Asheville Creative Arts Stages SCHOOLHOUSEROCK! LIVE Benefit Concert This Weekend

Co-Founders Abby Felder and Robbie Jaeger announce the continuation of Asheville Creative Arts' (ACA) 13/14 season with a concert of SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! Live (this weekend, March 8 and 9 at the Asheville Masonic Temple) with proceeds to benefit their summer production of the musical version of EB White's classic, CHARLOTTE'S WEB (July 17-27 at NC Stage as part of the Catalyst Series).

Building on the success of ACA's inaugural production of A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD presented in summer of 2013, and the Mobile Unit production of SLUG AND SNAIL offered for touring this fall, both productions in 2014 continue the company's mission to bring professional and innovative works to audiences of all ages, from the young, to the young at heart.

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! Live In Concert reimagines for the stage songs from the Emmy Award-winning 1970?s Saturday morning cartoon series that taught history, grammar, math, and more, including old favorites "Just A Bill," "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly," and "Conjunction Junction."

"We grew up watching SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! on TV, and it is a treat to re-experience it live, and to introduce this fabulous rock score to a new generation of audiences." says Artistic Director Robbie Jaeger. Producing Director Abby Felder adds "adults and kids of every generation are going to really enjoy this high energy concert!"

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! Live in concert has book by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall, music and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe, and will be directed by Matt Cosper. It stars Marc Bastos, Ashby Blakely, Maria Buchanan, Olivia Edge, Robbie Jaeger, and Susan Roberts Knowlson. Musical Director is Ryan Stamey, Lights and sound coordinator is Jason Williams.

LEAD ARTISTS:

Matt Cosper- Director- Matt is a theatre maker based in Charlotte, NC, where he serves as Artistic Director of Machine, an ensemble theatre creating original works for the stage. Matt has developed new work in NYC, Portland, and Eastern Europe as well as the Southeast.

Robbie Jaeger - ACA Artistic Director- An award winning theatre artist, he has worked on over 100 theatrical productions as director, choreographer, performer or designer with companies such as Actors Theatre of Charlotte, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Theatre Charlotte, Queen City Theatre, The Greenroom, Lake Wylie Community Theatre, and various Elementary, Middle, and High Schools throughout the area. Recent NC credits onstage include PAGEANT THE MUSICAL for Actors Theatre of Charlotte, A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD (nominated for a Creative Loafing Award for his performance as Toad), and 9 seasons of CHARLOTTE SQUAWKS for Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Offstage Credits include: choreography for REEFER MADNESS, and XANADU (Queen City Theatre Company), Direction and Choreography for LES MISERABLES (Matthews Playhouse).

Abby Felder- ACA Producing Director- She has worked in the professional theatre for over a decade as a designer and builder for puppet theatre, and Off- and Off- Off Broadway in NYC as a theatrical producer and not-for-profit arts administrator for Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and Pioneers Go East Collective. Other notable companies, venues and collaborators include: Incubator Arts Project, HERE, Chashama, Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre, Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. Original Works include: SLUG AND SNAIL, a children's solo-show she wrote, built and performed in Kindergartens and festivals nationally; and most recently HILDEGARD (Vision), a multimedia opera with puppetry developed with PGEC, which was presented as a work-in-progress at La MaMa in 2013, and will have its next sharing at St. Ann's Warehouse as part of the Puppet Lab Labapalooza, and world premiere in NYC in 2015. She has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, and completed an apprenticeship with puppet artist Frantisek Watzl (Divadlo Xaver) and woodcarver Vaclav Krcal in Prague, Czech Republic.

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! Live in concert runs at the Asheville Masonic Temple (80 Broadway Street) on March 8 at 7:30 and March 9 at 2:30. Show is 1 hour. Tickets $10 children (12 and younger); $15 (adult); $30 VIP (includes reserved seating and donation to ACA); Four at $40 (2 adults and 2 children at $40, or 1 adult and 3 children) available in advance at http://schoolhouserock.bpt.me, 1-800-838-3006; or at the Box Office 1 hour before showtime. Tickets required for all audience members, questions contact ashevillecreativearts@gmail.com or call 914-830-3000.

More information at www.ashevillecreativearts.org, www.facebook.com/ashevillecreativearts and https://twitter.com/avlcreativearts.