Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing… school’s in session, kids! For 36 kids ranging from ages 7 to 14, school has been in session for the past two weeks as they toiled from 9:00-4:00 each day to prepare the show “School House Rock Jr. LIVE!” All of this hard work is a part of the Alys Stephens Center’s first session of summer drama camp.

The kids started off the two-week camp with auditions. From monologues to songs, the kids showed off their talent to Quinton Cockrell, the show’s director. The cast list was announced on day two and the kids immediatley began rehearsals. Since that day, the schedule has included warm-ups, theater games, blocking (or giving stage direction), and REHEARSING. The kids have been living, breathing, and singing “School House Rock” day and night. At carpool, we often hear “Conjunction Junction” blasting from the parent’s car as they drive away.

The kids have done a terrifc job but the two weeks have not been without stress. Memorizing lines, songs, stage direction, and remembering the daily corrections can be very tiring. Regardless, the kids have done so with joy and enthusiasm day in and day out.

And all their hard work will definitely pay off in the end. The camp culminates with an evening performance of “School House Rock” for friends and relatives. For many of the kids, this will be their first time on stage. I know the parents will be very proud of the strides their kids have made in terms of speaking ability, acting, and confidence. As the Alys Stephens Center intern, I couldn’t be prouder of these students’ accomplishments. They have certainly rocked the school house… all while learning, making friends, and having fun!

Check out pictures from dress rehearsal!

ASC summer intern Fernanda Lima is a sophomore majoring in Business and Dance at The University of Alabama. Fernanda is a graduate of Vestavia Hills High School.

Last night’s event was the best one yet! Over 200 people came out to hear the Martini Shakers and participate in the festivities and dozens joined the ASC’s JP organization.

Did you try the mac and cheese from Little Savannah? I’ve never been to the restaurant, but that’s about to change.

Here are some pics:

It is with mixed feelings of sadiness (for us) and joy (for her) that we annnounce the retirement of long-time ASC Executive Director Caron Thornton.

The article is in today’s Birmingham News…

Caron Thornton, who oversaw the rise of UAB’s Alys Stephens Center from a fledgling series of nine acts in 1996 to a powerful force in Birmingham arts and entertainment, will retire as executive director on June 1. She plans to remain in Birmingham, as well as realize one of her passions — travel.

“It’s about opening another phase of my life and exploring the world,” Thornton said Tuesday.  (Read more)

http://blog.al.com/mhuebner/2009/05/alys_stephens_centers_caron_th.html

I love this time of year!  Warm, sunny days. Tons of outdoor music.  Lots of reasons to have drinks with friends.  If this sounds good to you too, the new After Work & Outdoor Series at the ASC brings all these yummy late Spring elements together.

Come out this Thursday afternoon beginning at 5:30 for salsa dance lessons and music from DJ Carlos & Latinsoul Productions.  There’ll be margarita specials, eco-friendly visitors, and more. 

Here are some pics from last Thursday’s event:

So, how savvy were you?  Here are the answers to our season announcement quizz.

1. Loretta Lynn (Coal Miner’s Daughter)

2. Bela Fleck (it’s a holiday show!)

3. Bruce Hornsby

4. Los Lobos

5. Shawn Colvin

6. David Sedaris

7. Buddy Guy

8. Three Dog Night

9. The Wailers

How many did you answer correctly?

To see the rest of the super hot ASC roster, visit www.AlysStephens.org. Season packages are on sale now!

So we’re officially announcing our exciting new season lineup this Sunday in The Birmingham News, but we thought we’d give you a little tease to see if you can guess who’s on the roster.

Name the correct artist for each hint below and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a pair of tickets to the performance of your choice!

1. 3 words are title to a hit single, famous album, best-selling autobiography, Oscar-winning film, and the artist herself

2. Comin’ back to Alabama with a banjo on his knee to spread holiday glee

3. Out of (the) Range

4. The Wolves are coming to Alabamba

5. When she came home, it was anything but Sunny

6. His last work of words was engulfed in flames but he’s back again

7. The Scorsese light was recently shown on this Chicago musican

8. Woof Woof Woof. Zzzzzzz……

9. You’ll want to Get Up & Stand Up for this band.

Just send your answers to us at ngarcia@uab.edu by 5 p.m. this Friday, April 24th. We’ll email the winner on Monday!

Some of my most memorable nights at the Alys Stephens Center have not been seated watching a big name performer.  Many have been spent outside in our courtyard listening to a local performer and socialing with friends, both old and new.  That’s why I’m so excited about our new series called AFTER WORK & OUTDOORS.  This series gives us a chance to showcase Birmingham’s great talent.

And, we encourage you to blog in your opinions and comments on these local musicians.  Let’s get a dialogue going - this is your performing arts center after all.

After Work & Outdoors
at the Alys Stephens Center

The perfect way to end your day or start your night!

Every Thursday April 30 – May 21

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Rain or Shine

FREE, No Ticket Required

Experience a different sound every week with live music by Birmingham’s best up-and-coming bands and musicians.

april 30 – chill to the poetry & spoken word of asc artist-in-residence Sharrif Simmons, while enjoying manhattan drink specials and food for sale from Salt: Fine Catering.

may 7 –  get the party started with latin beats and dance lessons from DJ Carlos & Latinsoul Productions. plus, killer margarita specials and food for sale from Saturday Gourmet!

may 14 – grab a cocktail from the martini bar, food from Little Savannah, and groove to local favorites
The Martini Shakers.

may 21 -  enjoy southern mint juleps, food from Jim N Nicks Bar-B-Que, and original newgrass from
The Jason Bailey Band.

▪  Beverages from Good People Brewing Company, Johnnygreenseeds Wines, and Morgan Creek Winery

▪  Great local food for sale from Salt:Fine Catering, Little Savannah, Saturday Gourmet, Whole Foods, and Jim N’ Nicks Bar-B-Que

▪  Ticket Giveaways

▪  Eco-friendly vendors and recycling and composting of event materials

▪  Carpooling is encouraged

Become an ASC Junior Patron and enjoy the JP Lounge complete with complimentary beer & wine and delicious food.

Special thanks to the Emerging Arts Leaders Association, Slow Food – Birmingham, Jones Valley Urban Farm, 100.5 FM, the Southern Environmental Center, ASC’s Junior Patron Board, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Whole Foods, Birmingham Weekly, Good People Brewing, and the new Live 100.5.

The Queen poses with ASC Exec Dir Caron Thornton and John Thornton

Just imagine, hundreds of Birmingham’s biggest arts supporters dressed in their red-carpet finest with hands in the air, grooving to the funk and soul of Queen Latifah.  It was a great sight to see!

Here’s some of the feedback coming our way today.  Everyone seems to have enjoyed the performance and full gala experience (with the noted exception of Mary Colurso, review link below.)

After performance dinner

“Queen Latifah needed a better sound mix at Stephens Center gala in Birmingham.” - The Birmingham News, Mary Colurso, http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2009/04/queen_latifah_saturday_night_a.html

Queen Latifah is one of those rare pop celebrities that doesn’t fuel her success by putting her personal life in the spotlight.  She’s always let her music take the stage. 

Here’s what’s being said about her new disc Trav’lin’ Light.

Amazon.com
With Trav’lin’ Light, singer/actress/rapper/Cover Girl Queen Latifah (née Dana Owens) continues her chameleonic pan-stardom. The latest musical chapter in Latifah’s success-studded career began with 2004’s The Dana Owens Album, on which she emerged as a nuanced crooner of jazz and R&B standards. She continues this mode on her Verve records debut, adding ample individuality to such well-loved classics as Johnny Mercer’s title track, Nina Simone’s “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” (with legendary harmonica pioneer Toots Thielemans). Steve Wonder’s own harmonica playing lends nostalgic ornament to an otherwise rather forced “Georgia Rose,” and much of the album languishes in similarly downbeat fare, though Latifah’s voice is never wholly unbecoming of her song choices. Toward the album’s end comes a welcome swerve for the energetic. Inspiring takes on the Pointer Sisters’ “How Long” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Gone Away” lead into the soaring choruses of “I Know Where I’ve Been.” Taken together, these three songs superbly straddle the spectrum from the former rapper to the still-newly minted singer with a long lease on success and a peerless sense of how to grow older gracefully. –Jason Kirk

The Boston Phoenix

Queen Latifah is never going to be Billie Holiday or even Macy Gray, but 2004’s surprise hit, The Dana Owens Album, proved she had a set of pipes. Trav’lin Light, her second set of standards and first recording for Verve, vindicates the rapper-turned-actress-turned-diva from any lingering charges of crossover pandering; she’s obviously as serious about this as any of her other pursuits. Abetted by a small army of producers and support players, Latifah croons her way through tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nina Simone, Peggy Lee, and the Pointer Sisters respectfully, enthusiastically, and competently, albeit not particularly distinctively. Stevie Wonder’s harmonica on “Georgia Rose” is so immediately identifiable that it threatens to steal the vocalist’s thunder, and Latifah’s foray into Motown territory, Smokey Robinson’s “What Love Has Joined Together,” would have been a buried Tammi Terrell B-side had Latifah been working for Berry Gordy. But her blues is formidable on Simone’s “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” she swings like crazy on the Sarah Vaughan vehicle “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die,” and the über-production of the Impressions’ “Gone Away” justifies the Queen-sized vocal Latifah brings to it.