Flat Rock Playhouse Announces The Playhouse Jr. 2022 Tour

Beginning September 1st, Playhouse Jr. embarks on their school tour. Over 17 days, the Flat Rock Playhouse 2022 apprentices will perform Letterland Alive! and Greetings from North Carolina! for elementary schools across Henderson County, Rutherford County, Polk County, and Transylvania County. The words and music of both shows were written by Ethan Andersen, Flat Rock Playhouse's Resident Music Director.

"It's been an exciting challenge to musicalize North Carolina's eventful and significant history," Andersen said. "From local teachers sharing specifics of what their students enjoy to my own research, I've paired the eight most important events with contemporary (and catchy!) music to make a lasting impression. My hope is this performance is not only an entertaining experience for students but also a learning tool to aid curriculum throughout the rest of the school year."

"Letterland Alive! was launched in 2019," Artistic Director Lisa K. Bryant said. "We visited every elementary school in Henderson County. This year, thanks to the Dogwood Health Trust and The Community Foundation, we are able to extend our reach to three additional counties and add a whole new show about North Carolina history! It's a dream come true for the Playhouse to combine the performing arts with academics in order to enhance the learning access points for students throughout the region, as well as provide teachers with additional resources like music video and soundtracks in their classrooms. The Playhouse Jr. programming also provides opportunities for early career professionals in the performing arts to write, direct, design, and perform original works. It's a full-circle initiative that benefits all parties involved, but especially our region's youth."

Letterland Alive!

Words & music by Ethan Andersen, based on Letterland (c), K-2 Phonics.

Join six kindergarteners' favorite daily journey to Letterland, where they meet the alphabet, the Vowel Men, and Red Robot who steals vowels! In partnership with Letterland (c), the popular K-2 phonics program, this high energy musical covers a wide range of musical genres and is the perfect companion to students' phonics studies.

Greetings from North Carolina!

Words & music by Ethan Andersen

A group of aliens travel to North Carolina for a historical road trip. While there, they learn about North Carolina's Indigenous People, the Lost Colony, pirates, the journey to statehood, slavery and the Civil War, the Wright Brothers, Civil Rights, and all of the great and unique people that make up the Tarheel State.

The Playhouse Junior program received a grant award of $135,800 from The Dogwood Health Trust as well as an award of $20,000 from The Community Foundation of Henderson County. Additionally, the program is supported by individual donors Charlotte & Bob Otto and Dot Moyer. The touring van is provided by Boyd Chevrolet Cadillac Buick Inc. Flat Rock Playhouse will reach thousands of local students across four counties in Western North Carolina thanks to these supporters. Their donations fuel not only the performances themselves, but other resources for local schools, like the Letterland music video and a coming soundtrack for teachers to use throughout the year.

FLAT ROCK PLAYHOUSE

In 1937, a group of struggling performers, led by Robroy Farquhar, organized themselves as the Vagabond Players. The Vagabonds worked in a variety of places over the course of three years, and in 1940 found themselves in the Blue Ridge region of Western North Carolina. The local and tourist community welcomed them with open arms when they presented their first summer season of plays in a 150-year-old grist mill they converted into The Old Mill Playhouse at Highland Lake. So successful that summer, they returned in 1941. After WWII, the Vagabond Players reorganized, came back to the region and opened a playhouse in nearby Lake Summit. The Lake Summit Playhouse thrived during the post-war years and soon the Vagabond Players were looking for a larger and permanent home. In 1952, the troupe of performers, and a newly formed board of directors, made an offer to buy an 8-acre lot in the Village of Flat Rock. This new home made the Vagabonds "locals" and a rented big top gave birth to Flat Rock Playhouse. As the beautiful Western Carolina region continued to grow, so did the Playhouse and in 1961, by Act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Flat Rock Playhouse was officially designated The State Theatre of North Carolina. What began as a few weeks of summer performances in 1940 is now a nine-month season of plays including Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences. The Playhouse's dual mission of producing the performing arts and providing education in the performing arts includes a professional series; a summer and fall college apprentice and intern program; and Studio 52, year-round classes and workshops in theatre and film for students from kindergarten through adults. Flat Rock Playhouse now hosts over 105,000 patrons annually and is a significant contributor to the local economy and the Arts in North Carolina.

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