A slave and storyteller from ancient Greece named Aesop is known for his fables\u2014tales often with animal characters who are personified in their speech and emotions. At the end of each story is a strong lesson to be learned.<\/p>\n
As the first main stage production of its fourth season, Asheville Creative Arts (ACA) will present Don\u2019t Count Your Chickens Until They Cry Wolf<\/i>, a musical romp through Aesop\u2019s Fables written by Carol Lynn Pearson with music by J.A.C. Redford. The production will take place March 4\u20136 in four public performances at Magnetic 375.<\/p>\n
All the classic fables will be represented, including the concepts of slow and steady wins the race<\/i>, dishonesty has consequences<\/i>, plan according to reality, not fantasy<\/i>, and sometimes help comes from unexpected places, so be kind to everyone<\/i>. \u201cEverybody knows and loves the tales of Aesop, which contain universal observations about how humans and society function,\u201d says Robbie Jaeger, artist director and cofounder of ACA with Abby Felder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe setting for the show is in an old carnival tent and, through the course of the show, the actors will discover items in the environment that inspire their telling of various vignettes or fables,\u201d says Abby, who designed and created the puppets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will use marionette style puppets to create a family of gardeners and brick makers, as well as shadow puppets that will help tell the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t Count Your Chickens <\/i>was written by commission at Robert Redford\u2019s Sundance Theatre in Utah. Musical direction will be provided by ACA\u2019s resident artists Gina Stewart and Brenda Gambill, who call themselves Jonesalee. Among the instruments used in the performance are guitar, autoharp, ukulele, and percussion.<\/p>\n