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2023 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 354
Celebrating the life of Carol Pedersen.

 

Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2023
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 22, 2023

 

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen, an esteemed acting coach and beloved member of the Charlottesville community who played an outsized role in the cultural life of the city through her involvement with the Live Arts performing space and other local theater productions, died on January 8, 2023; and

WHEREAS, a native of Bergenfield, New Jersey, Carol Pedersen went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College then lived in New York City for some years, joining the Actors’ Equity Association, performing in an off-Broadway production of The Dragon, and studying with the actress Tamara Daykarhanova; and

WHEREAS, after raising her children, Carol Pedersen returned to school, earning a master of fine arts degree in directing from Columbia University and a master’s degree in theater from City University of New York; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen taught theater for several years at Bronx Community College, Columbia University, and Marymount Manhattan College, contributing to the success of many aspiring actors, playwrights, and stage technicians; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen devoted years to academic research on Shakespeare and on how Shakespeare festivals enrich communities both economically and culturally, gaining perspectives that would guide her own theater pursuits in the future; and

WHEREAS, shortly after relocating to Charlottesville in 2001, Carol Pedersen became a fixture of the city’s cultural scene through her involvement with the performing arts center Live Arts; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen started the Actor’s Lab, the first formal educational offering at Live Arts, which has since evolved over the decades into a robust education program supporting an untold number of actors in the pursuit of their dreams; and

WHEREAS, as a faithful member of the Live Arts Playwrights’ Lab for many years, Carol Pedersen encouraged playwrights and offered dramaturgical advice to foster the development of new plays; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen touched every corner of the theater world in the greater Charlottesville area; she collaborated frequently over the years with her daughter, Boomie Pedersen, and the Hamner Theater; she was an invaluable dramaturgical resource for the Virginia Playwrights and Screenwriters Initiative and the International Playwrights Retreat and served as master of the text for the Hamner Theater’s Shakespeare Tours; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen’s life was a manifestation of her personal motto, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” and her longstanding belief in the value of the theater as a mainstay of a community’s culture; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pedersen will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Boomie and Nym, and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Carol Pedersen, a cherished member of the Charlottesville community whose encouragement and guidance brightened countless lives and left a lasting imprint on the cultural life of the city; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Carol Pedersen as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.