Pop Music Legend NILE RODGERS to do Artist Talk Back at ASF May 13-15

Legendary pop music guitarist, songwriter and producer of Madonna's blockbuster album Like a Virgin, Nile Rodgers, will participate in a "meet the artist" session to discuss his process and influences for writing the music and lyrics for the new musical DoubleTime. The musical is part of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Southern Writers' Project Festival of New Plays, May 13-15.

The concert reading of DoubleTime will take place at ASF's Octagon stage on Saturday, May 14 at 1:30 p.m. with the discussion immediately following. Access to the discussion is free with a ticket to the concert reading.

Tickets to ASF's Southern Writers' Project Festival of New Plays start at $10 and are available through the ASF box office, by phone at 800.841.4273 or on line at www.asf.net. A variety of weekend packages, including food, tickets to other readings and plays, and hotel accommodations are also available. ASF is located at 1 Festival Drive in Montgomery's beautiful Blount Cultural Park.

DoubleTime, with a book by ASF's playwright-in-residence John Walch, follows the story of a young and talenTEd White playwright charged with creating a new musical based on the life of the late Leonard Harper, one of the first great black Broadway stars. The young writer finds himself feeling woefully inadequate to the task until the effervescent tap dancing spirit of Mr. Harper literally intervenes to remove the writer's block.

Visit Rodgers' blog (http://www.nilerodgers.com/blog/planet-c-blog-roll) to read about his work on the musical and listen to songs from the show.

Nile Rodgers performed in the band Chic, for which he played guitar and wrote the hits Le Freak and We Are Family. In addition to writing and producing for the likes of Madonna, Rodgers also produced albums for Eric Clapton, Diana Ross, Duran Duran, David Bowie, the B 52s, Peter Gabriel and many more.

Rodgers also created a dozen feature film scores including Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III.

The other plays that will have concert readings at the 2011 festival are Twenty Seven by Edward Morgan on May 13 at 3:30 p.m. and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol by John Longenbaugh on May 15 at 10:30 a.m.

For more information about ASF's Southern Writers Project's concert readings and associated activities, contact the box office at 800.841.4273 or visit www.southernwritersproject.net. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is located at 1 Festival Drive in Montgomery's beautiful Blount Cultural Park.

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is among the largest Shakespeare theatres in the world. Designated as The State Theatre of Alabama, ASF has been located in Montgomery since 1985 when it moved from Anniston as a result of Mr. and Mrs. Wynton M. Blount's gift of a performing arts complex set in the 250-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park. This program/project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

SWP is endowed by an Anonymous donor. Alabama Shakespeare Festival is a participant in the New Generation Program, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American theatre. Blood Divided is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays award.

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