“Miners and Millhands” debuts April 22 at UVa-Wise

“Miners and Millhands,” a theatrical production commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, opens for a second weekend of performances at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 29 in the Theatre.

The work opened April 22 to a packed house.

Additional performances are scheduled for April 30 at 8 p.m., and May 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 with UVa-Wise students admitted free.

Written by composer Ron Short, “Miners and Millhands” was funded in part by Continental Harmony, the nationwide composer-commissioning program of the American Composers Forum. The work will be staged under the direction of Michael McNulty, technical director Jonathon Taylor, and musical director Richared Galyean.

“This is a very unique and special arts project,” Short said. “It was funded in a nationwide, highly competitive competition for funding new American music. It is the first "folk music" project that Continental Harmony has funded. Rarely do they fund colleges and universities. Having the composer residing in the same area where the grant is given and able to work directly with the conductor and theater director is also very unusual. Having community people, staff, faculty, students and professional musicians and actors contributing to the making and performing of the work combine to make this a very unique project.”

“Miners and Millhands” is a musical theater work based on the Appalachian ballad form using myth, legend, personal histories and stories of the region. This commissioned work not only celebrates the 50th anniversary of UVa-Wise, it reaffirms the College's commitment to the people of the region and to its Appalachian heritage. Short's ballad draws upon the personal stories of area citizens while engaging and educating theatre and visual arts students in how to translate local voices into musical development, theatre, and movement.

"It is the stories of the people who have helped make that history that are most important," Short says. "It is in the stories of our lives that we find drama and all good music is filled with drama."

"Miners and Millhands" weaves musical and theatrical expression into a patchwork story of about mountain culture and the college, which sprang from it. Short, a 1971 graduate of UVa-Wise and a driving force behind Roadside Theater for more than 27 years, has worked for the last year to gather stories about how the College has impacted individuals and the entire region. The College's history is important not just for its own institutional identity but because that history is now an important part of
many people's lives and a part of this region's cultural identity," Short said.

Continental Harmony is a leadership initiative of the American Composers Forum and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Marshall Field's Project Imagine with support from the
Target Foundation.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.