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"The variety of techniques, including actor establishing intimacy
with viewer through prolonged eye contact or a touch on the sleeve
of a rapt front-row child, combined into a learning experience that
history books cannot approach." "If you have never been to the theater, Roadside Theater is a good
place to start. Even if you consider the theater a second home,
Roadside Theater promotes an unusual theatrical experience." " . . . remarkable entertainment, the likes of which New York folks
don't encounter everyday." "The company will continue its barnstorming way of life, telling
oft-told tales to mountain audiences, dipping into the rich reservoir
of folk memory, and occasionally bringing big-city provincials a
breath of authentic Americana." "This theater does not come into town with gowns and gaiters, song
and dance, and then leave at the end of the show. The troupers come
to town early, hang around for a while, and shine a light on a community's
past." "There's love, laughter, heartfelt music, and finally, a genuine
poignancy." "These stories are told with such charm that the Appalachian world
springs to life." "Roadside aims to describe Appalachia to others and inspire its
own people to cherish their traditions rather than abandon them
for an homogenized American way of life." "Magic that makes the oldest story new every time." "Roadside Theater is genuine Americana at its best." "Roadside Theater was founded on such true stories and an awareness
of what constitutes cultural roots, background, a whole heritage." "Simple, communal, heart to heart, and bringing us all back home
to our cultural roots." "Roadside Theater may be geographically from a remote region of
America, but spiritually this company exposes the territory of the
human heart." "There was nothing watered down about Roadside Theater. They swept
into their performance space like a blast of fresh mountain air." "Roadside's work explained about as much about contemporary Appalachia
as it did about its past. It was obvious that Roadside Theater's
actors were reliving their heritage, not just reciting the scripts
they wrote." "Roadside Theater's inspiration originates in Appalachia; its appeal
is universal." "Roadside Theater is a powerful conveyor of Appalachian folk traditions." "The three sang, spun yarns, and kept up such a quick pace that
it was impossible not to stay fascinated." "Pride, dignity, and self-appreciation mark the lives we hear about
and come to see plainly." "It was pure theater, innocuous and innocent and highly professional,
as the stories and songs were enacted to the delight of an audience
that would have described itself as sophisticated but had no idea
how much it would enjoy this rare kind of Americana." "Ultimately the Roadside Theater performers insist that theater
is only vital if it is a theater of conscience." "What emerges in Roadside Theater's work is a portrait of Americans
in a locale, Appalachia, that's more rich and immediate than you're
likely to read in any social history. The theatrical and artistic
reverberations are unceasing." "There is something in Roadside Theater's innocent and forthright
manner of presentation that rivets your attention and challenges
all perceptions of stagecraft." "Roadside's theater works on the listeners in a manner that nothing
else quite matches. Most stories, after all, originated this way,
by straight-out word of mouth. Maybe this is why there is some curious
sense of community created in their live performance." "A moving evening of tales comic and sad by the actors of the Roadside
Theater, impersonating with a documentary-like reality the humor
and the melancholy of Appalachia." "Keep an eye out for this exceptional group from Appalachia." "The music ranges from foot-stomping mountain tunes to plaintive
ballads, and are sung superbly by the three talented performers.
Indeed, the music alone is worth the price of a ticket." "One of the great strengths of Roadside is its ability to create
an instantaneous atmosphere of great warmth with its audience." "Roadside is dramaturgy with a difference: a hybrid form of play-acting
as organic to this hardbitten coal country as the Cumberland walnut." "The ability of the actors to ignite this sense of worth in one's
own heritage is evident." "These delightful tales are told with a lively home-grown warmth
that endears them at once to anyone who's grown up with storytelling
in the family. . . . Roadside's charm is also due to the broad range
of voices, their vivid mountain accents, and the beautifully timed
pacing of the stories." "Roadside Theater's drama has a social message that never becomes
propagandistic. All of the performers have a remarkable naturalness
in their responses to each other and to the audience. . . . The
humanity of the show is achieved by the complete credibility of
the performers and their actions." "Roadside depicts an image of America unlike the clichés." "Roadside Theater is a traveling cultural treasure--a thought-provoking
and thoroughly entertaining celebration of tales and songs based
on regional stories and music handed down through generations of
farmers and miners of the Central Appalachian Mountains." "Wonderful family entertainment, not just because it's authentic,
but because it's good art." "Roadside's actors have perfected an improvisatory style that is
particularly suited to the stories they have chosen to tell; their
conversational tone is chilling." "No one missed a word of passion, humor, or narration. Individually
gifted, the trio is marvelously resourceful as an ensemble." "I'm so happy that Roadside is on this earth." "I look forward to seeing the company over and over, and I
still always think of the first time I saw them, perhaps the best
of all, in a mountain holler, surrounded by friends, telling stories,
I will never forget." "You were such a delight! All the memories of my childhood and
the importance of my heritage came through." "Their personal style and entertaining approach demanded the undivided
attention of students and faculty alike. . . It is most encouraging
to have a group such as Roadside Theater to carry on the cultural
tradition of the area." "Your brand of theater performs a terrific service in bringing
us all a little closer together and making us look at our own heritage
with more pride." "I know of no other top quality professional theater more adaptable
to and adept at touring. Their Nevada tour was a resounding success." "I wanted to let you know how enjoyable and important your recently
sponsored public performance was for all involved . . . the message
of preservation and sustaining the Zuni language as well as the
cultural traditions which have sustained our people throughout the
centuries was very important." "I thought the play was marvelous. I really liked it. And I felt
that it was art that really brought alive the spirit of a certain
period and a certain set of historical events." "(It was) poignant to be reminded of just how tentative and fragile
black/white relations were --even among those who were well meaning." "The only innovative, and by far the most authentic and affecting
expression of regional consciousness . . ." "At first I didn't want to go, but I liked it a lot better than
watching TV."
"You have to feel good about yourself to stand up for what you
believe in. . . . This whole project is about empowering people,
and they can then feel who they are and where they come from is
honorable." "You run a couple of boars in there, and you got maybe a dozen
sows, and . . . in another six months you've got 20,000 pounds of
pork to deal with, just from opening that gate. And that's the way
this art stuff is." "Story circles aren’t rocket science, you know. If people
listen to each other, they learn." "As a teacher, I consider it to be of paramount importance to develop
a positive self-image in the children I work with. This self-awareness
has its foundation in the culture and the history of the place in
which the children live . . . The programs which Roadside Theater
provide us are an invaluable link to this heritage. I consider these
people to be a prime resource in the teaching of the unique Appalachian
way of life." "History is ordinary, everyday stuff you don't think is important.
. . . We're so programmed that stories come from Hollywood and television
and we've undervalued our own stories for so long. Even though I
know it in my head, it still seems new to me when these amazing
stories come out." "I learned that people are more connected to each other than they
know and the best way to learn about people different from yourself
is to meet them face to face and listen to their stories." "Not only is Pretty Polly an exhilarating, enjoyable evening,
but the tall tales, the guitar pickin' and the banjo are the Real
McCoy." "The high point was Roadside Theater's Pretty Polly. Here
we did feel we were touching something essentially southern: the
stony soil of Appalachia." "The Roadside company's honest approach, lively style and overall
professional quality made Pretty Polly one of the festival's
highlights." "[At the Junebug/Jack performance,] there were lots of smiles
on faces of many colors." "Mountain Tales is magic that makes even the oldest story
new every time." "Red Fox/Second Hangin' recreates, with great charm and
visible passion, a part of this country's past the entire nation
can treasure. If its inspiration originates in Appalachia, its appeal
is universal." "Working on an almost bare stage and with the simplest of props,
the cast draws the spectator irresistibly into this strange story
of mountain conflicts, the coming of big-money exploiters, and the
corruption of justice." "New York's fashionable East Side might seem the last spot in the
country that would prove hospitable to a trio of self-confessed
mountain boys from Appalachia telling tales about fightin' and feudin'
among their ancestors. Yet such a group held theater audiences in
a powerful sway at New York's highly esteemed Manhattan Theatre
Club." "[Red Fox/Second Hangin' is]. . . as stirring to the audience for
its historical detective work as for the vanishing art of frontier
yarnspinning." "The most strikingly original show was Red Fox/Second Hangin',
so regional in its approach that its ethnicity could make a hit
anywhere . . . the show creates its own unique approach to theater." "Red Fox has more to say about the history of rural America
than any five history books." "Red Fox/Second Hangin' is a brilliant piece of art created
out of Appalachian memories of history." "The best of the Festival's plays were world class. At the top
you'd have to put Roadside Theater's Red Fox/Second Hangin'." "Boston critic, Elliot Norton, who reviews in New York as well
as in his own city, said he regarded Red Fox/Second Hangin'
as the finest stage production in every way -- the work itself,
the staging, and the artistry of the actors -- that he had seen
in the past 10 years." "In Red Fox/Second Hangin' performers bereft of sets,
costumes and props just talk. They move easily through a multitude
of roles -- women and children, young men and old -- with artfully
artless narration that ranges from your-turn cracker-barrel soliloquy
to what co-author Dudley Cocke likens to 'a bunch just busting to
tell you a story they all know. Battling lines back and forth, saying
some phrases in unison, feeding off each other's rhythms.' The result
is magic." "The long forgotten but intricately researched trial (of Red
Fox/Second Hangin') would be a winner anywhere, so deft are
the three actors in quickening this memory of 100 years ago in the
Cumberland Mountains." "South of the Mountain is an extraordinary theater piece
by the Roadside Theater, sung and narrated with serenely beautiful
simplicity." "In South of the Mountain, writer Ron Short's stories and
original songs based largely on recollections of his kin, range
from the gently comic to the elegiac, and are deeply affecting."
Quotes about Roadside Books and Recordings
"Our A:shiwi (Zuni) People have a long history of sharing.
This Zuni-Appalachia collaboration on storytelling and drama continues
a venerable tradition. The Zuni Tribal Council and Zuni People are
honored to see in print the Journeys Home." "This Zuni-Appalachia collaboration is moving, charming, and
above all, surprising. That two cultures seemingly so disparate
could work together with such inventiveness and such trust is a
wonderful thing." "Journeys Home is an extraordinary work of art which
builds bridges across this nation while preserving and celebrating
the rich heritages on which our country was built. This is simply
an excellent play by any measure, one which derives universal humanity
by cultural specificity."
"These delightful tales are told with a lovely home-grown warmth
that endears them at once to anyone who's grown up with storytelling
in the family. Several of the tales are ones that Roadside Theater
members heard themselves as children, which accounts for much of
their ring of truth. The [Mountain Tales]record's charm is
also due to the broad range of voices, their vivid mountain accents
and the beautifully timed pacing of the stories."
"Wings to Fly grew from the desire to use theater
to educate people about Appalachia. But the comparison to the sort
of pallid edutainment found at historical sites and in school auditoriums
ends there. By enlisting performers from the region who could write
and perform in traditional styles, Kentucky's Roadside Theater has
imbued this CD, and similar stage productions, with authenticity
and grace." "Fine harmonies, expert picking, and sincere motives combine
with that authentic mountain sound to create an unexpectedly captivating
recording." "This is the real deal: the music that came from Britain and
Ireland, augmented by those who toiled in the mines and on the farms,
and evolved into American folk music." "This is entirely fresh, contemporary work, but it captures
the heart and soul of the Celtic roots and the foundation of traditional
old time mountain music. . . Wings to Fly is completely unique,
timeless work." "[Wings to Fly] is soulful, savvy and plain satisfying
. . . the singing is diverse and is both rooted and adventurous." "Something drew me to Wings to Fly . . . this is the
most powerful and emotional listening I've done in years. I am not
ashamed to say its hard to type with tears flowing." "This disc is a tribute to the rich musical heritage of Appalachia
(specifically in the Cumberland Mountains). It is a celebration
of the tradition of mountain harmony singing, passed down through
the generations . . ." "The Roadside Theater has produced a gem here, and has brought
listeners another tool by which to better understand an important
piece of American cultural history -- and its echoes in modern music." "The performances are marked by heart and skill." "This is a wondrous recording, a gem. The recording quality
is tops and, more important, the songs and the singing soar."
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Reading Room |Links | Site MapRoadside Theater P.O. Box 771 Norton, VA 24273
Phone/Fax:(276) 679-3116
Email: roadsidetheater@verizon.net©2001 Roadside Theater
