Virginia Peninsula Community College’s theater was recently abuzz with the noise of hammers and power tools.
Volunteers were creating larger-than-life set pieces, not for a play, but for the “America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together” Fourth of July program at Colonial Williamsburg. The event is expected to draw thousands of visitors and be broadcast nationally.
“Knowing that thousands of people are gonna be able to see stuff that we all worked on is kind of intimidating,” said sophomore science major Salem Trichoe. “But it's exciting.”
Students, alumni and staff built the six pieces – a window, two 12-foot arches, two 16-foot runways and a seal – for the set that will feature celebrities and musicians before the night ends with a drone and fireworks show.
VA250 Event Designer Bill Schermerhorn reached out to VPCC Theater Manager David Garrett about the project about a year ago. Both are William & Mary alums. Garrett said he “jumped at the chance.”
“It's just an incredibly humbling opportunity to let our students get involved in this work, get their hands on this work,” Garrett said. “They elected to let our students get this opportunity, and we're really grateful for it.”
VPCC had an academic theater program and Garrett hopes it will return one day. For now, productions are put on by students with support from alumni, staff and community members.
Those are the volunteers Garrett turned to with the fabrication of the pieces, which were drafted by production designer and William & Mary alum David Crank, whose work has appeared in “Knives Out” and “There Will Be Blood.”
For VPCC alumna Hannah Styron, it was an easy decision to return to help. She’s former historic interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg who is teaching technical theater at a high school.
“When David said that they were doing the 250 build here, I immediately was like, ‘I have to help,’” she said. “It means a lot to be able to say that the program that I know and love, and really fostered the love of theater in me, is being a part of something so significant in our community. It's mind-boggling.”
About 20 people, including about a dozen students, worked 6-hour days for nearly two weeks, using plywood, foam and insulation.
“These last few weeks with the students, they've been using tools they're not accustomed to using,” Garrett said. “They've been working with materials they may not have gotten to work with before, and trying techniques that, unless you're doing this type of fabrication, you have no reason to do it.”
The large-scale build was a chance to collaborate with professionals, talk through safety, problem solve and try different approaches. Garrett joked that they learned transferable skills such as how to load and unload a box truck and how to apply sunscreen and bug spray while working in the Virginia heat.
Garrett and a few students delivered the pieces Monday morning.
“The students are just— their eyes are like this big, watching it come together, Garrett said. “Within a few minutes of us being there, an entire 20-foot span of truss goes up, and it's got all these lights on it, and they're just watching this machine go. There's no experience like that in the classroom.”
Maurice Jones, Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships for the Virginia Community College system, is also a hired consultant for the WHRO newsroom. Jones does not make editorial decisions and is not involved with coverage of VCCS and its colleges.
