Theater is a reflection of life for Lynchburg native Jennifer Petticolas.
Her plays touch upon topics and themes that range from menopause to race to suicide.
My goal is not for you to be just solely entertained but to walk away with a little bit more than you came in with, she said.
Petticolas involvement in theater was a slow progression.
She wrote short stories as a student at the former Dunbar High School, and when she entered Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, she wanted to be a war correspondent, but the college lacked a journalism major.
Following graduation with a degree in English, Petticolas accepted a teaching position at a Baltimore junior high school. It would be a tough assignment even for an experienced teacher.
It was October when Petticolas stepped into the classroom and, by that time, three other teachers had been assigned to lead the class. One teacher was beaten by a student, she said.
These were kids who grew up in the projects of Baltimore, and who lacked the sheltered life Petticolas was accustomed to as a child.
These were kids who could look out their windows and see someone knifed or shot, or drug deals taking place or their moms prostituting themselves to pay the bills. I dont know why I was able to break through.
Petticolas said she commanded and received respect in her classroom.
I kept on going and really fell in love, she said.
It was during her time teaching in a different Baltimore junior high that the schools faculty needed someone to write a play. So, being an English teacher, Petticolas stepped forward.
The production focused on the history of music and dance, and that first play would feature the heavy research that goes into her current theatrical work.
Petticolas served 30 years in education, including time as an assistant principal at E.C. Glass High School and in the central administration office of Lynchburg City Schools.
Even during her educational career, theater wasnt far behind. Petticolas directed two school plays during her tenure at E.C. Glass. She also acted in local productions at the former Fine Arts Center, now the Academy Center of the Arts.
When Lynchburgs Black Theatre Ensemble of Virginia formed, Petticolas was among its founders.
But she said she wanted to have more control over the writing and production process, so she began her own company, JLP Productions, in 2010.
Petticolas said she doesnt write or perform for profit. Instead, the majority of revenue received by JLP Productions goes back into the community through donations to organizations like the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Gleaning for the World and the Jubilee Family Development Center.
Local venues where her work has been performed include the Academy Center of the Arts, the lounge in the downtown Holiday Inn on Main Street and the Glass House on Jefferson Street. Other venues include the D.C. Black Theatre & Arts Festival, Howard University and performances in Henrico County and Farmville.
Petticolas is a force of nature, said Tony Camm, general manager of the Holiday Inn on Main Street.
Camm said Petticolas roped him into the theater when he took his wife to an audition for a show Petticolas was directing. She asked Camm if he would like to try out for a part and, since then, he has acted in and directed several plays.
Petticolas lit that fire, the theatrical fire, Camm said. She roped me into the theater during that audition for my wife.
One recent JLP Productions performance was A Little Bit of Ray, an homage to the life of iconic musician Ray Charles, which was performed at the Academy Center of the Arts last summer around the anniversary of the performers death.
A piece that shes presented several times is Menopausal but Still Groovin, which will be performed again this weekend at the Holiday Inn downtown.
In February, JLP Productions presented Black Lives Matter at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Lynchburg; it focused on the lives of five women, including Mary Turner, a pregnant black woman who was doused with gasoline, hung and shot by a white mob in 1918 after protesting the lynching of her husband a day earlier, and Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teen fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman.
You have these mothers talking about their pain, and what its like losing a child and their child cant get justice, Petticolas said.
She said her goal is to spark conversation or for audience members to walk away with more knowledge of a subject than what they came in with.
Gloria Simon has known Petticolas for about 25 years and worked with her while both served in Lynchburg City Schools and Roanoke City Public Schools.
Simon portrayed Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, in Black Lives Matter. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy who was mutilated and shot in 1955 after Carolyn Bryant, a white woman, falsely accused Till of grabbing and whistling at her.
Work presented by JLP Productions will always be a teachable moment, Simon said.
You walk away from her productions knowing something you might not have known prior to her show. Through entertainment, theres always something teachable.
A piece performed about two years ago, Little Black Dress, was born from a local mothers desire to inform the public that help is available for depression after she lost her daughter to suicide. The performance included a discussion with mental health professionals.
The subject matter is heavy, but Little Black Dress is so worthwhile because we know we are reaching people who need to be able to talk, Petticolas said.
Menopausal but Still Groovin, which will be performed Friday and Saturday, is about seven women discussing their experience with life and menopause. After viewing the play, Petticolas said men sometimes approach her to express gratitude for gaining an understanding of what their wives experience during menopause.
Sometimes that happens in theater, Petticolas said. If you can see it onstage, you can relate it to your own life and deal with it a little better.
Life should be teaching you something, she said. You shouldnt be walking through life without learning something.
Petticolas theatrical team is made up of a core group of women, including Regina Phillips, the principal of Monelison Middle School in Amherst County. Phillips met Petticolas through the theater and has appeared in several of her productions. Now, her theatrical work mostly is backstage.
In a group of alpha females, she is our alpha female, Phillips said laughing.
Shes decisive. She always tells the truth, Phillips said. She was my mentor, she is my friend. If I want to know the truth, I want to call Jennifer because shes always going to tell me whats good for me. I may not want to hear it, but she always tells me whats good for me.
Petticolas said when she is approached by audience members about how one of her plays has touched them in some manner, it just makes me feel like I have accomplished my goal.
Theater to me is another way of teaching, Petticolas said. When you are teaching, you have to have a lesson plan and you have to have goals for your lesson. A way for you to know if you have reached your objective is, usually, you have a little quiz. I cant do that with my audience, but when an audience gives me that feedback, it lets me know I have reached my objective.
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'A force of nature': Lynchburg native Jennifer Petticolas a staple of theater community - Lynchburg News and Advance