Adriana Trigiani Set to Deliver UVa-Wise Commencement Address
April 3, 2000

Adriana Trigiani, the author of the much-anticipated novel Big Stone Gap, will deliver the commencement address at The University of Virginia's College at Wise on Saturday, May 13.

More than 270 students are expected to take part in the ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. on the lawn adjacent to the Theatre Building. The public is invited to attend.

"We are delighted to have Adriana Trigiani deliver our first commencement speech of the new millennium and our first as The University of Virginia's College at Wise," said Chancellor L. Jay Lemons.

The former Big Stone Gap resident grew up "in the Gap" during the 1970s. She graduated from the Notre Dame/Saint Mary's Theatre Program, where she was the first student to write and direct her own play on the University Mainstage. Later she moved to New York City and founded The Outcasts, an all-girl comedy troupe. She made her off-Broadway debut as a playwright in 1985 when she was commissioned to write Secrets of the Lava Lamp for The Manhattan Theatre Club.

Trigiani began writing and producing television situation comedies in 1988, including The Cosby Show, A Different World and Good Sports. She was executive producer and head writer for the Jim Henson television production CityKids. Trigiani paid tribute to her own family in her 1996 film Queens of the Bigtime, an award winning, feature-length documentary.

Described by Random House as "a wholesome Cinderella story with a winning blend of '70s nostalgia and Appalachian color," Trigiani's first book includes references to "The Trail of (MORE) the Lonesome Pine" outdoor drama and Elizabeth Taylor's legendary visit to Big Stone Gap when she choked on a chicken bone during a political fundraiser for then-husband John Warner. Author Fannie Flagg calls Trigiani's book "funny, charming and original" while actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg says "it is one of my all-time favorite novels . . . unforgettable."

Trigiani, who lives in New York with her husband, Tim Stephenson, an Emmy award winning lighting designer of Late Show with David Letterman, is currently writing and directing the film based on her novel.

Listed as one of the top public liberal arts colleges in the South by U.S. News and World Report, The University of Virginia's College at Wise offers undergraduate and pre-professional education in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson. Formerly known as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, the College changed its name in 1999 following an act by the Virginia General Assembly.

For more information about commencement activities, contact Jane Meade-Dean in the Office of College Relations at 540-328-0130.