The Songs: An Asheville Arts Center Cabaret
This fall, the Community Theatre at Asheville Arts Center is creating something just a little different. The Songs is a collaboration of musical numbers spanning many decades of musical theatre, with a stellar cast of performers from all over Asheville and WNC.
This show is exceptional because it’s purpose is to create a show from scratch. The production team, prior to auditions, began brainstorming a hugely diverse list of musical numbers to choose from. The next step is auditions, in which we cast 30 people who could each play a major role in any other musical. From here, the production team will begin the process of selecting roughly 24 songs for 3 acts of entertainment and plugging the ensemble into those songs. By the beginning of rehearsals on September 22, we will have the show pretty well mapped out and begin blocking and choreographing the show.
This show is a fundraiser for Asheville Arts Center, to help us grow our community theatre program – which is vital to the performing arts community in Asheville. We will be seeking support from businesses, organizations and individuals who support the performing arts in Asheville, in the support of advertising/support in our program. We are also brainstorming ideas for doing “performed commercials” for higher level advertisers & supporters. Stay tuned!
The Songs will run November 5-15, 2009 at Asheville Arts Center, with our PG-13 Third Act being performed on Friday & Saturday nights. Thursday evening performances are “Donation Nights” with a minimum ticket price of $5, but our patrons are welcome to pay as much as they’d like to support us.
Come to the show!
Click here to become a fan of The Songs on Facebook.
Ensemble Cast list for The Songs:
Lisa Abeling
Andrea Bailey
Monica Baumberger
Annie Benson-Greer
Calinthia Briggs
Kelli Brown Mullinix
John Coggin
Tim Geib
Mark Jones
Wolfe Lanier
Taylor Loven
James Meador
Daniel Moore
Summer Nordmeyer
Mary Katherine O’Donnell
Kristen Palotta
Trevor Perry
Mandy Phillips
Jennie Ramsey
Christina Redd
Rachelle Roberts
Jennifer Russ
Mary Katherine Smith
Emma Stoneberg
Heather Taft
Chuck Taft
Katie Trani
Jacob Walas
Michael Wilson
AshevilleMommies’ First Birthday Party this Weekend!
AshevilleMommies, a local non-profit mothers group will be celebrating their First Birthday Bash at the Main location of Asheville Arts Center on September 5th from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. There will be free food and games for all to enjoy. In addition, there will be several raffles with some awesome prizes. Hope to see you there!! If you have any questions, you can email Sheri Peck at sheri@ashevillemommies.com.
Creative Arts Preschool Open Houses & Meet ‘n Greet!
Do you have a preschool-age child? (Ages 2-4) You are cordially invited to visit our Creative Arts Preschool open houses and meet ‘n greet with the other students & parents!
The Creative Arts Preschool program offers hands-on learning so that children can discover the wonderful world around them. Research studies show that exposing children to the Performing Arts helps improve critical thinking and develop self-confidence. Children naturally respond to music, dance, art and drama. At the Asheville Arts Center, our curriculum incorporates all of this, while allowing each child to excel in other areas as well, such as math, science and language.
Our Fall Preschool schedule begins September 8, 2009 at both our Main & South locations.
The Open Houses are scheduled for:
Wednesday, September 2 from 10am-12pm at our Main location at 308 Merrimon Ave, Asheville.
Thursday, September 3 from 10am-12pm at our South location at 9 Summit Ave, Arden.
For directions to either location, click here.
These open houses are a great opportunity to meet the teachers, get a good idea of the program and check out the space! If you have any questions at all about the Creative Arts Preschool or any of our other classes in music, drama or dance, give us a call at 828.253.4000 or visit http://www.AshevilleArtsCenter.com.
Dancing Makes You Smarter
Most people agree that dancing is a good form of exercise, but research shows other health benefits like stress reduction, increased serotonin levels, and improved well being.
Additionally, the New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that dancing is probably the best activity to ward off Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
The reasoning behind this is simple, the brain re-writes its neural pathways “as needed.” If there is no need, then mental activity will diminish.
Golf, swimming, and bicycling do not re-wire your brain. But dancing will reduce your risk of dementia by a whopping 76%.
It appears the trick to keeping your brain healthy is to find an activity that challenges your mind and requires split-second rapid-fire decision making.
Dancing does this and more. Many brain functions are occurring simultaneously which increases neurological connectivity. These functions include kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional processes.
The best way to increase these neural pathways? Take a dance class and the sooner the better because the sooner you get started, the sooner you improve your cognitive reserve.
One of the easiest dances to learn is Jitterbug, the dance your parent’s did. It is a great dance for the absolute beginner or guys with two left feet.
Starting September 16th, Mark and Stephanie will teach a beginning Jitterbug class, this dance is also known as East Coast Swing. We will teach this class at the Asheville Arts Center on Merrimon Avenue across from Musician’s Workshop. Call 828-337-9402 or visit our site: www.ashevillebalboa.com
Cinderella, Kids! (4-7yrs) & Grease, School Version (8+yrs)
The Children’s Theatre Workshop at the Asheville Arts Center is pleased to announce the first two shows of our Fall season: Cinderella, Kids! and Grease, School Version. We have two casts for each show – one in our Main location and one in our South location. Both shows perform in October, see below for more details.
Cinderella, Kids! (4-7 years)
The timeless fairy tale meets the magic of Disney in this adaptation of the treasured animated film. Poor Cinderella is endlessly mistreated by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and denied a chance to go to the Royal Ball. With a little help from her mice friends, and a lot of help from her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella goes to the ball, meets the Prince, and falls in love! With a beautiful score including “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and the classic “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” this musical will charm its way into your heart, and remind you that dreams really can come true.
Performances are October 10, 2009. (2 performances per cast.)
Grease, School Version (8+ years)
It’s 1959 and Rydell high is filled with rebellious, thrill-loving students. In the midst of this scene, Sandy Dumbrowski enters as the new girl in school. It turns out that she and the leader of the Burger Palace Boys gang, Danny Zuko, have had a brief love affair the summer before. While Sandy stresses to her new classmates the emotional attachment she and Danny had, Danny stresses the different aspects of their relationship. In the end, Sandy and Danny resolve their differences and end up happily together. Dancing in the show involves 1950s jazz styles.
Note: This show is toned down for younger performers. From the Samuel French website: “Groups who perform for young audiences or produce musicals with young actors now have an ideal version of GREASE for their needs. Shorter and more suitable in content for teens and subteens, this abridged version retains the fun-loving spirit and immortal songs that make GREASE a favorite among rock and roll fans of all ages.”
Performances are October 16-18, 2009. (2 performances per cast.)
Both shows and both casts are sure to be a hit! To get your kids involved in these shows or future children’s theatre productions, give us a call @ 828.253.4000.
2009 Fall Semester Has Begun: Enroll now!
Our Fall 2009 semester has begun! Dance, music & drama classes start today, but we do still have space for kids & adults!
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE HOP FOR SUPPORTING OUR EFFORTS TO MAKE THE ARTS A SWEET EXPERIENCE FOR ALL.
$10 gift certificate with August registration! Hurry… Offer Ends August 31!
*Registration must be completed by Aug 31 and first payment made in full to qualify. Maximum value $50 is deducted from the total tuition at registration. Present this post card (or mention it over phone) to qualify. One discount per family, please.
Highlighted Instructor: Monique Rundell
This Fall, the Asheville Arts Center has the performing arts “dream team” teaching their different music, drama & dance classes. One key ingredient to this amazing team is Monique Rundell!
Monique taught several of our dance camps this past summer and will be teaching many of our ballet classes this Fall, as well as other types of dance. She has a tremendous amount of teaching experience and is already a well-loved instructor to the students who have worked with her. Here’s her bio:
“Monique’s love for dance, art and music has been an integral part of her life since she was a little girl. She studied ballet, tap, jazz and gymnastics throughout her childhood and then went on to get a B.S. in Kinesiology at Indiana University with a performance emphasis and attended the Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Analysis and Notation in NYC.
She has a holistic approach to dance and feels that learning technique, structure and creative movement benefits children and adults throughout their lifetime.”
We are very excited about the ballet program at the Asheville Arts Center this Fall! Monique’s unique approach, using her knowledge of Kenesiology, offers students the opportunity to grow into well-rounded, smart ballet dancers.
A little more on Kenesiology, from our friends at Wikiepedia:
“Kinesiology, derived from the Greek words kinesis (movement) and kinein (to move), also known as human kinetics, is the science of human movement. It is a discipline that focuses on Physical Activity. A kinesiological approach applies scientific based medical principles towards the analysis, preservation and enhancement of human movement in all settings and populations. Kinesiologists work in research, the fitness industry, clinically, and in industrial environments. Studies on human motion may be supported by computer vision, using stereo camera systems for pose recognition and motion modeling. It is not to be confused with applied kinesiology, a controversial alternative medicine technique related to chiropractic techniques.”
Happy Fifth Birthday, Asheville Arts Center!
We’re celebrating five years of performing arts education in Asheville and we couldn’t have done it without you. We’re having two parties to celebrate our birthday this weekend and would absolutely love to have you join us.
The parties are:
Tonight (Friday) from 5pm – 8pm at our South Location.
(9 Summit Ave. in Arden, off of Hendersonville Rd right before Long Shoals Rd.)
Tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am – 3pm at our Main Location.
(308 Merrimon Avenue, across from Merrimon Florist, in our 19th century renovated church building.)
We would adore seeing you! Also, if you have any questions about our fall semester, don’t hesitate to ask. The new semester starts this coming Monday, August 17th and we recently brought on a new ballet instructor, Monique Rundell, as well as four new fantastic drama teachers!
Click here for more information on our parties this weekend.
Farewell Carly Crawford!
Here’s a note from Carly Crawford, our wonderful camp director. We’re going to miss her! I encourage everyone who reads this to wish her luck and well-wishes and all that jazz. Read on….
_________
“Has it really been nine weeks since the first summer camp started? It feels like just yesterday that I walked through the Arts Center doors to be greeted by the Wizard to Wicked students rehearsing “Ease on Down the Road” and the Disney Princess ballerinas doing piqués at the bar.
I’ve met so many great families and even more awesome kids this summer. Being the Summer Camp Director has been a great experience for me, and I’ve had so much fun getting to know and have fun with all of the students that came to camp this summer. I’ve also really enjoyed getting to teach the summer Academy class – and I couldn’t be happier that they have finally learned the whole Wa-Dat-in-Chu tongue twister (Irmy Squirmy Little Wormy…). Leaving at the end of this week will be bittersweet; I am sad to leave you all, but I know you’re in good hands with Heather, Michael, Eliza, and all of our fantastic teachers.
I’m also really excited to begin my next endeavor – acting on tour with ArtReach, a division of the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati. I hope you all have a fantastic fall semester, and I look forward to updates on exciting happenings at the Arts Center. It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Farewell for now,
Carly”
ASHEVILLE Arts Center 