Natasha Trethewey, M.A. 1991

Bellocq's Ophelia

By Natasha Trethewey, adapted by Ernie Zulia, T. J. Anderson, and Lexi Mondot

Hollins’ "Five Stars and a Moon" Legacy Series continues with Bellocq’s Ophelia, an imaginative theatrical odyssey based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey (Hollins M.A. 1991, and 2012 writer-in-residence). Set amidst the decadance of New Orleans in 1911, Ophelia, a young biracial woman confronts a world of inequality of both race and gender. While living and working in a famous octoroon brothel for white-skinned African American women, Ophelia poses for photographer Ernest Bellocq and gradually transforms from model to artist, viewing the world through the lens of her own camera, and embarking on a journey to claim her identity and celebrate her spirit.

February 15, 17, 18, 2012, 7:30 pm
February 16, 8 pm
February 19, 2 pm
Hollins Theatre

Admission: $10 general, free to current Hollins students, faculty, and staff


Meet Natasha Trethewey and help kick off the 2012 Marginal Arts Festival at a reception at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum on February 16, 2012, 6:45 - 7:45 pm, following a 6 pm lecture by nationally-known artists Margaret Evangeline and Hunt Slonem, whose Louisiana-inspired exhibition, Bayous and Ghosts, will be on display.


The Playwright’s Lab at Hollins in cooperation with Mill Mountain Theatre (MMT) presents the comedy The Arctic Circle (and a Recipe for Swedish Pancakes) Tuesday – Friday, February 14 – 17, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, February 18, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on MMT’s Waldron Stage, located at 20 Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 if purchased in advance from Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com). The play, written by Samantha Macher and directed by Bob Moss, is part of Roanoke’s Marginal Arts Festival.

The Arctic Circle is the story of a woman in a troubled marriage who travels through time, space, and Sweden to reexamine her past relationships for solutions to her newly found troubles. Unable to find the clear answers she needs, she must look inside herself to discover what she is seeking.

The cast of The Arctic Circle includes Playwright’s Lab Director Todd Ristau. Following its MMT performances, the production travels to New York City for six shows at Manhattan’s 440 Studios.