Children Must See Themselves in Books
Children Must See Themselves in Books by Paul
Seiple
July Calender
Collage
Inside OWE
Arts & Culture
Exhibit: Chris Stovall by Val-Rae Lindenau
Content July 2024
Games Dads by Linda Lemery The Poet’s Corner Catch, or Caught by Barry Koplen Movies You Missed from 20 years ago by Josh Lucia Wines for a Summer Sip by Dave Slayton 5 28 8 6 9 10 25 7 26 23 29
Spirit
Presented by Showcase Magazine
CEO / Publisher / Andrew Scott Brooks
Editorial Director / Paul Seiple editor@evincemagazine.com
Contributing Writers
Barry Koplen, Linda Lemery, Val-Rae Lindenau, Josh Lucia, Paul Seiple, Mack Williams, Emily Wilkerson
Art & Production Director Demont Design (Kim Demont)
Finance Manager Cindy Yeatts (1.434.709.7349) cindy@showcasemagazine.com
Advertising For ad information contact a marketing consultant listed below.
Lee Vogler Director of Sales and Marketing (434.548.5335) lee@showcasemagazine.com
Kim Demont Graphic Design, Marketing (434.792.0612) demontdesign@verizon.net
evince\i-’vin(t)s\ 1: to constitute outward evidence of 2: to display clearly; reveal syn see SHOW
Deadline for this and all other stories, articles, and calendar items is Monday, July 15 at 5:00pm for the September issue. Please send calendar info to demontdesign@verizon.net.
Editorial Policies
Evince is a free monthly magazine about Arts and Culture in Danville and the surrounding area. We reserve the right to accept, reject and edit all submissions and advertisements.
EVINCE MAGAZINE
753 Main St. Suite 3 Danville, VA 24541 www.evincemagazine.com 434.709.7349
© 2024 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part in any medium without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
On the Cover: Adrian Nester. Mariah Springs Photography.
Once a Doctors Office, Reimagined into a Modern Boutique Hotel
Children Must See Themselves in Books
by Paul Seiple
photo by Adrian Nester
Adrian Nester is redefining what it means to teach English literature. As an Advancement Placement (AP) English teacher and AP grader for College Board, Nester’s passion for literature extends far beyond the classroom walls, inspiring students to explore the world through the lens of poetry and prose.
“There was no such thing as Advancement Placement English in Pittsylvania County Schools until 2010,” Nester said. It was then that the school district was accepted into a NMSI grant program, bringing Advanced Placement classes to rural areas. “The trainings through this grant really opened my eyes to the additional level of rigor that AP classes would bring to our students.”
Every summer, Nester joins hundreds of educators in what her family affectionately calls “nerd
camp”—the AP grading session. Nester spoke further about the experience. “In a nutshell, we sit in a freezing cold convention center and score thousands of essays. It sounds awful, but it is fantastic professional development.” This year alone, the graders tackled 1.1 million essays from 389,000 AP Literature exam takers.
But Nester’s impact doesn’t stop at grading papers. She’s just returned from taking education globally, leading 50 students, parents, alumni, and community members on a literary adventure to London and Paris. With future trips planned to Greece and Ireland, Nester is determined to make international travel accessible to her students, broadening their horizons and deepening their understanding of the literature they study.
The impact of such an experience is immeasurable.
allowing students to engage with living, breathing literature. “Of course, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Walt Whitman all still have a place in my classroom,” Nester explained, “but I’ll never be able to plan a field trip to hear them read their works.”
This blend of classic and contemporary has revolutionized Nester’s teaching style. She now teaches entire poetry collections, like Clint Smith’s Counting Descent, and even takes students to hear poets read their work in person. The American sonnet has found new life in her classroom through the works of Claude McKay, Wanda Coleman, and Terrance Hayes.
Nester’s commitment to diversity in literature is unwavering. Inspired by a 2018 infographic showing the lack of diversity in children’s book characters, she constantly strives to include a wide range of voices in her curriculum. “Children must SEE themselves in books,” she said, “and the same goes for teenagers.”
Student traveler Casey Collie noted cultural differences as a valuable takeaway. “Each country has unique food, traditions, and language. It was nice to have experienced how people live in other countries and to gain an appreciation for the differences and commonalities.”
Fellow student traveler, Isabella White, learned the importance of conversing in the native language. Parent and traveler Vicki Adams-Lovelace added, “I think students will have a new appreciation for things they often take for granted. Truly a great opportunity to put history into perspective or at least see aspects of it, rather than just reading about it.”
Back in the classroom, Nester is at the forefront of the “Teach Living Poets” movement. This innovative approach brings contemporary, working poets into the curriculum,
This focus on representation isn’t just about ticking boxes. For Nester, it’s about fostering empathy and understanding across cultures and backgrounds. She believes that literature has the power to connect us all, regardless of our differences. “Not everyone that comes into my classroom will become an English major,” she reflected, “but no matter what line of work they go into, I hope they take some lessons they learned from the characters and works that we study, to allow them to relate to or at least have a desire to understand someone different from them.”
Nester plans to continue to push the boundaries of what English education can be. From grading AP exams to exploring the streets of Paris with her students, she’s proving literature is not just alive— it’s thriving, evolving, and more relevant than ever.
In Adrian Nester’s story, every poem is a passport, every novel a new horizon. And for her lucky students in Pittsylvania County, the next great adventure is always just a page turn away.
Ongoing
July Calendar of Evince
Danville Science Center. Thomas & Friends, Butterfly Station & Garden, Go!, Water, Cresent Crossing & Under the Arctic. Various Dome Shows, Creativity Labs. www.dsc.smv.org.
Ruby B. Archie Public Library Programs - Don’t miss the programs offered at the Library. We Dig Science- Egyptology, Get More from Google, Adult & Tween Arts & Crafts, The Write Stuff, Computers for Beginners, Just Write, Unrequired Reading –Classics Book Club, Bam! Wow! Adventures in Graphic Novels, Artist’s Studio, Adventures in Chess, Youth Dungeons and Dragons, Storytellers: Creative Writing 101, Little Explorers Storytime, Book Babies, Code Challengers, Pop Culture Geek Out Hour, Books & Beans Social Hour, Forest Findings, Books & Brews Social Hour, Ozobot Adventures, Firefly Circuit Art, LEGO Brick Engineers, Ancient Explorers, Life-Size Jumanji. 434.799.5195.
Through August 2
DMFAH Attic Sale Donations. Drop offs Tue-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat 12-4pm, and Sun 2-4pm. Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History. 434.793.5644.
Through September Pittsylvania Co. Farmers Market. Sat 8am-12pm. Olde Dominion Ag Complex. 434.432.8026. www.theodac.com.
Through October Danville Farmers Market. Sat 7:30am12pm. Community Market. 434.797.8961.
Summer Camps
July 1 (thru 26)
IALR Summer Camps. (7/1-3) STEM in the Movies. Grades K-4; (7/8-12) STEM in Space / Around the World; (7/15-19) STEM Studios / Young Authors Unite; (7/22-26) AI Adventures - Intro to Machine Learning/ Code Quest. Grades 3-8. Institute for Advanced Learning & Research. 434.766.6700.
YMCA Summer Camps. (7/1-5, 8-12, 1519 & 22-26) Camp Sunshine, Ages 5-12; (7/8-12) Basketball Camp, Ages 9-15. Danville Family YMCA. 434.792.0621.
July 8 (thru 18)
Take Charge of Your Summer. Ages 20+. Campo Grove Rec Center. 434.799.5199.
July 8 (thru 22)
Averett Camps. (7/8-11) Youth Basketball Camp, Ages 5-17, kmlewis@averett.edu; (7/22) Volleyball Fundamentals, Grades 6-12, oearls@averett.edu. AU North Campus.
July 8 (thru 26)
Owen Farm Tours Camp. 7/8-12 & 7/2226. Ages 6-12. 434.728.3410. P&R Outdoor Adventure Camp. Outdoor day-camp consisting of hiking, kayaking, ziplining, high ropes adventures, climbing wall challenges, as well as arts and crafts, environmental education, and outdoor games. Ages 8-11. 7:30am - 5:30pm. Ballou Park Shelter 6. 434.799.5150.
July 8 (thru Aug. 2)
Coates Day Camps. (7/1-5) Movie Mania Week; (7/8-12) Outer Space Week; (7/1519) Amazing Animals Week; (7/22-26) Olympics Week; (7/29-8/2) Splish, Splash. Ages 6-12. 7:30am - 6pm. Coates Rec Center. 434.799.5150.
July 9 (thru 12)
Gameplay. Ages 8-12. Danville Science Center. 434.791.5160.
July 15 (thru 18)
Writing with Fitzgerald Summer Camp Campers will be writing and illustrating their very own book. Camp will close out with a special tea party. Ages 7-12. 12pm. The Dog-Eared Page. 434.857.5386.
July 15 (thru 19)
Summer Dance Camp. Ages 2-12. Redeemed Christian Dance Studio. 434.709.9458.
July 15 (thru 18)
Camp Carlisle. (7/15-18) Pawesome Camp, Ages 4-6, 9am-2pm; (7/7-10) Arts & Crafts Camp; Ages 7-10, 9am2pm; (7/15-18) Cake Boss Camp, Ages 11+, 9am-12pm. Carlisle School276.632.7288.
Thru July 26
Expressions 2024. Work by artists from southern Virginia and the surrounding regions. This showcase of regional talent features an eclectic mix of work from hundreds of artists working in watercolor, oil and acrylic, mixed media, drawing, photography and sculpture. Piedmont Arts. 276.632.3221.
July 2 or 3
Suds, Swine, Sippin” & Song. Enjoy BBQ, spirits & live music. Benefit for the DCC Educational Foundation. Motley’s Mill Waterfall Estate. See ad page 30.
July 2 (thru 19)
Parks & Rec Outdoors. Junior Naturalists (7/2 & 16) 5:30-6:30pm; Campfire Friday, (7/5) 8-9pm; Thursday Paddle (7/18) 6-8pm; Moonlight Paddle (7/19) 8-9:30pm. Various Locations. 434.799.5150.
July 2 (thru 23)
Art with Louise. Wet-on-wet technique of oil painting. Ages 18+. Tuesdays 10am-12pm. Ballou Annex. 434.799.5216.
July 3
Diabetes Support Group. Learn tips and tricks to help better manage diabetes. Topics will vary. 11am-12pm. Ballou Rec Center. 434.799.5216.
July 3 (thru 31)
Danville Otterbots. 7/3 & 5 vs Burlington. 7/6 & 7 vs Johnson City. 7/16 & 17 vs Bluefield. 7/18 & 19 vs Tri-State. 7/21 vs. Greeneville. 7/ 29 & 31 vs. Burlington. 7pm. Legion Field, Dan Daniel Park. 434.554.4487.
July 4
DP&R 4th Celebration. Entertainment, activities, vendors, concessionaires and music by Seven Til Sunrise. 6-9pm. Carrington Pavilion. 434.857.3384. 4th Celebration. Food trucks and loads of family fun with live music, bounce houses, balloon sculpting, face painting, fireworks and more. 6-10pm. Main Street, South Boston.
July 5
Schoolfield First Fridays - Free yoga on the lawn, DJ, bouncy house, food vendors, and plenty of free family fun. 5-8pm. Schoolfield Village.
July 6
Hometown Heroes Patriotic Celebration Street festival, patriotic parade, fireworks and more. 3pm. Chatham.
July 6 (thru 27)
Live Music. 7/6 Virginia Electric; 7/12 Sleepless Denver; 7/13 Fescue; 7/19 Andy Burnett Trio; 7/20 Gypsy Soul; 7/26 The League of Ordinary Gentlemen; 7/27 Chris Hammack. 7-10pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.
June 7 (thru 28)
Live Music. Hosted by Matt Crowder. Sundays 2-6pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.
July 8
Let’s Make a Scene! Reader’s Theatre Series. Join us, along with Smokestack Theatre Company, to read a role or just read along “The Revolutionists” by Lauren Gunderson. Ages 18+. Registration required. Ruby B. Archie Public Library. 434.799.5195.
July 9
Danville Town Talk Networking. Topic will be The Power of Social Media and will include a 30-minute segment helping entrepreneurs and businesses reach and resonate with their ideal audience. Registration required. 6-8pm. Cottontail Weddings & Events.
July 9 & 11
Legal Aid Workshop. Questions and answers workshop. 7/9 Guardianships for Adults, 1-2pm; 7/11 Medicaid and LongTerm Care 5:30-6:30pm. Ruby B. Archie Public Library Auditorium. 434.799.5195.
July 11 (thru 25)
Danville Dairy Daddies. 7/11 vs LEX. 7/12 vs BUR. 7/13 vs LEN. 7/25 vs BUR. 7pm. Legion Field, Dan Daniel Park. 434.554.4487.
July 10 (thru 30)
Two Men and a Brush Exhibit. Featuring Mike Hunter & Wayne Stanfield. Prizery. 434.572.8339.
July 11
Music at the Market Concert Series Supafly Five. Bring a chair, blanket, and picnic basket for a relaxing evening listening to music. 7-9pm. Community Market-Outdoor Stage. 434.857.3384. Tossing at the Crossing. Cornhole Tournaments. Coincide with the Music at the Market concert series. Blind draw for partners, players can bring their own bags, prizes awarded. Registration required. 7-9:30pm. Community Market. 434.857.3384.
July 12
Flip Flop Friday. Music by Tobacco Road Band. 6-10pm. Homeplace Vineyard. 434.432.9463. See ad page 27.
July 13
Offroad Adventure. Benefit for the SPCA of Pttsylvania County. 10am-8pm. Red Oak Hollow ATV Trails.
DAHS Adoption Event. Pet adoptions, reduced adoption fees, free microchipping & $5 Photos with Santa on the Farm. 11am-1pm. Danville Area Humane Society. 434.799.0843. Cruise In. Rain or shine. 4pm. Walker’s Roadside Grill.
Cruise In. Food, music, 50/50. 4-8pm. Tickles Table. 434.250.1405 or 434.728.0617.
Racing. Boone Tractor Race NightLive model stock cars, limited sportsman, pure stock, Hornets. 7pm. South Boston Speedway - 434.572.4947. www. southbostonspeedway.com.
July 13 (thru 31)
MSAC Classes. 7/13 Jewelry Making, 2-5pm; 7/17 Kids Class Flower Pot Painting, 2-4pm; 7/26 Kids Class Beach Painting & Bracelet Making, 2-4pm; 7/31 Kids Class Mosaic Frame & Magnet Painting, 2-4pm. $. Main Street Art Collective. 434.602.2017. See ad page 11.
July 18 (thru 21)
Shrek Jr. The Musical. Shrek, leads a cast of fairytale misfits on an adventure to rescue a princess and find true
acceptance. 7/18-20 7pm; 7/21 3pm. Prizery. 434.572.8339.
July 19
Franks + Dranks. Enjoy hot dogs and fixins, a cash bar and live music by Jake Earles. 6pm. Piedmont Arts. 276.632.3221.
July 19, 20 & 21
SRO GT World Challenge. See a wide range of GT race cars; from a Toyota GR86 to a Ferrari and everything in between. $. Virginia International Raceway.
July 20
Danville Storytelling Festival. Bridging the gap of storytelling from all genres, decades and walks of life. Featuring mixed media griot Katherine Guerrero Rivera. 10am-1pm. AU Student Center. www.danvillestorytelling.com
American Legion Post 29 Community Event. Food, live music, games, bookbag giveaway & more. 10am. Monroe Street. Shaggin’ on Fieldcrest. Music by Too Much Sylvia, food trucks, beer garden and more. 2-10pm. Main Street, Eden, NC. Market Square Summer Concert Series Music by Ace Party Band, food, fun. 7-9pm. Market Square, Reidsville.
July 23
Ladies Night Out. Door hanger painting, sipping on wines, and snacking. $. 6-8pm. The Gentry Farm. 434.483.0232.
July 25
VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society Presents: Bill Guerrant . Learn helpful tips and hear interesting stories related to genealogy topics. Ages 18+. Registration required. 2-3pm. Ruby B. Archie Public Library Auditorium. 434.799.5195. Coates Lego Lab. Build a scene from your favorite movie. Ages 5-12. 5:30-6:15pm. Coates Rec. Center. 434.799.5150.
July 25 (thru 28) The Adventures of Captain Starblaster Smokestack Theatre Co. 434.549.5445. See ad page 28.
July 26
VA Cantaloupe Festival. Live entertainment, non & alcoholic beverages, delicious roasted corn, cantaloupe and ice cream. 5-10pm. Berry Hill Resort. 434.572.3085. Fourth Fridays on the Veranda. Cash bar, food trucks, art, music, and community vibes. 5:30-8pm. Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. 434.793.5644.
July 26 & 27
Dino Festival. Life size-cast skeletons of some of the most iconic dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, dinosaur fossils, dinothemed activities and crafts, animatronic dinosaurs, paleontologists, and food trucks. 10am-4pm. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville.
July 27
Back to School Bash. Free backpacks & school supplies, food kid’s activities, water slide, bounce house, clothing giveaway, vaccinations, DJ & more. 10am-1pm. Right Touch Christian Church. Community “Fun” Day. Bouncy house, obstacle course, dunking booth, Live vehicle extraction/EMS/Firefighter demos, face painting, food & more. 10am-3pm. Gretna Fire & Rescue.
Chatham Cruise In. 4-8pm. Main Street, Chatham. Music Therapy. Live music w/The “Lounge” of Ordinary Gentlemen. 5-8pm. Mucho Taqueria.
Upcoming
August 2
City vs County Basketball. 5pm. OT Bonner Middle School.
August 3
Pittsylvania County’s Back 2 School Festival. Free book bags, supplies & food. Also a dunking booth, splash pads, raffle drawings & more. Hargrave Military Academy, Chatham.
August 3 (thru 6)
DMFAH Attic Sale. Times Vary. Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History. 434.793.5644.
Chris Stovall was born into a musical family. His father was a jazz musician and his mother, a vocalist, also liked to draw. With this background, Chris, a visual artist, illustrator, and muralist, is both inspired and motivated by music. “I’m a musically based creator,” Chris told us regarding his creative process. “I enter into a soundscape of familiar and yet emotionally charged sounds.” It’s these sounds and emotions that carry him through to a completed project, though it’s the process, the journey of creation that thrills him, whether it’s an abstract piece, a portrait, a mural, a landscape, or even poetry, much more than the finished piece itself. Once finished, however, Chris’s goal is to connect with his audience, to find a place of belonging and to share it.
Growing up biracial in the Pacific Northwest, Chris often felt like an outsider. It’s a feeling he goes back to as he creates. “I am drawn to figuring out the context of belonging in different environments,” he said. Having struggled to feel included in his community as a child, he uses that sense of being an outsider as inspiration for his work, asking his audience to guess at his intent, like an inside joke he is challenging the viewer to “get.”
As a child, Chris liked to draw. Inspired by the illustrations of Maurice Sendak and Mercer Meyer, he would trace these illustrations as a method of studying them, learning how to draw such fantastical images for himself. Other times, he would color in the line drawings that accompanied the poems of Shel Silverstein, spoiling his books and raising the ire of his parents. In middle school, his cartoon drawings of vegetables won him some local fame when one of his teachers submitted them to be used as an advertisement for a neighborhood grocery store. The images remained even when Chris was in his 20s.
Chris likes to challenge himself in his work. He strives for patience and, as such, plans to begin working in oils in addition to acrylics and watercolors. “Oils force the hand towards patience.” And yet he works in other mediums besides, often starting upon an idea before he has decided quite how to carry it out. Sometimes his pieces begin with a game of word association, where a single word inspires a sketch that he creates quite rapidly. Once the piece begins to take shape, only then does he determine whether it will be a pen and ink illustration or a painting or even a poem—a “word
landscape” as he calls it.
Chris would like to see more shared spaces for artists. “This community is vibrant but not fully utilized,” he said to us. “I would like to create outlets for others.” In his work as an athletic coach, he has seen the need for places where people, young and old, can gather to express themselves in a safe and receptive environment. He would also like to see art projects that are carried out by the city’s youth. His wish is to see some sort of all-inclusive, immersive art experience, where people can try their hands at different mediums, including music, digital art, performance and visual art, and galleries to show and display what people create there, a way for more accomplished artists to inspire creative expression in the young.
Though Chris is relatively new to Danville, he feels at home here. “The community is already imprinted onto my heart,” he told us, “and the longer I’m here, encountering its story, the deeper that story will affect me.”
OWE Arts & Culture exists to highlight the diverse range of talent among Danville’s creative community and to provide opportunities for that community to come together.
Collage
by Val-Rae Lindenau
photos courtesy of Chris Stovall
Eclipse
Over Danville
by Mack Williams
I’m writing on a “partly cloudy, “partly sunny” (meteorologist terminology) day. Clouds sometimes obscure the sun, subduing the glow from above, and shading the glow of spring’s later-blooming perennials from below.
But these clouds make for a more “normal” dimming of the day than that seen back on April 8th: the eclipse of the sun. Of course, from here in Danville, the eclipse was partial, but still very effective as “something out of the ordinary” to be observed.
During the 2017 eclipse, 2024 looked a long way off, but that time span, like that eclipse, came and went, sort of like time eclipsing itself (over time).
On the afternoon of April 8th, I met up with my son, Jeremy at the law office where he works, so we would both be able to see that “first bite” out of the sun (made by a big dragon in ancient China, or in ancient Vietnam, a frog).
I then went searching Ballou Park for trees which had enough early spring leafy growth in order to make pinhole projections of partial suns on the ground from that great source in the heavens. I walked around beneath a number of trees but didn’t see any. The leaves looked to be too small, and the distance between too great to be “just right” (maybe Goldilocks
would have had greater luck). Any passersby seeing me would have possibly thought: “He must have lost something under a tree but forgot just which tree.”
While looking at the many shadows of leafy spring boughs to find a pinhole, I started thinking about “the shadows of the day.”
To me, the sun’s partially hidden daylight looked to be something different from just “less light.” And the sky was still blue, but “strangely blue.” Perhaps the atmosphere didn’t “know what to think,” with an otherworldly shadow slicing into it.
And looking at the image through the eclipse glasses, in “my astronomical mind’s eye” I imagined the moon’s shadow looking like a black column reaching from the heavens to earth (opposite the usual directional “reach” of columns).
That “column” was too many miles westward for a total eclipse (and, if further west, nothing at all).
When a few clouds crossed the partial sun, their shadows were still cast. Seeing them, I thought of the shadow and light striking from far beyond the clouds. Pondering that distant realm, one’s breath is almost lost (and in that realm, there is no breath to take).
The moon’s shadow was traveling many miles to Earth. But all anyone needs to do in order to travel to our own earth’s shadow is wait till nighttime, open your door, and take a step outside (even if you stay inside, you’re still wrapped within that shadow, overall).
After searching for pinhole images beneath the arboreal boughs of Ballou Park, I stopped back at my apartment and saw that such images had come to my doorstep. The holes between the leaves of an adjacent holly bush had excellently projected several perfect, quarter-sized partial suns.
I drove back to the office where Jeremy works to view the moon’s maximum coverage of the sun with him. He had his eclipse glasses out and his Samsung smartphone, taking pictures (using a special screen to prevent “fried phone”). A lady just up the street was also watching. I got into a conversation with her about the pinhole images cast through tree leaves. She said a strainer found in the kitchen might do as a pinhole projector, as well. I’ll have to remember that! The strainer may
come in handy for the next really decent partial solar eclipse on Jan. 14, 2029. But for the partial solar eclipses following that, and being 73 years of age, I have more to worry about than just the weather!
Across the way, In the courtyard of the James F. Ingram Justice center, some members of the Clerk of Court staff (including my daughter-in-law, Rose), the bailiff, and a few deputies came out on their break to view the eclipse at its height, so Jeremy and I joined them.
As we watched through our eclipse glasses, I mentioned the distance from the earth to the moon is 238,000 miles. And I added that since my 2000 Oldsmobile Alero has 270,000 miles on it, I’ve made it to the moon, and am part of the way back!
That comment garnered some smiles, but no guffaws.
We saw a few spindly weeds beside the pavement which seemed to cast “strangely blurred” shadows. Those shadows seemed to be “confused” by the moon’s great shadow as to “just what to do,” as far as coming into focus was concerned.
Jeremy noticed that the series of manufactured holes in a steel rod holding up a courthouse parking sign turned the rod into an excellent pinhole projector. The little “mini-partial-suns” seemed to “walk the line” on the ground, then ascended up a parked car’s front bumper.
Jeremy took pictures of the eclipse and the pin-hole projections. Up in Williamsburg, my daughter Rachel took eclipse pictures and a picture of a mass of “pin-hole suns” which reminded me of the “spray-of-eyelike-orbs” effect made by a mass of peacock feathers (remembered from peacocks seen on family visits to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.).
After a few minutes of observing, the courthouse staff and officers went back inside, since they had to help with the administration of the laws prescribed for people, of which people sometimes forget or ignore.
Not so for the sun, moon, and earth, unerringly following the laws prescribed for their movement, even to the point of being more regular than clockwork
eclipse photo by Jeremy Williams crowd photos by Rachel Williams
What do a lion, a scarecrow, and a tinman all have in common? They are all characters in the famous classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, of course! As a child, Justin Hall watched this beloved film over and over, falling a little more in love with the dazzling costumes and catchy songs with each viewing. One day, Hall was introduced to the movie The Wiz, the Motown version of the same story, and he became obsessed. After seeing the on-stage touring production in Downtown Atlanta, Hall was hooked. “It was my firsttime seeing people who looked like me acting, singing, and dancing on stage. I wanted to know how I could do that for a living!”
Hall got his degree in theatre and has since been all over the country for work both as a costumer and as an actor. He is currently a professor at Averett University, where he gets to share his knowledge of costume design and acting. When preparing for any role that comes his way, Hall starts his process the same way— research. “It’s so important that it bears repeating three times:
Research. Research. Research! For me, that means more than just reading the script. It’s delving into things the character might be inspired by. I listen to music the character might sing. I look at artwork of the time. I’ll study the fashion of the period. The script will give you a great base to start. The real preparation happens when you, as an actor, can go away from the script and research. From that exploration, an actor can discover their own point of view of the character, bringing nuance and perspective to what is written, and creating more complexity and interest to the performance.”
Hall believes that “the most important quality for an actor is an ability to free themselves of their own inhibitions. Being unafraid to make a fool of themselves, to really ‘go there’ by creating movement with the body, emotion with the voice, and connection with the story. If an actor remains in their head or concerns themselves too much with what others might think, then the authenticity of the performance can be diluted. When an actor can
transform themselves in such an authentic and believable way, the audience forgets they are watching an actor “perform” for a moment. They’ll believe they are watching a character “live” in that moment.”
Hall shared some solid advice for those aspiring to act, though it applies to any career field. “Love, honor, cherish, respect, and protect who you are as a person foremost. Producers, directors, casting agents, costume designers, choreographers, hair and makeup artists, audience members, critics, and reviewers are all going to have an opinion about who you are as an actor. How you look, how you sound, and how you ‘fit in’ to their vision of a character or performance? It is imperative that you create a foundation for yourself to withstand all of their critiques. If you want to be an actor, let your love for the craft and the process be your driving force. Take it seriously—study, grow, and learn. Decide for yourself what sort of things you will do to make your dreams of acting possible, but also decide for yourself the sort of things you won’t do. Boundaries
Action!
Inside the Method of Acting Justin Hall
by Emily Wilkerson
are important, and they aren’t all the same for everybody. Know what your personal boundaries are, and don’t be afraid to stand by them. Don’t be afraid to be an advocate for yourself. Speak up and stand firm for yourself and for your talents. Above all else: be a good person. Be the person other people want to work with. Be the artist that others can’t wait to collaborate with. Sometimes that comes from not how you act, dance, or sing, but the positive energy and supportive atmosphere that you bring.”
photos courtesy of Justin Hall
Exceptional
Community Involvement
Atlantic Union Bank
Averett University
Calm Source
Danville Otterbots
Danville Toyota
Dewberry Engineers
Epic Health Partners
Habitat for Humanity
PATHS
Robert Woodall Automotive
Smokestack Theatre Company
SOVAH Health
The Arc of Southside
URW Community Federal
Credit Union
Wilkins & Co. Realtors
Exceptional
Experience
Bankers Insurance
Carter Craig Attorneys at Law
Computer Bookkeeping
Family of Hands
Gateway Health
Owen’s Landscaping
PLDR Law
Rhonda Johnson Esthetics
Rippe’s
River City Tans
Snyder Orthodontics
Spectrum Medical
Superior Heating & Air Conditioning
Tricia Gammon Insurance
W&W Luxury Limousine Service
Exceptional
Customer Service
2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co.
Aaron & Associates
Carter Bank
Debra Fugate, Ramsey Yeatts & Associates
Dr. Donna Helton, DDS
First National Bank
First Piedmont Corp.
Four Seasons Pest Control
Harris, Harvey, Neal & Co.
La Nostra Cucina
Riverstreet Networks
Satterfield Insurance
Solex Architecture
Spurrier Orthodontics
Tokyo Grill
Advantage Media Solutions
B&H Market on the Dan
Bonz N’ Bubbles
Davis Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric
Furniture Depot
Hardy Petroleum
Harris Nursery
Karen’s Hallmark
Leggett Town & Country
Main Street Art Collective
Nature’s Essentials
Occasions on the Go
Piggly Wiggly
Smith Davis Tire
The Homeplace Vineyard
Katherine McDaniel, CPA Danville
George Brooks, CPA Danville
Stephen Gay, CPA Danville
Jonathan Wright, CPA South Boston
Mark Foster, CPA Danville
Kim Skinner, CPA Martinsville
Vaden Wright, CPA Chatham
Michael Mayhew, CPA Danville
Games Crossword Puzzle
Games Solutions
ea?” asked Mamie, turning her head toward him, raising her eyebrows.
Solly glanced at her from the driver’s seat, seeing a slender woman, endearingly familiar, proffering a traveler’s mug with a dangling tea bag string. In the air conditioner’s gentle breeze, her graying hair stirred in rhythm with the string.
“Sure,” he said.
“Here,” said Mamie, handing him the cup, this tall, kind man she’d been with for many years.
“Good tea,” said Solly after taking a sip. “The driving is planned. What shall we talk about today?”
“How about fathers,” Mamie said. “Both of ours are gone. Tell me several memories while I fix my coffee.”
“Okay.” Solly plunged in. “Dad was inclined toward engineering. He puttered around building things for my whole childhood. He worked at a milling machine company. Worked with his hands. Smart man.”
“Of course he was.” Mamie stirred her cup. “That shows in his children. His interest in engineering probably led to you being interested in a STEM field.”
“True. Mine was math. It came easy early on. I struggled in some of the later math classes,
especially the ones that didn’t use numbers.”
“Struggling means digging in, learning. That’s when we really get to know what we’re made of.” Mamie paused, then continued. “I struggled with math.”
“Hard to believe you struggled with anything,” said Solly.
“Tough topic. Tumultuous home life. Missed some math building blocks in those early years. No tutoring help in those days. Dad, an immigrant, was always worried about the future, about supporting us.”
“What did you do?”
Mamie sipped her coffee. “Best I could. Never did get over math anxiety. But Dad loved me. I knew that. Tell me another memory.”
Solly was ready. “I was very young. My mom and dad did what they could do themselves. A pipe ran from the garage center drain downward until it came out the back of the concrete garage foundation. Wasps had built a nest in that pipe. They were buzzing around. Dad had to do something.”
“What did he do, Solly?”
“He layered on old clothes, Mamie, and told me to stand far away. He put a hose down the garage drain to flush out the wasps, then went around back to
dig out the wasp nest with a long metal pole. Got stung some but kept going. He got the nest out, killed the wasps, destroyed the nest.”
“He knew how to persist, didn’t he?”
“He taught me persistence. Did what he had to do.”
“Good parents do what they have to do. My dad had a great vocabulary, and English was his second language. He’d lived through two world wars, come to America, gone to school. But to be successful, he knew he had to get better at English. He built his vocabulary by reading Time Magazine cover-to-cover every single week. He knew current events, plus he read with a dictionary at his side, looking up every word he didn’t know. I thought every dad did that, so I looked up words, too.”
“Not every dad does that,” said Solly. “And not every dad cooks. Mine didn’t.”
“Your mom cooked, didn’t she?” Mamie asked.
“Usually,” said Solly. “But occasionally she had to be gone. Dad was faced with three hungry boys.”
“What did he make?” asked Mamie.
“He filled three glasses three-
Dads
(A Mamie and
Solly Story)
by Linda Lemery
quarters full of milk, crumbled up about a quarter of a sleeve of salted crackers into each glass, gave us a long spoon normally used for mixing iced tea, said, ‘Stir,’ and that was dinner. We loved it.”
“Done? I’ll take your tea mug,” said Mamie. “Great story.”
“What boys wouldn’t like crackers and milk if they’re having it with their dad?”
“We’re lucky we had good dads.”
“They probably helped us become better parents and better people.”
“Do we know where we are, Solly? We’ve been driving a long time.”
“We could check the maps app, but we know better than most, Mamie. What matters is that we’re here, happy, talking, and together.”
About the author: Linda Lemery llemery@ gmail.com welcomes reader comments..
THE POET’S CORNER Catch, or caught?
by Barry Koplen
photo by Barry Koplen
Transferred, that concept, beauty, to a fifty-yard pass, its ark a rainbow might envy, its sure-handed catch a combination of concentration as perfect as your stare from a crowded room when I wonder if its reception is mine to snare.
About Barry’s Writing:
I spent years finding my style and improving it. That will always remain a challenge. Language must be pertinent, cohesive, and energetic in order to captivate readers. Simple sentences are just as important as longer complex sentences. A well-functioning vocabulary is
essential. So is honesty.
As for poetry, that will always be one of the most challenging of the verbal arts. Poetry writing can humble any writer; knowing that has made me measure myself as a poet by this thought: a poet is only as good as the next poem he or she writes.
Thanks to Eric Chou, an amazing Chinese author (and ‘second’ father to me), I learned the most important lesson about becoming a bona fide writer: writing has to be done every day That has been my golden rule.
Send Barry a note at barry@ evincemagazine.com
Movies You Missed from 20 years ago
by Josh Lucia
Catwoman (1/10 Rating)
Released July 23, 2004
Streaming on Amazon Prime. For rent/purchase on all major platforms.
Genre: Superhero, Action, Crime, Fantasy PG-13: Action violence and some sensuality.
1h 44m
I should be reviewing Before
Sunset, the brilliant sequel to Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise, both movies in the top 250 movies of all time on IMDB. So, if you come here looking for a good film to watch, check that one out or most of the other films listed at the end of this review. Unfortunately, I decided to take another look at what I consider the worst movie I have ever seen…and it holds up. I tend to avoid giving a movie a
1 out of 10 rating. Even the worst films have redeeming qualities: A good performance, a great score, beautiful cinematography. Perchance. Not Catwoman. This movie belongs buried somewhere in cat litter. It is completely unoriginal. The music is terrible. The script is trash. Fifty percent of the film is moving shots of CGI rooms or city buildings. Even the color grading is weird. One second it’s a dark greenish blue and the next full of every color in existence. If there was a plot, it is something like this: A loner artist works for a mega corporation that sells makeup. When she discovers the makeup has some deadly side effects, the owner has her murdered by being flushed down a giant toilet, but a hoard of cats with Egyptian powers smell her feces covered body and breathe cat powers into her. She wakes up with unnatural speed, senses, and the need to eat all fish products like a starving person. She seeks her revenge while dating the very cop investigating her, all the while wearing a terribly designed leather costume and a newfound
sexy alter ego. There is no connection to the comics. There is no real reason for anything in this movie. Halle Berry and Sharon Stone are as attractive as ever and they deliver the lines they were given, but unfortunately this feels like someone time traveled twenty years into the future and used today’s AI to create this entire movie. It took me two viewings to watch this again. I fell asleep both times, and I was not tired. I can only think of two movies where the lead comes out of a waste pipe covered in literal crap. One is considered the greatest film of all time, The Shawshank Redemption The other is the worst movie of all time; Catwoman. Consider yourself lucky if this is a Movie You Missed.
Also released in July 2004: King Arthur; Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy; I, Robot; The Bourne Supremacy. Before Sunset, Garden State, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Village (follow @jlucia85 for these reviews and more)
What foods come to mind when you think of summer? I bet deviled eggs are on your list. They are a chilled mainstay for a picnic or any summer meal. A cool, crisp Sauvignon Blanc, with its versatile pairing options, would beautifully complement your savory deviled egg. Speaking of mainstays, I can’t imagine a summer meal without a cool potato salad. For the typical potato salad, a Reisling, known for its wide range of sweetness levels, would probably work. Remember, Rieslings can be bone dry, semi-sweet or sweet enough for a dessert wine. So, you choose according to your preference.
How about the tomato sandwich? Since tomatoes have a fair bit of acidity, let’s consider
again the Sauvignon Blanc to match the tomatoes’ acidity. The crispness of the wine will enhance the freshness of the tomatoes. Corn on the cob is often seen at summer meals. Assuming you are putting butter on your hot corn on the cob, how about a full-bodied oaky chardonnay from California? The buttery notes of the wine will beautifully complement the butter on the corn, creating a delightful sensory experience.
Do you like shrimp or shrimp salad? I have a suggestion that I believe you will find tasty: a Spanish Alberino. This wine can accompany most seafood dishes. For a pasta salad without shrimp and without a heavy sauce, consider a Pinot Grigio.
Another perennial summertime
Wines for a Summer Sip
by Dave Slayton
favorite is fried or grilled chicken. Try a bubbly Prosecco with your fried chicken. If it is grilled chicken, consider a Pinot Noir. It is a red wine, but it is light-bodied and can be paired with a variety of dishes. Speaking of red wines, how about an Italian Barbera for your all-beef hot dog with mustard, chili, and onions? Also, a red Zinfandel for your hamburger will probably work well.
Having dessert? I hope it is a key lime pound cake. Regardless of the dessert, a chilled, sweet Reisling will probably do well.
Here’s wishing you good sips this summer and remember to stay hydrated and sip in moderation.
Cheers!
photo by Dave Slayton
