Acts of Renewal Theatre Company- Back by Request- Christmas Show at BMCA

The national touring theatre company Acts of Renewal presents a refreshing yuletide show called "Rediscovering Christmas" at The Black Mountain Center for the Arts, located in the old City Hall at 225 W. State Street, on Friday and Saturday December 19-20 at 7:30pm.  Tickets, which are $10, go on sale December 1, and reservations are recommended.  Acts of Renewal principles Jim and Carol Anderson Shores engage the audience with a series of vignettes that invite young and old to step anew into the wonder, the hilarity, the joy of the season.

According to BMCA Executive Director Gale Jackson, “We presented “Rediscovering Christmas” for one evening only last year – just two days before Christmas Eve, and we were apprehensive of how many people would attend so close to the holiday.  We sold out, added seats, and still had people begging to get in. This production was so successful we decided to schedule Jim and Carol again and add a second night for this season. Make your reservations early – this is not one to miss.  Hopefully it will become an annual holiday tradition for our community.”

“Rediscovering Christmas” is comprised of a series of original vignettes that range from the comedic tale of two blue collar shepherds who are in the right place at the right time on Christmas eve, to a piece about dealing with in-laws at Christmas, to a scene with an irrepressible Jamaican Wiseman who retells the Christmas story like you've never heard it before.  Due to enthusiastic response to their new piece called “Minnesota Ice Fishing,” they will debut another new sketch for this year’s production as well.  Their theatre pieces bring a fresh, moving perspective to the events of the Christmas story and our response to those events.

Carol Anderson -Shores says, "We've performed this show throughout the country, sometimes being asked to return a second and third time because of how audiences respond. There's always a lot of laughter and, by the end, a sense of connection and celebration that I think people long to find during this season.”  Carol’s version of “Mary and the Annunciation” is a powerful, yet poignant transformation of a young, unmarried woman as she prepares for motherhood.

Professional actors Jim and Carol Anderson Shores are Black Mountain residents.  Their material has been aired on PBS and other national TV and radio shows, and their reputation for excellence in live theatre has been long-standing.   Shores and Anderson met while working at the A.D. Players Christian theatre company in Houston. After dating 4 years, they married in 1992.  Carol received an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Jim has a B.A. in Theatre, an M.A. in Environmental Engineering, both from UNC-CH, and a newly awarded PhD in Communications from Regent University.  After graduate school they began touring, performing at conferences, colleges, and church events.  After settling in the western NC mountains, where both have been on the faculty at Montreat College, they juggle their time raising their two sons, Zachary and Alexander, with touring across the country and teaching and performing locally.