Steam-Powered Arts Review
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By Ronnie D. Lankford on 19 August 2009
In August of 2009, the Town of Appomattox can take two things for granted. One, that Appomattox Courthouse Theatre is preparing for a new season of great plays including its current production, Neglected Husbands’ Sewing Club. And two, that the local community can enjoy these performances within the historic setting of the old Appomattox Courthouse.
Posted in Arts, Columns, Hot Stuff, Plays, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Neglected Husband's Sewing Club, Paul Freed's Death By Chocolate, The Hounds of the Baskervilles
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 23 July 2009
One of the things I love about writing for Appomattox News is that it gives me – an introvert – a chance to get out more often. On a recent outing, I met Geoffrey Kershner and a number of the folks involved with the Endstation Theatre Company at Sweet Briar College. It was such a good experience, I planned to see as many of the group’s productions as possible during the Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival.
Posted in Arts, Columns, Plays, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Appomattox Courthouse Theatre, Endstation Theatre, Harvey, Shakespeare
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 19 April 2009
I’ve met lots of people with dreams that one day – God willing, the creeks don’t rise, and a winning lottery ticket – they’ll pursue. And a lot of those folks were amateur photographers like myself, honing their skills in classes at Central Virginia Community College until they could set up their own studio.
Posted in Arts, Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Lynchburg, National Geographic, Photography, Robert Miller
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 10 March 2009
If you missed the Appomattox Social Media Seminar this past weekend, you missed an excellent chance to find out about cutting edge communication technology that just may have the power to change the way we build community, operate businesses, and talk to one another.
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Copeland Casati, Jennifer Mills, Joe Gerstandt, Social Media Seminar
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 30 November 2008
Some folks, however, will never have to look back. I learned—a couple days ago—about guitarist-songwriter Adam Thompson and his girlfriend Ammie Freymeyer’s rebellion against settling down too soon: they’re traveling across the U.S. of A. in an RV, with the goal of playing music in a small town (with populations under 2009) in every state over the next five months. Thompson calls the project Miles to Knowhere, and one of their stops just happens to be in Appomattox (at Baine’s Books & Coffee, Tuesday, November 25, 7:00 p.m.).
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Jack Kerouac, On the Road
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 12 November 2008
Sonny Harlow was interested in painting and art a long time before he began specializing in faux finishing. After he drew a picture of his Uncle’s truck as a young boy, his mother made sure to keep him stocked with sketch pads and coloring books.
“We’d watch TV and draw,” Harlow said of him and his [...]
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Appomattox, Faux painting, Mural, Natural Bridge, Thomas Jefferson
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 10 September 2008
If you’re under the impression that nothing could be better than sitting beneath the spread of giant oaks and sipping tea and lemonade on a hot summer’s day while listening to great music, then you’d be right.If you think this would be even better experienced with a great group of friends, then you’d be right again. This, in fact, is exactly what I – and several hundred others – did at the Eighth Annual Evergreen Music Festival on August 30 at Bonnie and Ken Swanson’s farm.
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Canada, Chip Robinson, Florida, Harrisonburg, Jill Taylor, Music festival, Tampa, Tampa Florida
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 13 August 2008
If you think that working as an airplane mechanic is a long way from working as an artist, you’re right. And if you think that Prague, Czech Republic is a long way from Appomattox, Virginia, you’re right again. Within these great distances, however, unfolded the life and art of Petr Liska.
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Appomattox Gallery, Czechoslovaka, Petr Liska, Swanie's Review
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 2 July 2008
At left: At Left: Ricky Johnson, Justin Freshwater and David Mitchel play unplugged. Photograph by Ronnie Lankford, Jr.
Last Tuesday evening, some time between shaving my week-old beard and packing my book bag (business cards, tape recorder, notepad, pens, and camera), the electricity went out. It didn’t seem like a big deal, since I had planned [...]
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Arts, Baine's Books, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, music, musicians, Neil Young, New Orleans, North Carolina, Shopping, Unplugged
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 18 June 2008
I remember my wife (Elizabeth) and I stopping in downtown Appomattox sometime after last Thanksgiving to look for a few holiday gifts. We’d always heard that it was best to shop locally – support town merchants, build the tax base, and save gas – but what if you wanted to buy something unusual, like a purse made out of a cigar box? Wasn’t the arts and craft scene much livelier in Farmville and Lynchburg?
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Baine's, The Arts & Craft Center, The Arts and Appomattox Schools, theater, Theatre, Wilkins Myrick
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 21 May 2008
As I arrive at Baine’s Books and Coffee around 7:30 on a Saturday evening, the sun is only beginning to set. Even though it’s late spring, it’s been fairly cool all day. Inside, it’s warmer, and an early crowd has gathered to see multiple-instrumentalist and singer Jason Ring perform. I take a seat in the back of the room, listening as Ring delivers a finger picked version of “Deep River Blues” that would make Doc Watson proud.
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Baine's Books, banjo, dobro, Doc Watson, Jelly Roll Morton, Jerry Ring, mandolin
By Ronnie D. Lankford on 7 May 2008
As I sit down on one of the wood-slatted benches in the Appomattox Courthouse Theatre, I hear a voice ring out against the building’s high ceiling. It’s a natural echo that adds richness to the player’s voice. A rehearsal is in progress. Director Valerie Daugherty occasionally interrupts the proceedings, tidying up loose ends and complimenting a well-delivered line. Everything seems to be coming together for the Friday May 9th opening of “An Act of the Imagination.”
Posted in Columns, Steam-Powered Arts Review | Tagged Community theatre, Performing Arts, Theatre
