Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College

We are delighted and honored to announce that Hollis Ashby, Artistic and Executive Director of the Williams Center, yesterday received the Presenter of the Year Award from the North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA), at the annual awards ceremony of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. The NAPAMA awards are citations for excellence, achievement, and integrity. Recipients are chosen for demonstrating exemplary mentorship, setting an example of best practices and leadership, and promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity for underserved members of the industry. Brava, Hollis!

So much of it is about Black feminism, but beyond that it’s about compassion, it’s about understanding, [playwright Darrel Alejandro] Holnes said in an interview with The Lafayette. My goal here is that people see that there is joy there, there’s joy in making mistakes, there’s joy in trying to be a better person.

Part live performance. Part interactive video game. All heart. Streaming live April 27, 28, & 30 at 8 p.m. EDT. Jonas, a biracial teenager with autism, broadcasts all aspects of his life online, including disastrous developments with his crush, Nicole. Hopeful that it will grant him the key to winning her back, he dusts off a long-ignored gift from his mothera classic Black feminist video game. Soon Jonas discovers that he must confront his own misperceptions of women, or... risk losing not only the game, but also his first chance at love. Brought to you by NYC theater mavericks The Civilians, written by Darrel Alejandro Holnes. Sliding scale tickets available now.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra hasn’t missed a Williams Center season in decades, and we’re certainly not going to let a pandemic break that streak! These photos by Larry Fink, from a 2019 gift to the Lafayette College Art Collection, take us behind the scenes of an earlier Orpheus visit. This week, join us in relishing new work for the 20/21 season, as actor Liev Schreiber and soprano Karen Slack take the stage with Orpheus for Beethoven’s Egmont. Streaming online Thursday through Saturday at your convenience. Tickets at williamscenter.lafayette.edu/orpheus-beethoven-egmont