Picture it. Asheville 2020 and the girls are back, the Golden Girls that is, in the production of Thank You For Being A Friend, the unauthorized Golden Girls musical parody. Our favorite senior ladies are spending their golden years together in a wicker-filled bungalow in Miami. But when pop superstar Ricky Martin moves in next door, his loud outdoor parties keep the cheesecake-loving retirees awake. The score is eventually settled at the annual Shady Oaks Retirement Home Talent Show. You’ll laugh, you’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry … and you may have some cheesecake!

Thank You For Being A Friend is presented as part of Asheville Community Theatre’s Artistic Horizons program, a program that gives local artists the opportunity to pursue new creative paths in the theatre. In the 2019-20 season, Artistic Horizons will feature four productions created by new, emerging, or established writers who are expanding their craft to include playwriting, or are helmed by first time directors who want to workshop a piece before committing to a full performance run.

It’s the Fringe Digital Summer Night, volume 2! Do you have your reservations yet? This show will happen on zoom and you NEED a link to find it. Get your tickets here (sliding scale $0 to $25)
https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=115442 

Join these Fringe favorites:

> Cooper Bates (spoken word/ storytelling, Los Angeles CA)
> Edwin Salas (puppetry/ dance, Asheville NC)
> Taproot CLT (dance, Charlotte, NC)
> Kathleen Leiner (Dance/ contemplative, Asheville NC)
> Cookie Tongue (music/ puppetry/ animation/ experimental, Brooklyn NY)
> Justin Evans (spoken word/ poetry/ experimental Asheville NC)
> Constance Humphries (Butoh, Asheville NC)

Hosted by Dylan Suter (Asheville NC)

Fringe Announcements, community connection!

Tickets are pay what you can, but you do need a ticket in order to receive the link to this Zoom based event.
Reserve your spot now: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=115442

Donate at http://www.ashevillefringe.org/donate

Pre-registration required; event will expire at 6pm on Sunday, July 26.

While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented National Players from traveling the U.S. and completing Tour 71, that didn’t stop America’s longest-running theatre company from bringing theatre to their fans. Through this recorded preview performance of Shakespeare’s female-driven comedy As You Like It, which combines classic elements of romance and hidden identities, NP continues its mission of making theatre more accessible. In this classic romantic comedy about gender roles, losing oneself, and discovering oneself anew, Rosalind, banished from the only home she’s ever known, assumes the identity of a man and escapes to the Forest of Arden with her cousin Celia and their fool Touchstone. While there, they run into other exiled folks from the old court, including the dashing and brave Orlando, who won Rosalind’s heart prior to her banishment, but he was too tongue tied to express his love in return. Determined to woo him, Rosalind persuades Orlando in her male disguise to win her heart. For only if Orlando loves her as a man will Rosalind know he truly loves her. National Players meld classic language with contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s imaginative tale about city folk venturing into the woods.

To learn more about National Players: https://www.olneytheatre.org/national-players/about-national-players

Available exclusively via Eventbrite; register at appsummer.org

Zoom Speed Dating Tonight!

Music and Lyrics by Michael Ching

Conceived and Created by Dean Anthony

Premieres: Saturday, July 25 at 8:00pm ET

Rebroadcast: Sunday, July 26 at 3:00pm ET

This event will stream live on this page via YouTube.

About the show: The original Speed Dating Tonight! was premiered at Brevard by the 2013 Janiec Opera Company. Zoom Speed Dating Tonight! has been updated for online presentation, with the central Speed Dating event occurring over Zoom. Music and Lyrics were written by Michael Ching, and the show was Conceived and Created by Dean Anthony.

About the performers: All Brevard Opera and Janiec Opera Company Alumni from 2012-2020 were invited to participate. In this production, there are 56 alumni performers as well as other alumni working on video production and editing, including several members of the 2013 premiere cast. In addition, everyone who signed up has been included in the process.

Caroline Worra has been a Janiec Opera Company Voice Faculty member since the 2017 season, and is performing the role of The Host. Reginald Smith, Jr., is a past participant of JOC and has previously returned as a guest artist in Falstaff (2013) and as a soloist in the BMC Season Finale performance of Beethoven 9 (2016).

Listen To This

Hosted by Tom Chalmers

Usually the last Thursday of the month!

7:30 pm

Performed in 35below. There are some stories that are just so good they need to be shared with an assembled audience. Local actor/comedian Tom Chalmers invites you to take part in what is quickly becoming one of Asheville’s most popular series, Listen to This. A storytelling format in the vein of “This American Life,” Listen to This is an evening hosted by Chalmers with stories and songs from some of Asheville’s most interesting writers, performers, and citizens. Each installment features a central theme (past shows have featured stories about everything from gluttony to mistaken identity). Real people. Real stories. Real good times.

The tumultuous world of college athletics can strip one of all normalcy and self identity. Mali, a collegiate basketball star, is trying to navigate her sudden want to withdraw from the limelight and walk into the light of who she truly is; the problem is, she doesn’t know who that is. This premiere tells the story of her life, her acceptance, her trials, and most importantly, her triumphs. Will the journey break her, or will she emerge stronger than ever, ready to conquer life and all it brings?

Transition is presented as part of Asheville Community Theatre’s Artistic Horizons program, a program that gives local artists the opportunity to pursue new creative paths in the theatre. In the 2019-20 season, Artistic Horizons will feature four productions created by new, emerging, or established writers who are expanding their craft to include playwriting, or are helmed by first time directors who want to workshop a piece before committing to a full performance run.

The Venardos Circus, a touring Broadway-style animal free production, is thrilled to announce it will return with a brand-new live online-only show via livestream on Saturday, August 1, 2020 . Venardos Circus will perform one show at 4pm CDT. No live audience seating will be available near the performance site, just via the Internet. Access the livestream will require a ticket which run $16.50 per person available at their website here. Multi-pack discounts are available. Venardos Circus has pivoted from its usual format in response to COVID-19, and this livestream offers as great opportunity for audiences across the country and around the world to join the live event and enjoy a little circus magic from anywhere in the world.

The tumultuous world of college athletics can strip one of all normalcy and self identity. Mali, a collegiate basketball star, is trying to navigate her sudden want to withdraw from the limelight and walk into the light of who she truly is; the problem is, she doesn’t know who that is. This premiere tells the story of her life, her acceptance, her trials, and most importantly, her triumphs. Will the journey break her, or will she emerge stronger than ever, ready to conquer life and all it brings?

Transition is presented as part of Asheville Community Theatre’s Artistic Horizons program, a program that gives local artists the opportunity to pursue new creative paths in the theatre. In the 2019-20 season, Artistic Horizons will feature four productions created by new, emerging, or established writers who are expanding their craft to include playwriting, or are helmed by first time directors who want to workshop a piece before committing to a full performance run.