The Underground Performing Arts Collective - UPAC

06/19/2026

Today we recognize Juneteenth (June 19, 1865), the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to bring news of freedom to the last enslaved Black Americans. This is a day to honor, Black history, celebrate resilience, and reflect on the ongoing fight for true equality.

UPAC collective artists express their gratitude and love for the ancestors who sacrificed so much in the name of survival, freedom, and equality! May today and this Juneteenth weekend be a time of reflection, thanksgiving, and celebration!

✊🏿❤️🖤💚 ✊🏾🇺🇸

06/18/2026

Please share! We made it to Festevents!!! UPAC, in collaboration with Beyond Frequency, presents Sankofa: Roots, Rhythm, & Revolution, Sunday, June 22nd, at 2pm!!! Come support!

🎶 The complete music lineup is here for the Juneteenth Norfolk Celebration, Sail250® Virginia, Norfolk Host City, and 50th Annual Norfolk Harborfest® Music, Food & Maritime Festival Weekend!

Join us Friday–Sunday, June 19–21, 2026, along the Downtown Norfolk Waterfront for Hampton Roads’ biggest summertime weekend featuring FOUR stages of live music across six miles of waterfront festival grounds at Front Street Piers & Festival Park, Freemason Harbor, Town Point Park, and TowneBank Fountain Park.

➡ Visit Festevents.org for the full schedule and more details on the festival weekend.

Mark your calendars for this historic weekend in Norfolk!

LoveVA VirginiaisForLovers VisitNorfolk

06/18/2026

Please share! We made it to Festevents!!! UPAC’s performance of Sankofa: Roots, Rhythm, & Revolution will be Sunday, June 22nd, at 2pm!!! Come support!

🎶 The complete music lineup is here for the Juneteenth Norfolk Celebration, Sail250® Virginia, Norfolk Host City, and 50th Annual Norfolk Harborfest® Music, Food & Maritime Festival Weekend!

Join us Friday–Sunday, June 19–21, 2026, along the Downtown Norfolk Waterfront for Hampton Roads’ biggest summertime weekend featuring FOUR stages of live music across six miles of waterfront festival grounds at Front Street Piers & Festival Park, Freemason Harbor, Town Point Park, and TowneBank Fountain Park.

➡ Visit Festevents.org for the full schedule and more details on the festival weekend.

Mark your calendars for this historic weekend in Norfolk!

06/18/2026

UPAC will be performing on Sunday, June 21st at 2pm!!! Come out and support!!

Norfolk’s annual Juneteenth commemoration runs Friday through Sunday at Town Point Park.

This year’s celebrations are bigger than ever, as they include more interactive educational programming and concerts featuring national headliners.

City organizers, however, have said that they did not want Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, to get lost.

Read more | https://tinyurl.com/4c93wvdk

06/03/2026

Join UPAC & Good Shepherd Church for Camp Imagination! IT’S FREE!!!

🎭✨ IMAGINE. CREATE. PERFORM. ✨🎭
This summer, young artists ages 11–17 are invited to embark on a two-week creative journey at Camp Imagine 2026!

From July 7–18, campers will explore the exciting worlds of puppet-making, theater, and expressive arts, working together to bring stories, characters, and their imaginations to life.

🎨 Create original puppets
🎭 Build performance skills
🤝 Make new friends
🌟 Express your unique voice

📍 Week One: July 7–11
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
7400 Hampton Blvd
⏰ 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
🍽️ Dinner included

🎉 Week Two: July 13–18
Parade in the Park activities and performances during the day!

Whether you're a budding performer, artist, storyteller, or maker, Camp Imagine is the place to discover what's possible when creativity leads the way.

Registration is now open! Scan the QR code on the flyer in the comments or click the link below for details and to reserve your spot.

Registration

06/03/2026

🎭 IT’S FREE!!!!!! Registration is now open for Camp Imagine 2026! 🎭

Youth ages 11–17 are invited to a two-week creative adventure in theater, puppet-making, devised playwriting, and expressive arts.

Sponsored by Good Shepherd Episcopal Church & The Underground Performing Arts Collective (UPAC)
📅 July 7–18, 2026
📍 Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (Week One)
🎉 Parade in the Park (Week Two)
🍽️ Dinner provided during evening sessions
Come imagine, create, and perform with us this summer!
Scan the QR code on the flyer or click the registration link to learn more and register today or call 757-423-3230. 🌈✨
Puppetry UPAC GoodShepherdChurch

06/03/2026

🚨UPCOMING AUDITIONS! TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!!

TUSKEGEE: A New Play, Tuskegee is a new play with music in development, created in collaboration with local playwright Sherilynn Cherry and led by director Sharon Cook with music by Andre Love. This workshop reading will support the continued development of the script, music, characters, and performance language, with participating artists helping shape the work before its planned full production at the Military Aviation Museum later this Fall.

CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright: Sherilynn Cherry
Director: Sharon Cook
Original Music By: Andre Love
Presented & Produced By: ROŪGE: Theater Reinvented

AUDITIONS
Wednesday, June 3rd at 6:30PM

LOCATION
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard
7400 Hampton Blvd

For more information and to sign up for auditions, visit: https://www.rougeva.org/tkreadingaudition

05/31/2026

Arts All Over is back for 2026, bringing live performance into neighborhoods across Virginia Beach, will feature UPAC!

On Friday, June 12 at 7pm, join us at Williams Farm Rec Center for “Roots, Rhythm, & Revolution!”, a Juneteenth celebration presented in collaboration with the The Underground Performing Arts Collective - UPAC as part of the Parks After Dark Summer Program.

Through theater, music, dance, and storytelling, this performance honors the spirit of Juneteenth and the many ways we carry home, history, and community forward.

Arts All Over is presented by ROŪGE and Virginia Beach Arts.

Free and open to the community.

05/26/2026

Do you have your tickets for the closing weekend of Dr. Smile? Don’t let this touching story pass you by!

This powerful new musical, directed by UPAC’s Sharon Cook and featuring a few of your favorite UPAC collective artists, tells the true story of Dr. Valli Meeks, an African American woman who was one of the first dental healthcare professionals to fight alongside her HIV+ patients for care by recognizing their humanity and treating them with the dignity and respect they rightfully deserved. Her dedication to and love for her patients gave Sr. Meeks the wherewithal to establish the first dental clinic in Maryland for people living with HIV/AIDS. Told through the voices of Dr. Valli, her patients and the love that supported her, this musical is more than a story of medicine and activism.

🦷 Dr. Smile: A New Musical
📅 NOW-May 30th
🔗 https://thez.org/event/dr-smile-a-new-musical/