UAB, Seasoned Performers to Honor Kathryn Tucker Windham

UAB’s (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Center for Aging and the theatre group The Seasoned Performers will honor Kathryn Tucker Windham for her long and distinguished career as Alabama’s pre-eminent storyteller.

March 10, 2009

• Generations, March 29, 3 p.m.

• Exploring link between creativity and aging

• Windham inaugural recipient of Silver Pepper Award

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB's (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Center for Aging and the theatre group The Seasoned Performers will honor Kathryn Tucker Windham for her long and distinguished career as Alabama's pre-eminent storyteller. Generations, a gala benefit held in Windham's honor, will take place at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 29 at the Virginia Samford Theatre.

Windham also will receive the inaugural Silver Pepper Award from the Seasoned Performers, Alabama's only senior adult theatre group. The Silver Pepper Award will henceforth be given annually for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Besides her reputation as master storyteller, Windham is a photographer, playwright, popular speaker and the author of more than 20 books. She is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" program.

The Seasoned Performers chose Windham for the initial Silver Pepper Award because she began one phase of her writing and storytelling career late in life. Her selection affirms that age does not have to be a barrier to beginning a new adventure.

Generations will feature a follies variety show directed by the Seasoned Performer's Ellise Mayor and UAB's Andrew Duxbury, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the division of gerontology, geriatrics and palliative care. Generations pairs young and seasoned performers in a unique blend of music, dance, and comedy.

For more information about Generations, call The Seasoned Performers' office at 978-5095. Tickets are $35 and include a Backstage Reception where audience members can meet Kathryn Tucker Windham and the performers. Tickets are available at the Virginia Samford Theatre at 205-251-1228 or www.virginiasamfordtheatre.org/.

Featured performers include Bobby Horton, Dolores Hydock  Boots Carroll, Virginia Mae Schmitt, Dana Porter, Lauren Cantrell, Sam Chalker, The Showstoppers, Carole Armistead, Danielle Clinton, Jack and Suzanne Mann, Jan Hunter, Callie Hunter, Dylan Hunter, Kristie Tingle-Higginbotham, Bennie Middaugh, Laurie Middaugh, Belinda George Peeples, Roy Hudson's Shades Valley and VST STARS student actors, Cameron White and Kendall Johnson. Michael King will be the accompanist.

Masters of ceremony include Cathy Gilmore, Bill Voigt, and Patty McDonald. Celebrity ushers will be Cameron Vowell, Bob Penny, Alec Harvey, and Ward Haarbauer.

Celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary, The Seasoned Performers burst onto the scene in 1984. Today, this unique troupe is one of the oldest and most respected senior theatres in America, and one of the few promoters of arts for Alabama's aging population.