A staged reading of an original, one-act play written by Samira Gharavi-Nouri ’26 will be held at the University of Lynchburg on Tuesday, March 10. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Dillard Fine Arts Center Studio Theatre.
Titled “Not My Fault,” the play tells the story of two estranged sisters who have issues to resolve after the death of their mother. Gharavi-Nouri, a theatre performance major with minors in creative writing and English, is writing the play — her first — for her Westover Honors thesis.
“I’m not fully done yet, but it has been a very rewarding while also frustrating process that takes a lot longer than I would have anticipated,” she said earlier this month. “One thing that helped me throughout the process was that I had fun doing it.
“Sitting down to start writing was usually the hardest part, and then it started flowing once I put some words down.”
Gharavi-Nouri will read the part of one sister and the other will be read by theatre major Arilyn Webster ’26. Afterward, there will be a talk-back session with the audience.
Gharavi-Nouri, who came to Lynchburg from Lüneburg, Germany, was named the theatre department’s 2026 Outstanding Theatre Major. The award, the department’s highest honor, “recognizes a graduating senior who embodies academic excellence, outstanding production work, and meaningful service” to the department and University.
Over the past four years, Gharavi-Nouri was a goalkeeper for Lynchburg’s field hockey team, and she has competed in track and field for two years. She currently has a 3.98 grade point average and has been named to the NCAA Division III National Academic Squad and Scholars of Distinction multiple times.
She’s a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the national collegiate theatre honor society. She has performed with Dance Works, the University’s dance troupe, and has appeared in numerous theatre productions. Most recently, she played The Oracle in “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” In 2024, she played Mrs. Mayor in the musical “Seussical.”
Gharavi-Nouri also has performed with Curtain Call, the University’s musical theatre ensemble since 2024. “[It] wasn’t easy because she had to make special arrangements with her field hockey coach to be able to attend classes,” Dana Ballard, Curtain Call’s director, said.
In January 2025, Gharavi-Nouri cut her winter break short to rendezvous with Curtain Call in New York City for a performance at 54 Below, a well-known cabaret club. “All the rest of the students rode up on the train, but Samira traveled all the way from Germany on the plane to meet us there,” Ballard said.
“She even figured out how to get to the hotel on the subway, carrying all of her luggage! Samira is incredibly bright, incredibly hard working, an excellent actress, and an outstanding student in every way.”
After graduating from Lynchburg in May, Gharavi-Nouri plans to continue her studies in Germany, with the ultimate goal of pursuing an acting career.
“Samira is highly intelligent, committed, and responsible, inspiring admiration from many on campus,” Jeff Wittman, theatre department chair, said. “Having traveled from abroad to join us for four years, we are sincerely excited to celebrate her graduation and remarkable journey in academics, the arts, and athletics.”
Lynchburg’s theatre department has three more events scheduled for the spring semester. All are free and open to the public.
On Friday, March 27, Curtain Call will perform its annual Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop concert at 7:30 p.m. in Robert C. Hailey Theatre.
Ballard described the concert as a “celebration of all the music and collaborations that have been created over the years by the Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop.”
Since 2017, the annual spring workshop has paired emerging New York City songwriters with Lynchburg students to create original songs. The songs are then performed in a cabaret-style concert. Some songs have later been performed at venues such as The Kennedy Center and 54 Below, but they debut at Lynchburg.
The Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop is led by Ballard and her son, James, who serves as artistic director.
The annual Student Honorary Play, a student-led production presented by Alpha Psi Omega, will be performed in the Studio Theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 16-18. This year, the students will present, “I Am Frankenstein.”
Dance Works, the University’s dance troupe, will perform its Spring Showcase at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, in Hailey Theatre.
For more information about theatre department events, contact Wittman at [email protected].
