Live Arts began as the dream of a small group of passionate people and has grown into a major cultural force in our region. Dreaming is still at the heart of all we do. We are committed to theatre that is modern, rigorous and risky. We are committed to being a product of this unique community as well as a process for creating community. We make art that blurs the lines between genres, drawing freely from dance, music, visual arts, and other forms. We draw from an array of international influences creating extraordinary work with ordinary people. We are committed to outreach, education and new works as tools for creating both art and community. We strive for an arts organization that is a holistic structure with all areas drawing strength and support from all others. We are creating a theatre and a supporting structure that are like no other in the world.

Live Arts started in 1989 with a group that included Thane and Will Kerner, Fran Sackett, Mark and Karen Schuyler, Michael Parent, Bill Thomas and Cate Andrews. Most of these people are still intimately involved, providing astonishing institutional memory as well as individual passions that remain the hallmark of all we do. They sought a home for live performance in the heart of downtown Charlottesville, Virginia and found it in developer Gabe Silverman’s Old Michie Building.

Our first production in that 135 seat theatre space was of Sartre’s No Exit in September of 1990. As the organization grew in scale and ambition, a growing professionalism led to the addition of full-time Development and Technical Director positions, additional theater spaces and more productions.

A major institutional self-study and long range planning process also began in 1999 and resulted in many structural changes, including a powerfully simple new mission statement: “Forging Theater and Community”. Another enormous step was taken with the successful drive toward a new home for our theater. This campaign, in collaboration with Second Street Gallery and Lighthouse, and led by Thane Kerner, resulted in our spectacular new facility designed by local architects Bushman Dreyfus.

The astonishing growth in size, artistic maturity and ambition, and organizational vision are all testaments to the unique community that is our home. An annual audience of 20,000, critical acclaim, and a core, recurring volunteer base of over 500 speak to the rich community of artists, patrons and passions from which we draw. Our distinctive stance of eschewing government support of any kind also speaks to the enlightened philanthropists of our hometown. We are proud to be a community theatre like no other, reinventing that traditional form and reflecting a community that is also like no other. Want more information? Go to www.livearts.org.

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