Join us for an evening art, stories, and performance — with this month’s AVL Revue celebrating the theme "Back to School" shining the spotlight on creative, unconventional institutions right here in our own backyard.
We invite the group, and they invite the participating artist!
ARTIST LINE-UP
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Launched in 2016 , the Asheville School of Improv grew out of the former Asheville acting conservatory, NYS3, which gave birth to other local academies. The Asheville School of Improv is now based out of 35below, the black-box space back behind Asheville Community and offers an assortment of performance arts classes, all taught by instructor extraordinaire, Tom Chalmers. They offer three levels of classes in improvisation: "Intro to" or "Basic Improv", "Advanced Improv" or "Beyond Basic," and "The Performance Lab," for those interested in forming troupes and performing for live audiences. There is also the occasional specialty class like Physical Comedy: Being Funny In and With Your Body.
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Presenting Physical Comedy by Steve Ramierz, Nora Tramm, and Tristan Walker
Stevie Ramirez is a comedic chameleon with a background in improv, stand-up, musical theatre, and clowning. Their dynamic performances blend humor and heart, leaving audiences with a refreshing appreciation for joy, connection, and laughter.
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Asheville's only physicist-turned-improv-star, Nora Tramm was a founding member of the popular short-form improv group Skipping to the Good Parts, and these days they can be seen performing around town (and beyond) with troupes including Saturday Manitee and Family Dinner. Their writing appeared in the Appa-Laffin Mountain Revue and was featured in the sketch comedy show Sketches or It Didn't Happen at the Magnetic Theatre. They also have some cats; if you would like to hear more about that just ask.
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Tristan Walker is a wise-crackin', toe-tappin' comedic performer and writer. He has badly-exceeded the punch-card limitations of performing in several of the Asheville Community Theater advanced improv and physical comedy classes offered with Tom Chalmers. He has also hopped the fence into the neighbor's yard: standup comedy, and has performed live for causes such as Twelve Baskets, in Asheville. -
Asheville Music School believes in the inherent power of music to transform lives and believes that connecting individuals from diverse age groups and socio-economic backgrounds through the universal language of music heals, builds, and strengthens community. AMS serves a constituency of nearly 500 members, providing affordable and accessible music lessons, group classes, scholarships, workshops, tutoring, mentoring, coaching and outreach music performances to youth, families, seniors and people with disabilities in need of financial and social assistance.
Presenting Music by Mar Perez-Albela and Andy John
Mar (he/him) originally from Lima, Peru, is a non-binary/trans, bilingual, international singer/songwriter/producer/teacher with more than 15 years in the music industry. His background and teaching experience include a wide range of Music Performance, Production, Music Instruction, and Music Therapy with ASD and developmental delays. Mar has a master’s degree in Music Therapy from Florida State University, a bachelor’s degree in Music (vocal concentration) from Mars Hill University in North Carolina, and he is a Board Certified Music Therapist (CBMT). Mar created Music Bit Therapy – in Miami, FL where he resided until September 2018.
In the Fall of 2018, Mar relocated back to the mountains of Western North Carolina with more than 15 years of experience teaching music to children and adults through individual and customized lessons; incorporating very unique music education techniques derived from his Music Therapy expertise and combined with his craft as a performing artist.
Mar’s website: www.marmusicofficial.com
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Andy John has had a wide and varied musical career playing many instruments and many styles. His musical debut occurred in first grade when he learned how to play “Sailor’s Song” on the autoharp with his father. He also taught Andy to play the recorder, often playing duets or trios with his sister, which he still does to this day. In fourth grade he began taking piano lessons and in fifth grade played clarinet in the school band. In seventh grade he learned to play bassoon and played in the orchestra. He also started taking guitar lessons. He was also in the marching band and joined the stage band. After high school he decided on music as a career and studied jazz guitar with Mark Boling and received a BA in 1994 in Studio Music and Jazz. He also studied with famed educator Jerry Coker, Donald Brown, and classical guitar with Lily Afshar.He has been teaching and performing constantly ever since, playing a variety of instruments in a variety of settings. He has toured and recorded two CDs with his jazz trio Klarcnova, which has been together since 1998. He recorded a CD and toured with Ruby Slippers. He has toured Canada and recorded two CDs with The Lithuanian Empire. He recently finished recording the second album with Bandana Klezmer and plays bass in his rock and roll band, Carolina Rex. Check out his website and blog at www.anjomusic.com.
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The Enneagram School of Awakening was founded by Dr. Lissa Friedman, a psychotherapist and artist who studied the Enneagram in the 1990s with Oscar Ichazo's Arica Mystery School. One of the original teachers from Ichazo's tradition, Lissa began hosting workshops in the early 2000s. Through her teaching and her practice, she discovered that there was an energetic and experiential way to make contact with each Enneatype, in both its fixated and more expansive state. This became the Embodiment Tradition, which the school and all its offerings are grounded in. The Enneagram School of Awakening is dedicated to using the Enneagram as a tool for the awakening of all beings to the wisdom and embodiment of our true nature, honoring each student wherever they are on the journey from fixation to freedom. The school offers International Enneagram Association-certified trainings, individual consulting, and workshops on topics including Instinctual Stackings, the Enneagram and Creative Writing, and the Enneagram and Yoga.
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Featuring a reading by Hannah and Paul Forrest
Elsie Gordon’s writings are co-authored by Paul and Hannah Forrest, a husband and wife creative team. They live with their old cat, two kids, a ton of plants, and two minnows and they share a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, board games, hiking, gardening, and gourmet food. They met at a bar called the Graveyard and never stopped wanting to be together.
The Magic Carpet stories’ world building was initially just in conversation; for the fun of it and to entertain their young family. The Gaiaflow project began during the lockdowns of early covid as they dreamed of what it would take to build a utopian society for future generatons of Forrests.
Game design has always been an interest of Paul’s, and a highlight of his teaching career was teaching game design electives. With their combined passion of having fun, the whole family is involved in play testing and putting together the pieces of a new board or card game.
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The Inward & Artward School of Creative Facilitation partners with Story Parlor to offer a rotating series of classes, workshops, and trainings that straddle the intersection of creativity and our personal stories.
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Presenting stories from Tikva Kingrea and Talya Reynolds
Tikva Kingrea is interested in long bike rides, bags full of grapefruit, and the irreverence of giggling. She finds creativity to be essential to living a juiced up life and agrees with Picasso when he said, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." She is in creative recovery, like too many of us, and loves the feeling of breaking loose of convention.
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Talya Reynolds is a dedicated advocate for self-love and personal transformation who firmly believes personal self-development is vital for the betterment of the world. With extensive training in conflict resolution, coaching, and heart-centered living, she empowers individuals and businesses to approach challenges with empathy and understanding. As a certified Heart Centered Facilitator, she fosters personal growth and improves relationships. Currently, Talya is authoring a book of personal narratives aimed at awakening self-love as a catalyst for positive global change.
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The Department of English Studies prepares skilled professionals who are ready for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. In today’s job market, those who get ahead have mastered critical thinking and clear communication. They have creativity, passion, vision—all skills that can be used in many settings.
Presenting a reading by Avery Luft
Avery Luft is a sophomore at WCU. She is an English major with two minors in Sociology and Leadership. Her hobbies include ceramics, making jewelry, color guard, and of course, writing. She loves to spend her days swimming, working on her small business slicesofsanity, or writing short stories that she hopes to someday combine into a book!