Virginia Theatre Festival To Host UVA Alums As Artists In Residence On April 22-23

The Virginia Theatre Festival, the professional summer theatre at the University of Virginia, will host a pair of high-profile UVA Drama Alumni as Artists in Residence on April 22 and 23.

Emily Swallow, a 2001 UVA graduate, one of the stars of the acclaimed live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Bobo Fett, as well as CW fan favorite Amara in Supernatural, will be joined by 2000 UVA graduate James Seol, whose extensive credits include a starring role in the Broadway musical Come From Away and the HBO Max limited series The Flight Attendant.

Seol and Swallow will participate in a public Q&A, moderated by VTF Artistic Director Jenny Wales, on Monday, April 22 at 7:30 PM in the Helms Theatre. The event is free of charge, but space is limited. Seat reservations can be made at virginiatheatrefestival.org/artists-in-residence. 

While on UVA Grounds, the pair will also visit UVA classes and lead workshops for UVA students on topics including “Self-Tape Audition Technique” and “Acting the Song.”

“We could not be more excited and grateful to welcome these incredibly talented artists and wonderful humans back to Grounds and to the UVA Drama Department they once called home,” said VTF Artistic Director Jenny Wales. “I have no doubt our students will benefit greatly from working with James and Emily during their visit.”

In addition to his memorable run in Come From Away, James Seol's Broadway credits include A Naked Girl on the Appian Way. His television and film credits include Problemista (A24), The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), Living with Yourself (Netflix), and the web series Insomnia. He was nominated for a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in 2018 for his role in KPOP (Ars Nova/Ma-Yi/Woodshed Collective), and his Off-Broadway credits also include Henry VI and [Veil Widow Conspiracy] at the National Asian American Theatre Company. 

Emily Swallow is perhaps best known for her role as ‘The Armorer' in Jon Favreau's live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Bobo Fett. She is also often remembered as ‘Amara' in The CW's Supernatural, returning for the final season of the long-running series. She was a series regular on the popular CBS series The Mentalist as well as on David E. Kelley's TNT series Monday Mornings. Swallow has had recurring roles on the CBS series Seal Team, ABC's How to Get Away with Murder, and played opposite Matt LeBlanc in his sitcom, Man With A Plan. Her extensive theatre credits include a recent role as King Lear's daughter ‘Goneril' opposite Joe Morton in the title role of King Lear at the Wallis Annenberg Center. Additional theater roles have included starring opposite Tom Hanks in the Shakespeare Center production of Los Angeles production of Henry IV and earning an Ovation Award for her role in Cry it Out at the Echo Theater Co. Other theater highlights include world premieres of Donald Margulies' The Country House at The Geffen Playhouse, for which she also won an Ovation Award, and performing opposite Oscar and Tony Award-winning Mark Rylance in Nice Fish at The Guthrie Theatre. 

The Virginia Theatre Festival's 2024 Artists in Residence program is presented by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation. 

The Virginia Theatre Festival celebrates its 50th Anniversary this summer with a season that will feature:

• 50 Years and Counting: A Musical Revue (June 27-30) - Join us to celebrate 50 years of professional theatre in Charlottesville with a special musical revue directed by longtime Artistic Director Robert Chapel and featuring some of the greatest hit songs of the company's first half-century, performed by audience-favorite performers, including Broadway veterans!

• Little Shop of Horrors (July 11-21) - Suddenly, Seymour is ... back! Little Shop of Horrors has been delighting and disarming audiences with its story of lovestruck Seymour, a hapless flower shop employee, and his massive miscalculation that he can use a bloodthirsty succulent to win his beloved Audrey's heart. 

• The 39 Steps (July 25-August 4) - Based on the Alfred Hitchcock movie, this frenetic farce features four actors playing more than 150 characters in what becomes a feat of herculean hilarity and hairpin turns in this two-time Tony Award-winning whodunit full of plot twists, romance, quick-changes, and laughs delivered at a delightfully dizzying pace.

Tickets

Tickets for the 2024 season will go on sale on Thursday, June 6. To learn more about the Virginia Theatre Festival, its Artists in Residence program, and its 50th anniversary season, visit virginiatheatrefestival.org.

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