Submitted

Isn’t it wonderful that Valentine’s Day comes in one of the coldest months of the year? It’s ever so much easier to “cozy up” to the one you love when it’s cold outside.

Phoenix Readers, a readers theatre group created in 2015, offers a half-hour program just right for the season. 

“Love Is In The Air” is a program of spoken love song lyrics, 30  minutes long, “family friendly” but more directed to adults, that is offered free to school groups, churches, retirement centers, organizations, libraries and festivals. To arrange for a performance, contact Shanna Glawson at Center for Faith & the Arts at 704-647-0999; or, Linda Jones at 704-212-2164.

Ten actors make up two casts of five actors each: Mark Curran, Becky Porter, Anne Wilson, Trent Wilson, Ray Davies, Buddy Farnan, Randy Overcash, Donna Prunkl, Gretchen Tracy and Linda Jones. Ray Davies conceived and directs the show.

Phoenix Readers has entertained Rowan County and surrounding communities since Jim Epperson founded it nine years ago. In addition to this holiday program, their repertoire includes programs built around specific themes, such as “Southern Folk Tales,” “Oh, The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss,”  “A Patriot’s Songbook” (patriot songs), as well as programs featuring poetry of specific poets.

The acting style of readers theater is a fusion of traditional acting and reading techniques. Scripts are read, and physical action is mostly restricted to gesture, facial expression, and limited movement. The performance is often called “theatre of the mind” for the audiences see the dramatic action in their minds. 

The name, Phoenix Readers, is borrowed from the mythological Greek bird who rose up out of the ashes, for like the phoenix, these talented and experienced actors are all seniors.