Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026

Spectrum

Puppet master teaches students how to create, care for foam friends

March 4, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer  VCUarts Theatre, in collaboration with Virginia Repertory Theatre, returned with Puppetry 102, the second class puppet related workshops, with Mary Nagler, an artist and a puppeteer with 40 years of experience working in the performing arts.  The workshop was structured in a lecture format and took place from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Singleton Center. It was similar to the first Puppetry 101 event, which was held Feb. 4.   The second class offered students a more hands-on experience exploring a technique called “flat patterning,” which uses flat sheets of foam and their natural bend to make shapes. Nagler brought in a “naked puppet” and then showed attendees how to start building upon its base. She spoke extensively on the techniques and material used to construct the “snap head” and mouth construction. “I feel capable, and more welcomed in the business, learning different aspects of costumes and ways to improve skills,” said Audri Ulm, a fourth-year theatre student who attended the workshop. In her previous workshop Nagler walked students through the types of puppets that are being used in the industry such as shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets and table puppets. She brought in some of

How VCU student movements evolved through the decades

March 4, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Catherine Colombo, Contributing Writer Since its inception in 1968, VCU has seen the work of student activists, journalists and free thinkers shape campus culture.  The VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives department created an exhibition, “Voices of Change: Student Advocacy and Action from the Archives,” that delves into the very  student movements that have made the “uncommon,” urban campus what it is today. Special Collections held a panel last Thursday with four VCU alums who discussed their time at VCU and the different protests they were involved in. Panelists included Dale Brumfield, IBé Bulinda Hereford Crawley, Krissi Vandenberg and C. A. P. Ward. It was moderated by interdisciplinary studies director Vineeta Singh.  The four panelists studied at VCU at different times. Together, their words strung together an overall picture of student movements from the 1970s to the modern day. Many of them cited VCU as a second home — and they all held similar beliefs of building and relying on community.  “That’s where voice starts,” Crawley said. “People actively talking is where we make change.”  The exhibition was created in 2025 as a way to highlight movements throughout the years that have created an overall net

Documentary to show Byrd to about environmental impact of military

March 4, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Director and journalist Abby Martin is bringing a preview of her second feature film “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” to Richmond’s Byrd Theatre on March 10.  The documentary explores the United States military’s environmental impacts as the No. 1 polluter in the world and its exemption from international climate agreements.  The screening is from 7 to 10 p.m. and tickets are available for either general admission for $10 or solidarity admission for $15, giving viewers the option to support the screening tour. Martin will hold a virtual Q&A after the film.  Ben Cronly, executive director of the Byrd, noted the showing is a private rental of the theatre, and as such is only the rental venue for the screening — they do not endorse or oppose the content, he stated.  Abby Martin, who is also the creator and director of Empire Files, a 501(c)(3) media non-profit with a journalistic focus on U.S. foreign policy and militarism, said the film zooms out and tries to approach the topic in a historical and holistic way.  Martin said the film gives a myriad of examples of how the system perpetuates “collective insanity and collective suicide.” She said the topic felt like

Introducing VCU’s unofficial Yaoi Yuri Club

March 4, 2026

Sapphira Mohammed, Copy Editor Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor From the iconic couple of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander from “Heated Rivalry,” to the doomed ship of Rodney the Ram and WebstUR the spider, yaoi is everywhere.  Paralleling this intensity are the quintessential ships of Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash from “My Little Pony” and Villanelle and Eve Polastri from “Killing Eve,” bringing yuri to the table.   If you are looking for a place to celebrate those touchy-feely romances, the RVA Yaoi Yuri Club is your home.  The unofficial campus club held their second PowerPoint night on Feb. 28 at Franklin Terrace. Students shared presentations on gay ballroom dancers, original character Vocaloid websites and even an educational lesson on pronouns in Chinese and Japanese. Though the club has been meeting since September, its creator remains anonymous. The reasoning? The club bloomed out of a joke comment on an anonymous forum, according to third-year business administration student and club president Xiu-Bei Herbst. Herbst was on YikYak, a social media app that lets users comment and post anonymously with their campus’s fellow students, when someone commented about a Yaoi Yuri Club meeting with a time and place attached. The post went viral

Puppet master teaches students how to create, care for foam friends

Spectrum Editor March 4, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer  VCUarts Theatre, in collaboration with Virginia Repertory Theatre, returned with Puppetry 102, the second class puppet related workshops, with Mary Nagler, an artist and a puppeteer with 40 years of experience working in the performing arts.  The workshop was structured in a lecture format and took place from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Singleton Center. It was similar to the first Puppetry 101 event, which was held Feb. 4.   The second class offered students a more hands-on experience exploring a technique called “flat patterning,” which uses flat sheets of foam and their natural bend to make shapes. Nagler brought in a “naked puppet” and then showed attendees how to start building upon its base. She spoke extensively on the techniques and material used to construct the “snap head” and mouth construction. “I feel capable, and more welcomed in the business, learning different aspects of costumes and ways to improve skills,” said Audri Ulm, a fourth-year theatre student who attended the workshop. In her previous workshop Nagler walked students through the types of puppets that are being used in the industry such as shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets and table puppets. She brought in some of own puppets for demonstration that she created and has performed with over the years. Nagler mentioned how in her previous workshop students were curious towards Muppets and their construction — which gave her the idea to demonstrate how to create foam puppets, which have material similarities. Nagler’s students learned different ways they can make puppets, even out of recycled material after taking this workshop. Additionally, sharing ways to find materials in household objects and different places aspiring puppeteers can go to find things.  An essential part of being a puppeteer is making sure that the puppets are packed properly to avoid destroying their material, Nagler said. Sometimes materials disintegrate and then puppeteers have to recreate their creations if they are not stored in a cool, dark place.  “Puppets are very therapeutic,” Nagler said. “ They become mediators helping children express difficult situations. Children on the spectrum are able to connect and respond to them positively. They teach humanity and you don’t need words for that.” Everyone responds and connects to puppets despite their cultural or language differences. Apart from working as a puppeteer, Nagler helps restore puppets for other artists who reach out to her seeking her expertise.  The puppeteer

Puppet master teaches students how to create, care for foam friends

March 4, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer  VCUarts Theatre, in collaboration with Virginia Repertory Theatre, returned with Puppetry 102, the second class puppet related workshops, with Mary Nagler, an artist and a puppeteer with 40 years of experience working in the performing arts.  The workshop was structured in a lecture format and took place from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Singleton Center. It was similar to the first Puppetry 101 event, which was held Feb. 4.   The second class offered students a more hands-on experience exploring a technique called “flat patterning,” which uses flat sheets of foam and their natural bend to make shapes. Nagler brought in a “naked puppet” and then showed attendees how to start building upon its base. She spoke extensively on the techniques and material used to construct the “snap head” and mouth construction. “I feel capable, and more welcomed in the business, learning different aspects of costumes and ways to improve skills,” said Audri Ulm, a fourth-year theatre student who attended the workshop. In her previous workshop Nagler walked students through the types of puppets that are being used in the industry such as shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets and table puppets. She brought in some of own puppets for demonstration that she created and has performed with over the years. Nagler mentioned how in her previous workshop students were curious towards Muppets and their construction — which gave her the idea to demonstrate how to create foam puppets, which have material similarities. Nagler’s students learned different ways they can make puppets, even out of recycled material after taking this workshop. Additionally, sharing ways to find materials in household objects and different places aspiring puppeteers can go to find things.  An essential part of being a puppeteer is making sure that the puppets are packed properly to avoid destroying their material, Nagler said. Sometimes materials disintegrate and then puppeteers have to recreate their creations if they are not stored in a cool, dark place.  “Puppets are very therapeutic,” Nagler said. “ They become mediators helping children express difficult situations. Children on the spectrum are able to connect and respond to them positively. They teach humanity and you don’t need words for that.” Everyone responds and connects to puppets despite their cultural or language differences. Apart from working as a puppeteer, Nagler helps restore puppets for other artists who reach out to her seeking her expertise.  The puppeteer

How VCU student movements evolved through the decades

March 4, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Catherine Colombo, Contributing Writer Since its inception in 1968, VCU has seen the work of student activists, journalists and free thinkers shape campus culture.  The VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives department created an exhibition, “Voices of Change: Student Advocacy and Action from the Archives,” that delves into the very  student movements that have made the “uncommon,” urban campus what it is today. Special Collections held a panel last Thursday with four VCU alums who discussed their time at VCU and the different protests they were involved in. Panelists included Dale Brumfield, IBé Bulinda Hereford Crawley, Krissi Vandenberg and C. A. P. Ward. It was moderated by interdisciplinary studies director Vineeta Singh.  The four panelists studied at VCU at different times. Together, their words strung together an overall picture of student movements from the 1970s to the modern day. Many of them cited VCU as a second home — and they all held similar beliefs of building and relying on community.  “That’s where voice starts,” Crawley said. “People actively talking is where we make change.”  The exhibition was created in 2025 as a way to highlight movements throughout the years that have created an overall net

Documentary to show Byrd to about environmental impact of military

March 4, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Director and journalist Abby Martin is bringing a preview of her second feature film “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” to Richmond’s Byrd Theatre on March 10.  The documentary explores the United States military’s environmental impacts as the No. 1 polluter in the world and its exemption from international climate agreements.  The screening is from 7 to 10 p.m. and tickets are available for either general admission for $10 or solidarity admission for $15, giving viewers the option to support the screening tour. Martin will hold a virtual Q&A after the film.  Ben Cronly, executive director of the Byrd, noted the showing is a private rental of the theatre, and as such is only the rental venue for the screening — they do not endorse or oppose the content, he stated.  Abby Martin, who is also the creator and director of Empire Files, a 501(c)(3) media non-profit with a journalistic focus on U.S. foreign policy and militarism, said the film zooms out and tries to approach the topic in a historical and holistic way.  Martin said the film gives a myriad of examples of how the system perpetuates “collective insanity and collective suicide.” She said the topic felt like

Introducing VCU’s unofficial Yaoi Yuri Club

March 4, 2026

Sapphira Mohammed, Copy Editor Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor From the iconic couple of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander from “Heated Rivalry,” to the doomed ship of Rodney the Ram and WebstUR the spider, yaoi is everywhere.  Paralleling this intensity are the quintessential ships of Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash from “My Little Pony” and Villanelle and Eve Polastri from “Killing Eve,” bringing yuri to the table.   If you are looking for a place to celebrate those touchy-feely romances, the RVA Yaoi Yuri Club is your home.  The unofficial campus club held their second PowerPoint night on Feb. 28 at Franklin Terrace. Students shared presentations on gay ballroom dancers, original character Vocaloid websites and even an educational lesson on pronouns in Chinese and Japanese. Though the club has been meeting since September, its creator remains anonymous. The reasoning? The club bloomed out of a joke comment on an anonymous forum, according to third-year business administration student and club president Xiu-Bei Herbst. Herbst was on YikYak, a social media app that lets users comment and post anonymously with their campus’s fellow students, when someone commented about a Yaoi Yuri Club meeting with a time and place attached. The post went viral

Jazz flourishes in Jackson Ward and beyond

March 4, 2026

Liz DeFluri, Contributing Writer Trumpets blare throughout historic Jackson Ward, as Gallery5 hosts a free jazz night every fourth Friday to preserve the culture of the neighborhood that brought the genre to Richmond, through drum pounds and saxophone swirls.  This month’s fourth Friday show was headlined by local musician and VCU alum Kelli Strawbridge, who has been playing music since he began on the trumpet in sixth grade. He said his favorite parts of the shows are seeing the wide range of people who attend and how the scene remains alive and well throughout the city.  The melody’s momentum waxes and wanes as musicians work together to create a harmonious blend of urgency, excitement and passion that retains the audience’s attention throughout the night’s captivating musical journey.  “It seems like jazz is evolving in an interesting way, and I’m very happy about that. It seemed like it had kind of gone out [for a while], but I think having proper venues for it, like Gallery 5, which is a great place to play jazz,” Strawbridge said.  Jazz is an improvisational music style that originated within Black communities in New Orleans, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each performance

‘Ode to the Anomalous’ exhibition abstracts personal stories

February 25, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer  “Ode to the Anomalous,” is a month-long exhibition showcasing the art of six artists at Southside Contemporary Art Gallery, or SCAG, that explores works in fabric, acrylic and other mixed mediums.  The artists participating in the exhibition are Alex Sorapuru, Asa Jackson, James Williams III, Huey Lightbody, Serron Green and Taj Posce. All are contributing their unique voices and perspectives.  Ra-Twoine “Rosetta” Fields, founder of SCAG and curator of the exhibition, brought in works of the artists he has worked with for over 10 years as either a curator, collector or a curious patron of the art. All artists exhibiting their work are traveling from different states, including New Jersey, Louisiana and Maryland — to name a few.  “To represent them speaks to me as a curator, my travels and helping artists reach their growth,” Fields said. The inspiration for “Ode to the Anomalous,” comes from Fields’ desire for people to explore how artists use materials to translate their experiences and narratives within their artwork.  “[It] functions as a space of reflection. Navigating the feeling of uncertaininty and doubt. Pieces serve as mirrors depicting lived experiences,” Fields said.  Fields wants people to explore how artists used

Student org empowers Black artists from gallery walls to the big screen

February 25, 2026

Lelia Contee, Contributing Writer  From gallery walls to projected screens, Black Art Student Empowerment, or BASE, at VCU, worked with multiple organizations to platform students’ artistry across mediums.  BASE and Black Cinema Society hosted a screening that featured six Black student films, exploring Black identity, culture, community and experiences at The Depot on Feb. 20.  BASE also hosted an exhibition called “Black Fidelity: Crafted in the Storm,” that will run until Feb. 28 at the Anderson.  Kailah Augustine, co-president of the Black Cinema Society, hopes the screening inspired audiences to create and share their art or simply enjoy the immersive experience.  The films presented were: “Why Was I Born So Different,” by Kendell Liverpool; “Music is My Drug,” by Janiya Taylor and Jack Pendleton; “Strange Fruit,” by Ashley Davis; “At the Tone,” by Aja Williams and George Weston; “Different,” by Amanda Malcolm; and “Mama’s Roots,” by Ash Jones and Joy Sharpe.  The short films examined how Black people navigate a world that dehumanizes them while still finding connection and belonging, according to Yterniti Williams, the president of BASE.   “Art is a driver of culture,” Yterniti Williams said. “Art is expression, is freedom, is one of the few things you have

‘House to Highway’ exhibition reclaims Jackson Ward history

February 25, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer The Library of Virginia hosted its inaugural “Culturescape” event, highlighting Black artists and honoring Black history, guests got to explore different exhibitions, presentations and took a tour through “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History,” a historic reflection on Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood using archival records from the Library’s collection. The event took place Saturday, Feb. 21 and was free to the public. From sculptures to paintings, the exhibition presented all types of art from all walks of life around the community, telling stories of culture and expressing the emotions of those in history. “It was beautiful to see art that I could relate to,” Richmond local Hillary Johnson said. “Black experiences are so complex and real so just being able to see pieces that show our lives, our struggles and our past is just wonderful.” As a new event on their roster, the Library aims to continue hosting “Culturescape” every few months — hoping to attract larger, diverse crowds, according to Sarah Falls, the library’s chief of researcher engagement. “I call it sort of a cafeteria approach,” Falls said. “Folks can come in here on a day where we’re open, roughly every other Saturday, but

Elegba Folklore Society brings African diaspora in the form of dance

February 25, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  With walls covered in art and decor from across the African diaspora — laughter and conversation harmonized with traditional African drum music on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Elegba Folklore Society.  Elegba Folklore Society’s cultural center is located at 101 E. Broad St. It typically functions as an educational gallery. Each piece of art and jewelry in the space has a meaning connected to Africa, according to founder Janine Bell.  They are committed to celebrating African and African-American culture year-round, according to their website. Elegba is a deity that comes from Yoruba cosmology of West Africa and is an “intercessor who opens the roads, bringing clarity out of confusion.”  The point of Convergence is to share the history of African dance through African dance, according to Bell.  “How many people say ‘Oh, y’all over there jumping up and down with some drum beats,’ and giving it no artistic credibility? When African dance is the first forms of movement that we know on the planet. African drums is the first forms of music that we know on the planet. This is the classical dance,” Bell said.  Convergence consisted of four classes, three dances and one drum. They

Vampires, werewolves and witches, OH my!

October 22, 2025

A peek into Virginia’s most blood-pumping attraction  Rachel Nicholas, Contributing Writer  Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  When the sun sets and the moon comes out, the monsters come

How Richmond united to bring Francine home

October 15, 2025

Molly Manning, News Editor Francine, the 804’s beloved Lowe’s cat, is still spending time in the spotlight after her disappearance, search and return. Richmond continues