dreamed, making sure it too prospered. Join us at The Finney Center on August 15th as we host an Open House for our community. We want to share with you more about what’s been going on in 2024 and what’s ahead for 2025 and beyond.”

The Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center is a 501c3 organization located at 1510 Laurens Street, Columbia, South Carolina. The focus of this Cultural Arts Center is on the making of art, the keeping of community, living Black history, and the ongoing generational celebration of music, visual art, poetry, dance, theatre, the culinary arts, and other community building and life sustaining activities. The Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center is an incubator for progressive notions of what it means to be an involved, informed, and engaged creative human being, no matter that human being’s age or background. 

Nikky Finney is a nationally-acclaimed South Carolina-born poet and author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. A graduate of Talladega College, Finney taught at the University of Kentucky for 23 years and holds a Carolina Distinguished Professorship and the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina. Nikky Finney is the daughter of the late SC Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr., for whom the Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center is named.

What's Up at Chapin Theatre Company -- New Work, Fundraisers, A Christmas Comedy, and a Classic

Jasper congratulates not only the writers of the winning plays selected for Chapin Theatre Company’s Ten Minute-ish Play Festival, but Chapin Community Theatre itself for creating another opportunity for South Carolina playwrights to see their work onto the stage! The winners of CTC’s 4th annual festival are

Lou Clyde, Jamie Carr Harrington, Chris Whitehead, Randall David Cook (the Jasper Project’s first ever featured Play Right Series author) Jonathan Cook, Jack Perry, Peter Dakutis, and Connie Mardis.

The festival will take place November 1 - 3 at the community theatre’s new home at 830 Columbia Avenue in Chapin with George Dinsmore serving as the emcee.

Auditions for the festival will be held at the same location on August 25 and 26.

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The announcement provides a great opportunity to have a look at what else the company will be presenting as their 2024 season wraps up.

August 15 – 25 Fundraiser – So Long Roscoe!

Written and directed  by Monalisa Botts

So Long Roscoe! is a comedic look at Texas, family dynamics, and a World War II military-issue motorcycle complete with sidecar. Read more and get tickets here.

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October 4 – 20 The 39 Steps

directed by Frank Thompson

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December 5 – 15 A Nice Family Christmas

directed by Glenn Farr

Stay tuned to Jasper for CTC’s complete 2024 – 2025 season announcement.

FREE ART & FUN at the KOGER CENTER FOR THE ARTS THIS SUMMER!

The Koger Center for the Arts is so much more than a ticketed venue featuring the best of both local and touring performing arts. In addition to being the home of the Jasper Project’s Nook Gallery space in the Second Tier Lobby, Koger boasts an impressive collection of rotating and permanent art and offers free performances on the Outside Stage directly in front of the building.

Recently, Koger hosted the multimedia arts troupe, Squonk, on the outside stage and the front lawn was filled with folks on blankets and in lawn chairs enjoying picnics and a free performance by the 30-year-old entertainment organization. And there’s more to come!

Read below for a quick look at some of the FREE ART offered by the Koger Center for the Arts this summer.

Jasper offers the work of new artists year-round (though we’re taking a breather while the Koger gets new carpet this summer), in our Nook Gallery space. Jasper shows run monthly with opening receptions on the First Thursday of every month in conjunction with the Vista Guild’s First Thursday celebrations.

In the Upstairs Gallery Space the Koger Center hosts exhibitions by local artists such as BEAT OF THE HEART through July 1st, featuring local artists Rodgers Boykins, Ryan McClendon, Jeffrey Miller, Keith Tolen and Fred Townsend

In addition to hosting the SOUTHEASTERN PIANA FESTIVAL, a ticketed event, the Koger will also host a FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERT at noon on Tuesday June 11th in the Grand Tier Lobby. (Check out Malik Greene’s visual art in the Nook while you’re up there!)

Make Music Day is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st. Launched in 1982 in France, it is now held on the same day in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music Day is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician - young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion - pours onto streets, parks, plazas and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public. Make Music Day Columbia is hosted in conjunction with Rice Music House and is funded through a grant given by the City of Columbia. 

This year's Make Music Day schedule includes: 

10 – 11:30am Petting Zoo & Ruckus Hour 

12 – 1pm Music Lessons with Columbia Arts Academy (Ukelele & Voice)

1-5pm Recitals (Rice Music House and Freeway Music)

5:30-6:30 Drum Circle 

Don’t want to leave the house? Check out the Center’s Virtual Tour of Columbia-based artist Philip Mullen’s work from the comfort of your own home.

Philip Mullen came to South Carolina in 1969 and is one of the most renowned artists in the state. His works have been hanging in the Koger Center for the Arts since 1990, filling the space with his pieces that examine light and air. Throughout his art displayed in the Koger Center, Mullen explores the juxtaposition of light and how light touches everything around it. He has been described as creating works with even distribution of thought-out technique and carefree fluidity. From the Whitney Museum to the San Francisco Museum of Art, Mullen’s pieces have showcased his abilities all across America and the Koger Center is proud to house a permanent exhibit.  

Philip Mullen Art at the Koger Center is located on all three levels throughout the building.

You may take a virtual tour here for FREE! 

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Visit the Koger Center for the Arts’ website for more exciting info on both FREE and ticketed events coming up this summer!

RICHLAND LIBRARY AWARDED NEA GRANT TO ENHANCE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Jasper is delighted to share some good news about one of our frequent partners in the arts—Richland Library—and invite our followers to take advantage of this career and community-changing opportunity!

Richland Library is the recipient of a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts under the Grants for Arts Projects category. The funding will specifically support Richland Library’s Artist-in-Residence Program, furthering its mission to foster cultural and artistic exchange within the community.

“These projects exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and well-being, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and this funding at the local, state, and regional levels demonstrates the National Endowment for the Arts’ commitment to ensuring people across the country benefit.”

Since its inception in 2015, Richland Library’s Artist-in-Residence Program has aimed to connect the community with local working artists, providing a platform for creative and educational opportunities. The program is designed to support cultural and artistic exchange by giving artists, performers, and makers of all disciplines the freedom to work in their own studio space, share their artistic processes, and engage with the community through a variety of programs.

Richland Library is now accepting applications for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 residency periods. Interested artists are encouraged to apply by June 6th, 2024. For more information about the Artist-in-Residence Program and application details, please visit https://www.richlandlibrary.com/services/become-artist-residence.

For questions or media interviews, please contact Tacara Young at 803-351-5616 or tyoung@richlandlibrary.com.