Something Wonderful is Coming to Manassas
Neurographic Art, How Can it Help Anxiety and Depression?
We catalyze new discussions and relationships.
We help artists and community organizations do what they do best: enrich neighborhoods in ways that transform our County into more vibrant, beautiful and livable communities. Our work is to ensure that artists excel artistically while reaching into the community to develop new audiences for the arts, building program viability and growth, ultimately gaining larger corporate interest for Prince William County.
As an overseer, Prince William County Arts Council, not only work to empower artists, arts organizations and talents toward more opportunity and career development in a powerful and efficient way; We realize that community development is key to putting your best foot forward as a county on the move that delight in new ideas and creativity. PWC Arts Council was not developed to be a “social network” but rather a creative-centric organization engine that empowers creative people and their communities to understand and work with one another for growth and achievement. A large part of our work involves centralizing arts organizations, artists and their artistic processes as vehicles for community vitality. These are all things that lead artists to more creative
What are your hopes for the future as artists?
As an artist you play a critical role in communicating new ways of seeing, thinking and engaging with our nat-
ural resources and the environment. Looking toward the future we hope that art is recognized as having an integral part to play in the building of better relationships between society, people and our planet. By moving away from excessive consumption and re-engaging with questions around materiality in practice, we can look to the tactile knowledge of the past to develop new ways of creating for the future. Out of this, we hope more diverse and sustainable cultures of art practice will thrive, and in turn impact the collective understanding of value within the arts as a whole.
Marketing in a New Era of the arts that engages youth
Moving pass outdated programming to providing services the feed and take steps to ensure that a growing and thriving arts community exists and remains strong in the community is key to developing audiences and younger artists.
Because we have always done something one way doesn’t mean we have to continue. Reimagining the past to speak to the future can be both critical to the life of the arts in a region, and necessary for youth to find interest to carry on the legacy. I
am a firm believer that familiarity breeds content, and contentment becomes both self-serving and stagnating to the life blood of art and creativity. One of the key takeaways from the 2022 Americans for the Arts Convention was at the Strategic Realignment Process workshop. The facilitator said, and I quote “no arts organization that produces the same ideas and programs repeatedly will ever be of service to the community, it benefits no one but those involved.” Goals must include presenting touring programs, conducting workshops, offering classes, providing gallery space and finally acting as a resource for local artists and organizations.
Achieving these goals are the basis of any arts board responsibility and all members who join the council. So as much as we like having programming, before we start thinking about arts programming, it’s imperative that we have a solid understanding of the process of producing engaging public programs. Then, by moving forward step by step, we can develop arts for our community that’s best suited for its population and enjoys robust support. Programming for the sake of programming will always prove to be in effective and reaching only a small fraction of the people.
Vol. 2 No. 3
April / May 2023
CONTRIBUTOR
KOFI KARIKARI
CONTRIBUTOR
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
DONNELL TAYLOR
CONTRIBUTOR
KWADWO ADJEI
CONTRIBUTOR
ADONIS DORSEY
CONTRIBUTOR
KC CLAURE
CONTRIBUTOR
AARON KIMMEL
CONTRIBUTOR
LEIGH NORMAN
CONTRIBUTOR
LUCAS DEAN
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
—Audre Lorde—
15000 Potomac Town Place
Woodbridge, VA 22191
Wed–Sat 12–7pm
Sun 12–5pm
Cover Photo by: Kwadwo Adjei
This past February we had the chance to sit down and paint with Brentsville District supervisor Jeanine Lawson. Growing up in a small town in Iowa, there wasn’t much variety for the arts when Lawson was growing up. Arriving in Prince William county gave her an appreciation for the levels of different art forms people can engage with. Supervisor Lawson’s main connection to the arts stems from her daughter Katherine, who has always been involved in the arts through painting and sculpting. During their younger years, they would attend performances at the Kennedy Center and Hylton Performing Arts Center. Lawson had just recently visited the Hylton for the Manassas ballet performance of The Nutcracker. When asked what piece of art she would preserve for the next 1000s of years she said The Sound of Music. Not surprisingly, Lawson’s favorite art form is theater. We also touched on art therapy and how strong Lawson felt on the arts in the realm of mental health.
During our discussion we tapped into the importance of the arts and what could be improved in the Brentsville District. Which led us into the topic of the arts and agriculture overlay to encourage business in agriculture sectors to offer some form of art and experience to consumers as an enrichment incentive. Lawson was very proud to have partnered with the arts council for this initiative
and also praised Kelly Haneklau who she appointed as the district’s art rep. Throughout the interview Jeanine wasn’t shy about giving flowers where they are due and credited the many talents around her that make the county function. We also talked about what could improve the Arts council and her answer was “Exposure” as she credited the Open Space Arts building being in the heart of Stonebridge as “pretty impressive”. We had fun painting as Lawson reminisced about the art class she would have once a week back in her school days, remembering the relaxation and break from the academic monotony.
Midway through the interview we decided to switch up the interview from an arts focus and discuss how the local government runs in Prince William county, the interview was a monumental insight into how the big decisions get made in the county through a variety of support and united fronts. The interview dives heavily into the world of bureaucracy and publicly funded programs that keep communities in Prince William County functioning. To see more of this interview follow the QR link on the previous page.
A fun part of this interview touches on agriculture and environmental conservation of rural areas in Prince William County.
“Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Women of Broadway” brought the cabaret clubs of New York right to Manassas. Grand pianos, moody lights, irresistible tunes - this one-night-only special had it all. The event was hosted at the Hylton Performing Arts Center by the George Mason University student theater group. Erin Gardiner and James Gardiner directed the show, with musical direction from Joe Walsh. Teams of students not only helped put together the show: they were the show. The students sang classic hits like “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “100 Ways to Lose a Man.”
In past years, the Mason Cabaret honored the works of Duke Ellington, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and Steven
Sondheim. This year’s show celebrated the works of 11 female voices who help open the doors to a male dominated industry. The title of the show said it best!
Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Women of Broadway. A great display of rising talent and entertaining night for any music lover.
This year, the cabaret celebrated Women’s History Month early. In past years, the Mason Cabaret honored the works of Duke Ellington, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and Steven Sondheim. “Baby, Dream Your Dream” celebrated the works of 11 female vocalists who threw open the curtains for women in the male dominated theater industry.
Story by: Donnell Taylor
Photos: Aaron Kimmel
During the end of February we had the chance to sit down with our first concept artist Tung Tran for our focus into Art and technology. This issue we chose to feature an interview rather than a topic. Tung gained our attention through his connection with one of our staff. We selected him based on his experience working with Riot Games, a notable video game developing company. During this interview we answer some questions about working in the video game industry and how Tung has taken his talent as a local Prince William County artist to new heights. The catch however for this interview is we challenged everyone participating with a task of character concept creation using a Dungeons and Dragons character template random generator. From those characteristics listed we then went about designing what this person or creature might look like. To kick off the interview we asked how Tung got his start in digital design. To not much surprise he was self taught, he had taken a class at nova once but majority of his knowledge like most modern creators was YouTube University. Tung was able to improve himself mostly due to the pandemic period as it opened up access to professionals who had spare time to share their knowledge with the public through social media
TUNG’S GAMEgroups and online classes. Tung took full advantage of this opportunity to land himself a front row seat in the world of entertainment art.
Tung has always been an artist. He credits his style to having a love for shapes. We touched on the traditional art approach and how it shapes the mastery of digital art design. Every artist learns from inspiration. One of the things that stood out with Tung for this interview was that Tung constantly mentioned how much practice and curiosity he has in the world of illustration and design. He doesn’t seem like he ever stops learning or wanting to dive into new parts of the world. So much so that he even experiments with creating his own games and gifting them to his friends as birthday presents. He shows a true passion of wanting to deliver a project that satisfies everyone. The most interesting part of the interview was Tung touching on a video game challenge that gives creators 2-7 days called a game jam, the most famous being GMTK. The challenge gives a team of a designer, composer and programer this time limit to make a game. The challenge is extremely team based requiring great communication and time efficiency. For a challenge that seems extremely stressful Tung has found a way to make it recreational fun and uses it for scouting out who he might like to work with in the future. Communication is key, when working in the world of video game design, “you could be working with someone on the other side of the world” its important to communicate and keep notes. Tung also spoke on the importance of a schedule and self care. Having a good routine when managing the sometimes rigorous workload of a digital creator. Throughout the interview Tung credits most of his success to the artist communities he’s been apart of. His opportunity with Riot games came from a friend on discord who encouraged him to apply for the position when the task presented itself. Other great ways to find opportunities like this were Linkedin, Workwithindies, Hitmarker and social media, most responsive being twitter.
Tungs advice to anyone who wants to get into the field of video game design was to start using social media, marketing yourself, posting your content, YouTube what you need to learn and once you feel like you reached a plateau to attend classes for mentorship. In terms of software he credited procreate as his favorite digital drawing software and
highlighted Clip paint studio. Tung mentioned adaptability when shifting your art style to that of the game and how to take feedback and criticism. Especially in situations where conflict might arise from ego. When in the realms of world building it’s important to research the world you are building, Tung uses the example of the “The Last of Us” the video
game created by Naughty Dog. We tried to probe Tung for information on games he’s been a part of, but he was very hush due to some NDA’s. To follow Tung, you can find him on instagram twitch and twitter @ Tung_t_Tran. The full interview can be found through his QR code below.
“I infiltrated a university club and became the president without peo-
ple knowing” A crazy fun fact Tung dropped about himself from his time spent attending an art club at George Mason. Tung participated in this club and over time joined the committee and structured it with multiple experiences for the members, until eventually he was elected the president of the club.
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the first Negro History Week. This was timed in February to coincide with President Abraham Lincoln’s and Fredrick Douglass’s birthdays - both men were symbols of freedom. It wasn’t until 1976 that President Gerald Ford extended the observation to a full month - one honoring the contributions of black Americans to this day.
As February marks Black History Month across America, many are certain of how and why it is important to the history of this Country. Getting its start in the Jim Crow era,
Black History was officially recognized in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebrations. While current day celebrations aim to honor the contributions that African Americans have made and to recognize their sacrifices, I have always seen this as an opportunity for non-Black Americans to honestly celebrate and take account for realizing the true unrecognized contributions that blacks have and continue to make in the history of America. Black History is American History and undeniable in every way. Take away the contributions of Blacks in this country and you take away the country and so
much of its creativity and vitality as we now know it.
Creativity has always been key in the expression of Black Culture since blacks arrived to the shores of America, so there is no surprise that celebrating the culture through music, literature, and visual art has its place and purpose. Now here we are seeking through visual arts to bring even more stories of African Americans to light through an art exhibit.
African American Voices and Visions at Open Space Arts was a true celebration!
“We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.” —Carter Woodson—
This show opened to great applause; in attendance that is.
Yes, there was much applause with the quality entertainment that highlighted the entire evening… Somers Voice’s current cast of Sistas: The Musical gave us an exclusive preview of their upcoming show, opening in April at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. presentations of poetry and recitations were dynamic and soul stirring with works by Langston Hughes and the evening was stamped and approved by current Arts Council Board Chair Alice Mergler.
Prince William Arts Council hosted this event in conjunction with the Prince William Art Society, and together they produced an African American History event to be remembered. We must mention the wonderful reception which included an array of delicious food from our sponsors Lauren’s Cuisine, Skrimp Shack, and Wegmans.
Without bias! If you have not attended one of Open Space Arts’ receptions, you are missing out on an professional educational and creative display of art and entertainment right here in Prince William County that rivals any big city.
Chair Ann B. Wheeler has lived in Prince William County (PWC) for over 20 years and wants to give back by being on the board. She was elected back in 2019 and started her position during the pandemic. Despite working in such a turbulent time, Ann describes her experience as pleasant. PWC has seven districts in which each district has a supervisor. Wheeler’s position as chair acts as a unifying factor for all of Prince William County to keep a balance of representation for each district in terms of budgeting and choices that affect its half a million population. Chair Wheeler doesn’t just act as a unifying force in terms of county government; she also has been on the Board at the Hylton Performing Arts Center for over six years. A connection that has kept her close to the needs of the arts in Prince William County. If she had to choose
a form of art she likes the most it would be music. Her favorite artist being Billy Joel.
Ann got her start in the arts during her time in Chicago as a youth while doing stained glass art. Her parents kept art in the house, Ann never considered herself a good artist but by the end of the interview this proved quite the opposite as she now probably holds the title for one of our best speed painters. Chair Wheeler credited the diversity of the types of arts in the county, from Manassas Ballet, Capac and the Open Space Arts Center. To improve the arts in the county Ann Wheeler showed her excitement for seeing more public arts projects, from installations to murals and other forms of public displays. We posed the question, what does it take to improve the arts in the county and see projects like this shape into reality? The answer: “A champion”, it takes a champion
who can fight for the arts and see ideas like these through to create a sense of place.
With so much responsibility Chair Wheeler sees her job as holding as much pressure as any job anyone could have. Even so, when discussing her role and position, she feels like she just goes with the flow of it all. Her job is stressful, but ultimately fulfilling. By finding programs that positively impact people’s lives. In terms of improvement for the arts council Chair Wheeler suggested improving our communication and reach. To hear more of Wheeler’s interview use the QR link on the right.
THE FOLLOWING WERE ELECTED AND APPOINTED AS DIRECTORS FOR FY22/23-FY23/24:
CHAIR: ALICE MERGLER
TREASURER: PETER ALTEN
SECRETARY: KELLY HANEKLAU
VICE CHAIR FOR MARKETING: VICTOR HARPER
VICE CHAIR FOR PROGRAMMING: SUSAN BARDENHAGEN
VICE CHAIR FOR MARKETING: ALICE MERGLER
VICE CHAIR FOR NOMINATIONS: DEBORA MADSEN
APPOINTEES
RONNIE RIGGER COLES DISTRICT
WANDA SMITH NEABSCO DISTRICT
CATRINA STROMAN POTOMAC DISTRICT
JAY TORRES WOODBRIDGE DISTRICT
KELLY HANEKLAU BRENTSVILLE
DAWN FRANKLIN GAINESVILLE DISTRICT
OPEN OCCOQUAN DISTRICT
BRENDA JOHNSON AT LARGE
“The Arts COUNCIL is more than art it’s an opportunity!”
“How are you inspired?”
Somers Voice Presents “Sistas: The Musical”!!! “Sistas: the Musical”, written by Dorothy Marcic, is a celebration of African American women through popular Top-40 music. After a matriarch’s death, the women in the family clean Grandma’s attic and find love and old memories packed away, and in the process, sing hit tunes that trace the history of black women. Running April 716, 2023 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. Click here for show and ticket information. https://www. somersvoice.com/sistasthemusical.
Saturday May 27, 7PM
Sunday, May 28, 3PM
St. Thomas United Methodist Church, Manassas, VA
The Gainesville Community Choir is excited to present their 10-Year Anniversary concert series: Through Heaven’s Eyes. Be uplifted and inspired by an array of music from across the genres! Joined by professional instrumentalists from the DC area, GCC will perform a variety of selections – including Baroque-era, Spirituals, Kenyan, Sea Shanty, Classical-era, Video Game Soundtrack, Country Western, American Folk music, and more – as well as an epic medley from Hans Zimmer’s and Stephen Swartz’s gorgeous film score The Prince of Egypt.
Tickets ($15/adults, $10/age 9-17) can be purchased at the door with cash, check, credit card, Venmo, or PayPal. Children 8 and under are free.
Some of the county’s novelists, poets, literary agents and publishers shared their expertise as part of the “Page Turning- Women in Literature” Exhibit and Reception at the Open Space Arts Gallery on March 3. This is event was a great showing of the wonderful literary talents that live, work and create right here in Prince William County.
A collaboration between Prince William Art Society and Prince William Arts Council, that truly help “Spread the Word and Words” of Women. During Women’s History Month there were free talks, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions and presentations open to the public, made possible by the work of Penny Shaw the Committee Lead of the Art Society and one of the exhibiting artists in the gallery show.
Needs You!
We Need Designers who can use InDesign
We need Writers
We need Photographers
We need Editors
We need Proofraeders
We need Scouts
We need Journalist
We need you!!!
Contact us: hwilliams@pwcgov.org
*Dont apply to be a proofreader if you didnt catch 4 typos.*
For our first ever Arts News interview we went to Manassas ARTfactory to sit in on a neurographic art class being offered to the public. It’s important to always consider in what ways art affects us. In this interview we explore the mental health aspects of art and its impact on how our neurons process information. This class was taught by Cheryl Miehl Brentsville High School Art Educator and Visual Art Department Chair, also the class is sponsored by UVA Health. Neurgraphic art focuses on the subconscious/conscious energy flow of thought and emotion. A form of art therapy used as a way to treat anxiety and depression. The beauty of this art process is there is no skill needed, a deterrence most people have when starting any form of art is their level of skill. There is no skill needed to engage in this form of art as scribbles are the starting process and making a line is the only thing a hand needs capability of.
Neurographic art stems from Pavel Piskarev, a doctor of psychology, designed to be a simple art therapy for the subconscious. The overarching theme of the class is to let the mind wander, taking a break, seeing the piece from a different angle and following the feeling.
Cheryl starts the class with a word or thought and focuses on intuitive scribbles then transformation of simple shapes that lead into the integration of color. Cheryl provides various examples of complex patterns shaped by simple techniques through a powerpoint. The class is heavily focused on being in a relaxed meditative state. Intuitive scribble allows your hand to flow without intent as it wonders and glides the page. Cheryl slows her pace as she breathes calmly making curves and lines on the page. The lines can go anywhere with the whole goal of going edge to edge with lines intersecting. There are no open lines.
Cheryl begins to draw simple shapes of a circle, triangle square and rectangle. The focus of the transformation process, each more symbolic than the last. The circle represents 360 degrees of infinity and cycle, the triangle represents stability on an edge and instability on its points and it also represents the trinity. The square represents stability, the planet and the shape of a diamond as it gains value. The rectangle represents stability also. Finally using the term unstable for all these shapes on their point to represent its change in motion and not negativity. Cheryl begins to draw these symbols over the intercepting scribbles. She suggests 3-5 shapes to keep the page from being overcrowded yet simplistic.
The next point of the class goes into the intervention process. Cheryl begins finding corners where lines intersect and drawing curves on the opposite sides of these meeting points then eventually feeding these gapes in a meditative state that is almost mindless and freeing as the lines begin to form neurons connected to dendrites at their intersections in a web like diamond that gives the free flow of the lines a sculptured design. The pages can no longer be described as scribbles. As she finds balance and refines the lines to meet shapes it takes on the idea of barbed wire and some lines forming a helix like DNA. She pulls up a prepared sheet that resembles octopus tentacles with circles of suction cups.
Once shapes are formed. The coloring starts as spaces are filled and lines filled in with fine tips of coloring contrast to make shapes pop. Cheryl begins to add more circles in loops to add more dynamics. She pulls out water color paints and a brush to start adding textured colors to the neurographic design. The picture is unrecognizable from where it started. Cheryl begins to pull up images of examples where artists have formed complete images of portraits and subjects from this style. One shows a mother brushing her daughters hair and suddenly the consciousness has formed into the subconscious of this practice. Some use multimedia with paper cut outs filling the holes of the spaces and blue birds surrounding nest.
You can learn more about this art process and its method through this QR Link interview with Cheryl Miehl.
If you haven’t experienced the off-beat art of John Hartt yet, hold onto your shorts, you’re in for a wild ride. John, who goes by the moniker Jortt, has been bedazzling the Prince William area with his unique, oddball art for several years now. He’s partnered with businesses and governments, worked on community and cultural events, installed murals, done live painting and has spearheaded numerous art shows. But now he’s creating a different kind of art show,one that’s going to pull the community together. He’s creating a larger than life outdoor installation of strange and wonderful creatures. “Something Wonderful” will be on display at the Harris Pavilion in Historic Downtown Manassas from June through the end of August.
For the installation of Something Wonderful, Jortt is creating 16 wonderful and out of this world creatures parading to a strange and exciting new destination Each 8 foot creature will be a unique character with a different personality and a different story. These characters, whether alien, robot tiki man, or something else, are designed to celebrate the awesome diversity of our
community and spark conversation. They will also be perfect to take selfies with.
The idea for his project came to Jortt when a friend showed up at his studio with an 8’x 4’ sheet of plywood and said “paint a bigfoot on this for me”. While painting bigfoot, the idea of painting a horde of “creatures” came to him and quickly became “Something Wonderful”. This is Jortt’s first exhibit of this magnitude and comes with many new challenges. He’s exploring new painting and building techniques in order to find ways to ensure stable, weather-proof and vandal resistant structures. He also has to consider outdoor lighting options and various installation methods. By far, the biggest hurdle is funding this project. Jortt is finding creative avenues to pay for this, including crowdfunding, community sponsorship and public grants.
Why is this important? Jortt is passionate about creating this experience which celebrates community and diversity, and he wants to make it accessible to a large audience. Since has lived in the area for over thirty years, he has seen the downtown Manassas area grow from a sleepy old town with less than half of the shops occupied to a vibrant center of the community. Manassas is a growing arts destination and a dynamic culture which Jortt is proud to be a part of.
Jortt is posting regular updates as the project progresses from concept to reality. Check www.jortt.com for progress updates.
Jortt’s goal is simple: he wants his art to make people smile. His oddball style can be described as a mix of lowbrow art, pop surrealism and cartoonism painted with hyper-intense colors and humorous undertones.
The mere mention of a career day for elementary school students usually evokes a variety of reactions, from amusement to astonishment and confusion. None-the-less, career days continues and have always been commonplace at the secondary school level. What I have found through experience is that young children need and benefit from early exposures to the numerous types of work that exist in out complex society. So when asked to participate in the career day event at one of our local elementary schools, our young adult Arts Group did not hesitate to organize and put their heads together to make a very special presentation for our future leaders (elementary school kids).
At Neabsco Elementary School, an entire day was set aside for over 30 individuals representing a variety of occupations to speak to the third, fourth and fifth grade students about their careers. The gathering of guests, all excited to share their careers included military, health care, business professionals, artists, and County Supervisor Victor Angry ( I wonder which kid is eyeing for his job).
All too often public education prefers to operate independently of the business community, never taking advantage of the resources that can be found there. Well, this is not the case a Neabsco Elementary! This wellplanned event was an excellent opportunity to bridge
the gap between the school and business community, answering a question that students often ask themselves, “Why do I have to go to school?”
Thank you to the Young Adult Arts Group who incidentally will be working on a mural project and outside activity art projects at Neabsco Elementary. Vaze, LA, Lavelle, and Casey your work and dedication to spreading the arts across Prince William County is greatly appreciated.
The K[squared]2 team is an energetic duo comprised of Kim B Miller & Kelly Haneklau. Both creatives: PWC, VA Poet Laureate Emerita Kim B Miller is an award-winning spoken word poet and Kelly Haneklau is a published visual artist and illustrator. Kim poetically untangles a truth, while Kelly stuns and intrigues with live speed painting to Kim’s message. When the poem is done, the painting is complete. This team is the recipient of the Community Artist Spotlight Award from the Hylton Performing Arts Center and has performed in venues like the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC and Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey Park, PA. Kelly and Kim are also gearing up for a very special new per-
formance – A virtual ticketed event, called THE MAY GIVE-A-WAY, will go live on Facebook on Thursday, May 11th at 8 pm!
This K[squared]² event will showcase; a live performance, a premiere of a pre-recorded production, and a live prize drawing (valued at $500) of the original 4-foot by 6-foot acrylic canvas artwork created at the performance, for one lucky viewer!
Don’t miss this!
On FB & IG @ksquaredduo
Performance (online) Thursday, May 11 at 8 PM EST
Get your tickets ($10) starting April 1st (No joke):
Community Arts
Business Partnerships And Sponsors, Your Opportunity To Support The Arts.
Contact Herb Williams
Email: hwilliams@pwcgov.org Phone: 7037928782
David Roberts Arts Council Board
Member and Michelle Garcia Poet
PWC Poet Laureate attends Woodbridge High School and meets with their poetry club
Saturday May 27, 7PM
Sunday, May 28, 3PM
St. Thomas United Methodist Church, Manassas, VA
The Gainesville Community Choir is excited to present their 10-Year Anniversary concert series: Through Heaven’s Eyes. Be uplifted and inspired by an array of music from across the genres! Joined by professional instrumentalists from the DC area, GCC will perform a variety of selections – including Baroque-era, Spirituals, Kenyan, Sea Shanty, Classical-era, Video Game Soundtrack, Country Western, American Folk music, and more – as well as an epic medley from Hans Zimmer’s and Stephen Swartz’s gorgeous film score The Prince of Egypt.
Tickets ($15/adults, $10/age 9-17) can be purchased at the door with cash, check, credit card, Venmo, or PayPal. Children 8 and under are free.
“I can’t believe the library is closing early today. Everyone must get out of my way,” Barked Annie, the aggressive giraffe.
“A three-day weekend with the kids off at camp. My husband laid up with writer’s cramp. I need a new book and a fresh cup of tea.”
Pulling into the lot with minutes to spare, Annie stormed through the doors without a care.
“I need a new book, a mystery or thriller.”
Around the shelves, she started to sprint.
“I’d prefer a book with extremely large print. The ones with fine print are a pain in my neck.”
The librarian brought her a stack of the latest fiction. Annie skimmed through them all with great conviction.
“I thought you had the latest John Grisham.”
Her long neck allowed her to spot it across the room
“It will be mine,” Annie assumed. She raced to the book without a care.
Knocking down people and toppling stacks of books The entire building trembled and shook. The aggressive giraffe was almost there!
Touching the book on the tip of its corner, her fingers slipped off and she became a mourner. “You snooze, you lose,” said a prickly hedgehog.
Written by: Donnll Tylor
Derrick Starr aka Genocide Abrasax (they/ them) was born in Brooklyn New York and moved to the DMV when they were just a child. They’ve been doing drag for four years and started performing for the Imperial Court of Washington DC (ICWDC), a 501c3 organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for the under served community of LGBTQIA+ individuals. They are currently Mx. DC Royale 2023, a title created under the ICWDC umbrella. They now do drag on a mainstream level, performing all over the country. They enjoy spending time in Prince William County with the discovery of the new creativity of the Prince William County Arts Council and all the young creatives that have begun to gather, and have seemingly found their voice in the arts recently.
Derrick Starr’s performances have given them stage space in all over the United States, such as Connecticut, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Washington State, New York, and more. Their drag is a passion and they work hard to master it to the best of their ability. Community outreach and fundraising is a very high priority to them and hopes to meet others that share that passion. They are currently in a polyamorous dynamic with their leather family, the House of Aegis and have a loving partner. They identify as nonbinary and pansexual.
The photo shoot was part of the reach to show creativity on a more personal level which brought passion and self love to the forefront. There is nothing like working with someone who knows the camera and how to make it work for them. The photo shoot was everything we thought it would be. With every moment, our model revealed a level of knowledge that all creatives work to acquire in their field.
While Harlem is arguably the home of modern drag, Virginia has a rich history full of irreverent and innovative queens known for their tongue-in-cheek humor and stellar pageantry. With RuPaul at the forefront, the 21st century has seen drag become a part of mainstream pop culture. RuPaul’s Drag Race has provided a platform for over 100 queens across America. Outside of Drag Race, queens are continually taking drag into new and exciting places, ensuring it is an art form which stays resolutely “underground” and one around which LGBTQIA+ communities are still being built.
Maybe our famed “Prime Minister for the Imperial Court of DMV”, “Protector of Krypton for Reign X of the Imperial Court of Washington DC”, and Secretary for the Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Alliance (AGLA), will be the next Drag SuperStar to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race representing us.
Write by the Rails (WbtR), the Prince William Chapter of the non-profit Virginia Writers Club, announced publication of its anthology, Steam Ahead! Edited by WbtR co-president and prolific author Maryel Stone, the collection features fiction, poetry and non-fiction by more than a dozen members.
About the Anthology
“This collection of stories, poems, and photos has been inspired by the glimmer of light on the horizon, the promise of dawn, and the heart-warming feeling of coming together with others to celebrate a new year,” said Stone.
“These works, donated by the diverse and talented members of Write by the Rails, are designed to open our eyes to the small joys that we overlook every day, and to remind us all that kindness happens, nature inspires, wishes are granted, and love wins.”
Stone led the all-volunteer editorial board in soliciting and selecting manuscripts and suggesting edits. “I want to thank Maryel who had the know-how and wherewithal to take on this heavy lift,” said founding member and co-president Katherine Gotthardt. “Our editorial board members Brian Donnell James, Kathy Smaltz, and Leigh Giza did a fabulous job supporting this effort which ultimately promotes our talented, hardworking members.”
Write by the Rails’ Longevity
WbtR’s fifth anthology, Steam Ahead! celebrates the WbtR’s longevity. Founded in 2011, WbtR is the longest running state affiliated writing group in the area. Launched by then-Manassas resident and writer Cindy Brookshire, WbtR aims to raise the profile of the local literary community and explore ways to nurture, cultivate, and help that community grow. WbtR is led by an all-volunteer board. Proceeds from Steam Ahead! support the group’s monthly educational activities and regular community initiatives.
Stone said, “These pictures, poems, and stories are representative of the eclectic gifts of our members, and of their amazing talents. I am grateful to count myself among them.”
“If you live in the Prince William County/Manassas area of Northern Virginia, if you love the written and spoken word, I’d encourage you to take a look at our website. We’d love to include some of your writing in our next members’ anthology.”
Learn more at WbtR.org.
The Manassas Symphony Orchestra continued its 30th anniversary season under the exceptional leadership and direction of conductor, James Villani. The third concert in this year’s program “Inspirations” welcomed back the extraordinary American pianist Joseph Kingma. His masterful performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor delighted the audience with his rapid-fire finger work and rich sound.
Joseph Kingma is Keyboard Division Coordinator and Professor of Piano at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. He earned his Doctor of Music and Arts from the University of Texas at Austin with Anton Nel, and his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Rice University with Robert Roux.
Advanced piano students Antong Li, Chloe Tan, Chloe Boxer, and Emma Coleman were chosen for Professor Kingma’s master class. They performed difficult pieces from memory and received very detailed feedback. Professor Kingma complimented the students: “I so enjoy working with talented youngsters! This group
was extremely well prepared. Congrats to their teachers as well!”
Piano teacher Faith Zuniga remarked “My students Chloe and Antong were so honored to play for Dr. Kingma’s masterclass. He gave them a lot of wonderful advice and was very generous with his time…It was a wonderful experience, and he was very kind to them as well as knowledgeable. They were also thrilled to play in such a wonderful hall and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful piano and great acoustics of the space. Chloe and Antong, their parents, and I are all very grateful to the Manassas Symphony Orchestra for providing this wonderful opportunity!”
The Manassas Symphony also thanks their teachers, Faith Zuniga, Jane Cole, and Vicki Pitts for recommending them.
The Manassas Symphony will hold a master piano class on May 5th with Dr. Alexander Bernstein, Professor of Piano at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Dr. Bernstein will be the featured soloist for May 6th concert “Aspirations” where he will headline a program of American composers.
For more information about upcoming Manassas Symphony Orchestra programs, please visit our website: www.ManassasSymphony.org.
APRIL
The Business of Art –Preparing to Hang Art in Galleries
MAY
May 3-28
Flowers a Blooming Event Art Show
JULY
Showcasing Those Who Have Served – Military and Veterans Art
APRIL
March 29- April 30
Emerging Student Art Show (Young Adults ages 15-25)
MAY
May 31
PWC and PWAS June Art Show
JULY
Lecture - Those Who Have Served – Creative Art from Military and Veterans
APRIL
April 23
Scott McDonald Bob Ross
Oil Painting
JUNE
June 10 Taste of Woodbridge
“When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.”
― Yo-Yo Ma ―
