Press Release

THEATER Auntie Una Shropshire lass inspires Richmond's young performers by Holly Timberline

You’re 8 years old.  You’re “Cinderella.”  You’re playing a mouse.  Your director is a boisterous Brit dressed dramatically in black from head to toe, and she is not happy. “You look like a sausage waiting for a plate!” she yells.  What do you do? If she is Una Harrison, artistic and teaching director of Richmond’s Theatre With Children For Children, you say “Sorry Auntie.”  You focus.  You listen for your cues.  You remember what you’ve learned in class with this outgoing, quirky woman.  You exude mouseness.  And you love it. Harrison’s young cast will open its production of “Cinderella” on Friday, December 12, at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Performing Arts Center. After a recent rehearsal Harrison released her 26 charges at precisely 9 p.m., pet names tumbling from her mouth like jewels from a queen’s purse: “All right my darlings, we’ll have notes hat half past one on Sunday, dear faces.”  But the children didn’t leave.  They crowded around a newly arrived box of posters promoting their play. “Oh, look!” “Let me see!” “Auntie, can I have an extra one for my bedroom?” Harrison’s clear English lilt soared above the crowd. “Darlings, these are not jus for fun.  These are to help sell tickets.” Bangles clinking lightly on her wrist, she doled out the coveted posters, sending the children on their way. “Thank you, my darlings! Thank you soooooooo much! Bye bye, sweet babes!” Harrison will not disclose her age. “I’m as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth,” she says, jauntily.  But she has been teaching her classes almost as long as she’s been in the states – about 30 years. That she still sounds like a Shropshire lass is part of her mystique.  “She’s much a character,” says 15-year-old Molly Beilhart, fondly.  Beilhart has studied with Harrison for nine years, and will play the title role in the upcoming production.  Beilhart says Harrison is “very demanding” and prepares students for the rigors of the stage: “If you can handle Auntie, you can handle anything.” Parents agree.  “She’s very disciplined.  She treats them like professionals,” says one mouse dad. Harrison believes she also prepares students for the real world. “They learn to be respectful and unselfish.  Theatre gives them a sense of responsibility that I don’t think they get [otherwise] in this day and age.” Harrison’s program has been part of VCU’s Community School for the Performing Arts since 1985.  She writes most of the productions herself, tailoring them to young audiences.  “I know what the kiddiewinks like,” she says.  Una Harrison says she prepares children for the real world through theater.  “They love the slapstick.  They love the funny. Our shows are lively, and they always include the audience. I think this is what children’s theater should be.” For “Cinderella,” Harrison adapted an already-existing script.  She added characters, mae the fairy godmother “wackier,” and rewrote the stepsisters to make them funnier – they are played with great comic aplomb by two boys. “It’s a very English pantomimey sort of thing,” Harrison explains. Audience members won’t be the only one enjoying themselves:  Even though only one actress gets to be Cinderella, it looks like the whole cast is having a ball. S

-- Style Magazine, December 1997

Virginia Commonwealth University
Community School of the Performing Arts
1015 Grove Avenue
Richmond, VA 23284-2039
804-828-2772
(804-VCU-CSPA)

Some of Charles Dickens’ most beloved characters will be on stage at VCU in a family musical production of "Oliver with a Twist", adapted and directed by Una Harrison, music by Paul Bartsch and featuring Reid Monahan as Oliver, Maclin Columber as Fagan, and Eric Dobbs as Mr Bumble.

Oliver’s adventures start at the workhouse orphanage where he is under the thumb of the heartless Mr Bumble and Mrs Corning.

When Oliver runs away, he meets the Artful Dodger, and ends up at Fagan’s den with the menacing Bill Sykes and the colorful gang of pickpockets. A magic mix of Mystery, Robbery, Comedy, and Victorian Justice surround Oliver before he discovers his true identity and happiness. The lively script and score includes lots of audience participation.

"Oliver" will be playing Weekdays at VCUs Performing Arts Center 922 Park Avenue, at 10.00 am on Wed Dec 13 to Fri Dec 15, and Mon Dec 18 to Tues Dec 19. Weekend performances are Sat Dec 17 at 2.00 and 4.00, and Sun Dec 17 at 3.00 and 5.00.
Tickets are $3.50 , or $3.00 for groups over 15.

Call VCU-CSPA at 828-2772 or 748-4601.

Press Release
(December 1999)

ANGELS, ANGELS, ANGELS

The Community School of the Performing Arts of Virginia Commonwealth University will present “The Newest Little Angel,” the 14th annual holiday production of Theatre With Children For Children. Written and Directed by Una Harrison with music by Jolene Bush, “The Newest Little Angel” will open on December 15 with a total of ten performances through December 21 at the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall, 922 Park Avenue. Showtimes are at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21. There will be afternoon performances on Saturday the 19th at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday the 20th at 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. The production closes with a 7:00 p.m. show on Monday the 21st.

The play, presented by a cast of 30 young student performers, emphasizes the themes of caring and sharing. Jonathan, the Newest Little Angel (played by Nate Schenker), finds himself with his teddy bear on the road to Heaven. He meets his Guardian Angel (Tyler Wriston) and is reunited with Bobo, his puppy (Soleil Ferguson). Noticing that everyone (including Bobo) has wings, he asks how he might get a pair, and is told by his pet that he will have to earn them. Jonathan finds that this is not so easy, especially when it comes to sharing his teddy bear with others and doing some heavenly chores. His own mischievous nature (and a gang of imps) get him into a world of trouble. The adventures that follow combine laugh-out-loud comedy (as Jonathan attempts to join the “Holy Roller-bladers”) with moments of pathos.

Will Jonathan earn those wings? Will he learn to “care and share”? The answers to those questions will be discovered in a colorful production featuring full sets and costumes and mysterious flying angels, as well as lots of audience participation. A teddy bear much like Jonathan’s will be given away to one lucky child in the audience at the end of each one-hour performance.

Tickets are $3.50 per person, with discounts for groups of 15 or more. For reservations, call the CSPA office at 828-2772. 

Street parking is provided for week-day morning performances by groups with buses; free parking is available in the VV lot at 1015 Grove Avenue for the week-end performances.