Attic Salt Theatre Company pairs local businesses with area schools in “Local Hearts, Local Arts” campaign

June 3, 2015


Attic Salt Theatre Company, the team who has produced family-friendly shows for over fifteen years, is pleased to announce the kickoff of their Local Hearts, Local Arts campaign. As a benefit to area children, Local Hearts, Local Arts aims to pair Asheville-area businesses with Western North Carolina schools to bring educational shows to local children. 
Attic Salt Theatre Company is a company that formed in New York City in 1998 and has since concentrated on children’s theatre and art residencies in NYC schools. Since Attic Salt’s two principal officers, Jeff Catanese, Artistic Director, and Marci Bernstein, Executive Director/Education Coordinator, arrived in Asheville four years ago, the company has been continuing its work to those ends in Western North Carolina. Local Hearts, Local Arts is their first large-scale campaign to bring educational theater to as many Asheville-area children as possible.
 

The plan is simple: 

  • Businesses donate the cost of a 45-minute production ($600 for one, $1,000 for two) and then choose the school they’d most like to benefit from their gift.
  • Attic Salt Theatre Company gets in touch with that school and offers them a FREE show on the behalf of that business.
  • Attic Salt will then promote the donating business via show programs, website, social media and newsletters, as well as ask each business the important question: What can we do for you? 

 Attic Salt Theatre Company is offering the following shows for the 2015/16 school year:

  • The Tale of the Pig is a Romanian folktale that uses puppetry and some fast-changing actors to tell the story of a Princess who can’t learn to be happy with what she already has. This includes her husband Frederick, a magical pig (who’s actually a prince)!
  • Newly Grown Tales is an improvised run through several types of folktales, including a fairy tale, a fool’s tale, an origin tale and a tall tale. Music and laughs abound as the students learn what a folktale is and give suggestions to help create some never-before-told tales! 
Producer and Attic Salt Theatre Company co-founder Marci Bernstein said, “Like any educational theater company, we want to reach as many children as possible. By teaming up with local businesses we hope to be able to bring these stories and their lessons to every elementary-aged student in western North Carolina.” 
Mr. Catanese added, “We know that theater and the arts are so important to children’s early development, yet they are also the first things to go when budgets get cut. By keeping costs down and allowing businesses to chip in, we don’t have to watch a generation miss out on the benefits the arts give kids that they’ll carry with them their whole lives.”
All of the shows come with study guides for the children’s teachers; and, if a business wishes to add to their generous donation, we are happy to include workshops for either students or teachers to further the educational value of the program.
For more information as to how you or your school or business can get involved, please call Marci Bernstein at 347-678-9869 or e-mail at marci@atticsalt.org.
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