If Seats Could Talk

Stories behind the seats

Earlynn Miller
Earlynn Miller

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Nancy Roth and Sylvia Roth ('36)

The Bass-Allen Family
The full Allen/Bass/Schoelwer family after watching daughter Julia (’10) (bottom left) perform in the 2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Marching Royal Dukes

In honor of professor emerita Earlynn Miller - If seats could talk, then you might hear the story of a visionary educator who championed the arts at Madison, allowing students to achieve their full potential. To honor this dedication to students as founder of the dance program, four JMU dance faculty members joined together to reserve a seat for professor emerita Earlynn J. Miller in the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts.
 
To the professor who changed my life - Lisa Chapman (’92) says fate introduced her to theater professor Pam Johnson her freshman year at Madison. Chapman named a seat for the mentor who inspired in her new passions and taught her the skills she uses every day as a costumer for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

For mom, 94 years old and still in love with Madison - Sylvia Kamsky Roth ('36) fell in love with the State Teachers College (now James Madison University) as a student during the Great Depression. At 94, she continues to praise Madison as “the best school in the whole wide world — I wish I could do it all over again!” Her daughters, Nancy and Carol Roth, have reserved a PAC seat for their mother, whose Madison Experience has been so meaningful to her over the years.

Two seats by the aisle, please - Growing up in Harrisonburg, John Leake Jr. (’87) recalls being “on edge” at JMU events, in a good way: his father requests aisle seats at every game, recital and performance. Now Leake, a former Alumni Association board member, has requested two seats of his own in the performing arts center to honor his parents — near the aisle, of course.

For the proud Madison Parents and their talented children - Each plaque tells a story, and Linda Allen and Ron Bass welcomed the opportunity to share theirs in the Forbes Center, a place Allen says will be "full of life and joy." They named one seat for their daughters — Kathleen (’04), Deborah (’07) and Julia (’10) Schoelwer, each talented in the performing and visual arts — and one for themselves as proud JMU parents.

...What would your seat say?

 

 

 

Name a Seat Today

Online | Mail-in Form

Name one seat for $1,000 or two seats for $1,500. A plaque on the back of the seat will recognize your gift.*

*Please note seat sponsorship does not guarantee seat availability for performances.

For more information, please contact the Office of Annual Giving at (800) 296-6162 or (540) 568-3863.

Other naming opportunities

 

View the 2023-2024
Masterpiece Season Brochure
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Nominations Now Open
Circle of Excellence in the Arts Awards
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Boca Tuya
Apr. 13-14

Letters Aloud
May 4
Call to Buy

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