Professional performers holding workshops for Randolph students, benefit concert for nonprofit

Magic, comedy, dance, and music meet together this week in workshops held by professional performers for Randolph students, as well as two public concerts benefiting a local women’s development center.

The KTMA Performing Arts Ensemble will perform “Healing Ground” on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. each night in Thoresen Theatre. The show combines several genres of stage performance to create an emotionally energizing experience. “The whole concept is that the arts can be healing,” both for the artist and the audience, said Hiawatha Johnson, Jr., accompanist and artist in residence for Randolph’s dance department. “The arts can lighten the mood.”

Johnson founded KTMA, which stands for “Keep the Magic Alive,” in 1995. The group includes performers located around the country and with diverse backgrounds, including Peter Samelson, a New York magician whom The New York Times dubbed “the soft-spoken conceptualist of sorcery,” and Robin Stamps Doby Easter, a Lynchburg native who is now a funk and soul musician in North Carolina.

The group also includes several alumnae of the College, including business manager Jennifer Haynes Greene ’92 and Johnson’s daughters—Kindra Johnson ’07, KTMA’s associate director, and Meeka Johnson ’08, an Atlanta-based singer who tours under the name Meeka Diane.

The group is holding three workshops where Randolph students can learn firsthand from the performers. The schedule is:

Tuesday

5 p.m.— Theatre Games with Samelson, Thoresen Theatre

7:30 pm — Practical Improvisation with Johnson and Samelson, Thoresen Theatre

Wednesday

5 p.m. — Music and Movement with Kindra Johnson, Meeka Diane, and Easter, Dance Studio, Randolph Athletics and Dance Center

Thursday

5 p.m. — Comedy with Harrison Greenbaum, Thoresen Theatre

7:30pm — Student Talent Showcase and Informal KTMA performance​, Thoresen Theatre

The performers also will participate in some classes with Randolph students.

The admission to “Healing Ground” is $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The proceeds will benefit W.I.T.H. Purpose Ministries, a nonprofit that helps women develop and meet their potential.