Charlottesville, VA – Live Arts Theater is gearing up for a third round of WATERWORKS, a three-week long festival of new theatrical works from playwrights local and global. WATERWORKS runs May 15 through May 31, 2025, at Live Arts Theater, 123 E. Water Street, in Charlottesville. Single tickets are $15 for readings and performances and are available at livearts.org/tix, by phone at 434-977-4177 x123, or at the door; and weekly passes are available for $40. Ticket packages also available. Consider purchasing the deal of the festival: an All Festival Pass for $100 (only $75 for Live Arts Subscribers) guaranteeing unlimited access to performances and readings! Festival tickets go on sale April 18. WATERWORKS is presented by The Madwoman Project, and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Live Arts will host a number of special events during WATERWORKS: Opening Night of Locally Sourced on May 15; Festival Opening on May 16; and the Season Wrap Party, on Closing Night, May 31, where we celebrate all of our unbelievable creative volunteers who joined Live Arts in this 2024/25 VOYAGES Season. During performance dates, we also welcome audiences to enjoy our Live Arts Becker Bar and concessions.
Joining the growing list of fabulous Charlottesville festivals, WATERWORKS celebrates new theatrical works in development presented across multiple venues in a repertory-style kaleidoscope of one-acts and full-length performances, readings and events designed to stoke conversation and curiosity.
“I loved meeting emerging playwrights and seeing powerful new work unfold on stage!” – 2024 Waterworks Audience Member
“The urgency and importance of creative power hasn’t diminished in recent years, growing through the pandemic and over the course of the festival, with submissions increasing each year. In our third year, we received 650 submissions, our most ever; similarly, our Cold Plunge auditions introduced us to almost 80 actors, meaning our volunteer community grows annually as well,” says Director of New Works Adrienne Oliver. “This community thrills me with their enthusiasm for and dedication to new work and the potential of theatre to champion unvoiced, essential stories. I’m grateful for the local writers and the national talents who continue to bring their phenomenal works to the Live Arts stages, and I can’t wait to share this program with audiences. Our reader teams—30 dedicated and discerning volunteers, who gifted us hundreds of hours of time—worked diligently to support the festival in curating an audacious slate of plays. From the historical, to the witty, to the surreal, to the timely, this year’s selections represent the diversity of concerns, styles, passions, and perspectives of the moment, and I’m eager for the creative teams to bring their potential to life.”
Please see the complete listing of shows at: livearts.org/show/waterworks-2025
NEW WORKS
New Works are Live Arts-produced readings and make up the bulk of the festival. These plays represent a spectrum of playwright experience, including many nationally recognized scripts, all helmed by local directors and featuring community talents. WATERWORKS features 18 new works, 16 directors, and over 60 performers!
SPOTLIGHT SERIES
The Spotlight Series features staged reading productions of developed scripts in the Gibson Theater. There are three Spotlight shows, each performing one week of the festival:
LOCALLY SOURCED
Once again, the festival is excited to be collaborating with Live Arts own Playwrights’ Lab on Locally Sourced, a festival within a festival, showcasing five original short pieces developed by the Lab. Locally Sourced appears as our first Spotlight show in the Gibson Theater, opening on Thursday, May 15, and playing through the first weekend of the festival.
THE RAVENSIDE OCCURRENCE
Derek Snow returns to Live Arts with a new play, THE RAVENSIDE OCCURRENCE, directed by Maia Adolphs. Originally commissioned and developed in a workshop production by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park through its Jerome Fey Play Collection Fund, THE RAVENSIDE OCCURRENCE chronicles the night that four women escape from an asylum and take refuge in an abandoned inn only to have the bonds of their found family tested by the ghost that inhabits its halls. This curious tale, with a haunting score for string quartet by composer Jimmie A. Parker, asks us to consider the importance of history and remembrance. Derek’s play, SILAS, THE UNINVITED, was featured as a Spotlight show in the first 2023 Waterworks Festival and we are proud to be a part of the development of his new work.
For our final Spotlight show, we are very excited to feature MARIA KENT & THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE by Daniel Vincent. MARIA KENT was selected last year as a Spotlight show for WATERWORKS ‘25 as a new work demonstrating a breadth of narrative and dynamism; Live Arts readers loved the writing and called Mr. Vincent’s script “a true gem.” The playwright offers the following synopsis: “After her brother attempts to sell their long-time home, a cowgirl runs away with a pirate captain in the search of an ancient mermaid’s treasure, and discovers it’s a pirate’s life for her.” Maria Kent is a family-friendly show, directed by Daniel Kunkel, and features actors from throughout Live Arts education programs.
A HILARIOUS EVENING OF COMEDY: Chris Alan and Friends
Join us for a night of nonstop laughs! Headliner Chris Alan takes the stage with sharp takes on turning 45, family life, and fatherhood — joined by three of his funniest friends Gunnar Cain, John Rademacher, and Jemar O’Neal for a night you won’t forget.
COMMUNITY DEEP DIVES
Community Workshops are educational opportunities for theater-makers who would like to deepen their understanding of creating, developing, and engaging with new work. Workshops will be held on Saturday afternoons, May 17, 24 and 31.
May 17 Community DEEP DIVE – DEVISE
Live Arts Education Director Daniel Kunkel facilitates a conversation and workshop on the beginnings of the playwright’s process.
May 24 Community DEEP DIVE – PRODUCE
Education Director Daniel Kunkel, Artistic Director Susan E. Evans, and Playwright Derek Snow facilitate a discussion on getting your work produced by a theater.
May 31 Community DEEP DIVE – RESPOND
Education Director Daniel Kunkel, UVA Professor Marianne Kubik and Playwright Danny Vincent in conversation about responding to a playwright’s work, using the tools of Liz Lerman’s CRP. Devised by Liz Lerman in 1990, Critical Response Process® is a method for giving and getting feedback on creative work in progress, designed to leave the maker eager and motivated to get back to work.
MEET-THE-PLAYWRIGHT HAPPY HOURS
New this year! Live Arts partners with Common House for happy hours with the playwrights and directors of the Waterworks Spotlight shows. These events are at Common House at 206 W. Market St., located just steps away from Live Arts. Common House is a gathering space that cultivates community through inspirational design, dynamic programming, and intentionally-sourced food and beverage.
May 20, 4-6pm, with Locally Sourced playwrights
May 22, 4-6pm, with Derek Snow, playwright of THE RAVENSIDE OCCURRENCE, and director Maia Adolphs
May 28, 4-6pm, with Daniel Vincent, playwright of MARIA KENT AND THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE, and director Daniel Kunkel
About Live Arts
Founded in 1990, Live Arts is celebrating more than 34 years of forging theater and community. Powered by more than 1,000 volunteers, Live Arts is a national model for engaged community theater, known for exceptionally high caliber productions, provocative programming and for supporting new works. Live Arts is guided by these organizational priorities: Artistic Integrity; Educational Excellence; Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; and Volunteer & Community Engagement. As the anchor tenant in a four-story space, Live Arts proudly serves as a vital cultural resource in the heart of downtown Charlottesville with two state-of-the-art stages, rehearsal studio space, a library, and a rooftop event space.
The 2024/25 Voyages Season is made possible by:
The generous support of The REA Charitable Trust, C-VILLE Weekly, WTJU 91.1FM, Ting, PJ Networks Computer Services, the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, The Madwoman Project, and by hundreds of theater lovers. Live Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
For more information:
Please contact Artistic Director Susan E. Evans by email at susan@livearts.org; or phone at 434-977-4177 x103, or visit livearts.org.
https://livearts.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Index-of-Shows-WATERWORKS-2025.pdf
WHERE: Live Arts Theater, 123 East Water Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Locally Sourced Opening Reception: May 15
Festival Opening on May 16
Wrap Party on May 31, 6pm
TICKETS: ON SALE APRIL 18
BOX OFFICE: 434-977-4177 x123 or online at livearts.org/tix
