15 May - 31 May, 2025
Launched in 2023, WATERWORKS celebrates new theatrical voices in Charlottesville and beyond! This festival of new works puts the playwright at center stage and diversifies the stories told on the Live Arts stage.
The 2025 WATERWORKS festival includes a range of new works including our spotlight shows:
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 excited to be a part of the development of his new work.
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. Daniel’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 treasure, and discovers its a pirates life for her.” Maria Kent is a family-friendly show, directed by Daniel Kunkel, and features actors from throughout Live Arts education programs.
Click on the link below for our 2025 WATERWORKS Programming!
WATERWORKS SOCIAL/COMMUNITY EVENTS
Saturday, May 17, 11am-1pm |Grit Coffee – Join us at Grit for coffee before the festival begins! – 15% discount if you show your WATERWORKS tickets at their NEW LOCATION at 201 West Water Street!
Saturday, May 17, 1:00-3:00pm | Conover Studio – Fourth Floor – Community DEEP DIVE DEVISE: Live Arts Education Director Daniel Kunkel facilitates a conversation and workshop on the beginnings of the playwright’s process.
Tuesday, May 20, 5:30-7:30pm | Common House – WATERWORKS 2025 Kick Off: Join us at Common House as we celebrate the first week of performances with the Locally Sourced Playwrights and usher in the second week of performances! Common House, located just steps away from Live Arts at 206 W. Market St., Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Thursday, May 22, 4-6pm | Vitae Spirits – Meet the Playwright Happy Hour: Join us at Vitae Spirits with Derek Snow, playwright of RAVENSIDE OCCURRENCE, and Maia Adolphs, director. A portion of their signature cocktail that evening will be donated to Live Arts.
Saturday, May 24, 1:00-3:00pm | Conover Studio – 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.
Wednesday, May 28, 4-6pm | Common House – MEET-THE-PLAYWRIGHT Happy Hour with Daniel Vincent, playwright of MARIA KENT AND THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE, and director Daniel Kunkel, at Common House.
Friday, May 30, 10:00pm | Gibson Theater – IDK IF THIS FUNNY: Chris Alan Comedy Night. Catch Charlottesville’s own Chris Alan and friends Gunnar Cain, Jemar O’Neal, and John Rodemacher for a night of nonstop laughs.
Saturday, May 31, 11am-1pm | Grit Coffee – Join us at Grit for coffee – 15% discount if you show your WATERWORKS tickets.
Saturday, May 31 11:00AM-1:00pm | Conover Studio – Community DEEP DIVE RESPOND: Education Director Daniel Kunkel, UVA Professor Marianne Kubik in conversation about responding to a playwright’s work, using the tools of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process®, a method for giving and getting feedback on creative work in progress.
Saturday, May 31, 1-3pm | Grit Coffee – Join us at Grit for coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up! – 15% discount if you show your WATERWORKS tickets/passes.
Saturday, May 31, 6:00pm | SEASON WRAP PARTY – Come join us for our 24/25 Voyages Season Rave Review, where we will be looking back on this season’s memories to celebrate our volunteers.
