Immediately after acquiring the historic Empire (now November) Theatre in 1986, Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway produced a series of panel discussions with RVA’s foremost theatrical artists and leaders, discussing issues central to the past, present and future of professional theatre in Central Virginia. 

In cooperation with the state archives at the Library of Virginia, ATLAS Partnership is proud to revive Plays & Playmakers, video recording one-on-one interviews with past and present leaders of RVA theatre, casting an informative and compelling spotlight on the foundations of our field.

Our videography partners in this project are longstanding friends and colleagues, John Moon and Matt Polson. John, who formerly served as Associate Artistic Director for both Virginia Rep and TheatreVirginia, has been focusing on his videography career since the early 2000s.  Matt, who’s played numerous leading men at Cadence, Swift Creek Mill Theatre and Virginia Rep, has been building his video business, The Video Department, since 2014.

In year one, we are planning to record 20 interviews, 90 minutes each. Pictured is theatre legend and dear friend, Suzanne Pollard, who, at 101, participated in our very first interview of this newly revived project.