August 19, 2009

Ron Bourdages. Download image.

• Free live music, drum circle

• Children and families welcome

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Alys Stephens Center's ASC Kids' Club will present Arts in Action LIVE!, a free festival for families, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. South, Birmingham. The festival is free and open to the public. Call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org.

Arts in Action LIVE! is a festival for families featuring arts-education demonstrations for parents and fun performances for children of all ages. Parents can learn how the arts benefit children and learn how the Alys Stephens Center can play a role in a child's arts education. The festival is sponsored by Jane Stephens Comer and WBHM.

The festival will feature performances by ASC Teaching Artists, including musician and poet Sharrif Simmons, singer-songwriter Charles Tortorici, singer/songwriter and actor Ron Bourdages, the ASC Youth Ensemble and an interactive drum circle with percussionist John Scalici.

Charles Tortorici. Download image.

Each of the performances will demonstrate the ASC Teaching Artists' performances for the Arts in Action program. Simmons will present poetry and spoken word with acoustic guitar performance as part of his "Poet's Corner" Poetry Workshop, with an overview about poetic forms and famous poets. Tortorici, with his program "The Watershed Workshop," will teach children the importance of a watershed and its interdependent plant and animal species through creative writing, song, visual art and movement. Bourdages will guide kids and adults on a musical journey through time, discovering the sounds that inspired musicians to create that exciting rock 'n' roll sound. Everyone is invited to participate in a community drum circle led by Scalici; many percussion instruments will be provided, or bring an instrument and join in the fun.

About the Alys Stephens Center

Located on the UAB campus, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the Southeast's premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. Home to the UAB departments of theatre and music and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the ASC also presents its own season, bringing the world's best music, dance, theater, comedy and family entertainment to Alabama.