November 23, 2009

Yuletide in Dogtown. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB's Alys Stephens Center (ASC) will present an original holiday play for children this season, "Yuletide in Dogtown," and scores of children and their parents will snuggle in their seats for two ticketed performances Dec. 5.

And, the ASC also will make this imaginative ASC Kids' Club production available free to hundreds of Birmingham-area schoolchildren and take the production to Children's Hospital. It's all part of the ASC Arts In Action education and outreach initiative, offering the arts to more than 50,000 people since its inception in 2002. 

"Yuletide in Dogtown" is written and directed by the Alys Stephens Center's own Jerry Sims. The play is about the town's canine residents, who are waiting for the holiday season with tail-wagging glee. All seems to be going well until a cat is spotted in Dogtown. Can the mayor keep peace during the holiday season or will fur fly? It's a howling, growling, meowing good time. This unique show is written in a rhyme romp. Audience members are invited to sing the refrains to the show's delightful songs. The ASC's friends from Hand-in-Paw will greet families following each performance with some of their most beloved therapy dogs. 

Yuletide in Dogtown. Download image.

The fun starts with two ticketed performances at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. The audience can enjoy holiday treats after each show and should bring a camera to have pictures made with the show's costumed dog and cat characters. Tickets are $8. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.

On Dec. 6, the full production will be brought to Children's Hospital, complete with fuzzy costumes, scenery and interactive songs and music. On Dec. 7, the center will present three showings of the performance through their Arts in Action "Meet the Artist" series. During these one-hour, interactive presentations, performers share anecdotes about their professional training and provide insight into the pieces they perform and their instruments. Busloads of young students will visit the center and see the live show. Since 2007, nearly 16,000 students have participated in "Meet the Artist" programs presented by the Alys Stephens Center.

Also as part of the Arts in Action program, Sims and the play's narrator and musician, Ron Bourdages, will visit students at Glen Iris Elementary School and Red Mountain Community School for songwriting programs.

The ASC Kids' Club shows are sponsored by Jane Stephens Comer, The Birmingham News and Viva Health.

About UAB's Alys Stephens Center and Arts in Action

UAB's Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the Southeast's premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. The mission of its Arts in Action initiative is to enrich the lives of students and adults by cultivating an appreciation for and understanding of the arts and to make the performing arts accessible to everyone. Arts in Action includes such offerings as master classes for small student groups who learn from experts, meet-the-artist events for schools, a mentoring program, the ASC Kids' Club shows for families, innovative classes and enrichment activities for adults, free concert talks and drama workshops and summer camps. The program offers lower-cost tickets for students and children to selected performances and free buses to and from the center.