LAST CHANCE: ‘Christmas Cabin of Carnaween’ at ArtSpace — Special 4 p.m. Sunday Showing

Creative Cauldron has added another showing of “The Christmas Cabin of Carnaween” for Sunday afternoon, December 20, at 4 p.m. at ArtSpace Falls Church. Both shows were canceled yesterday due to the weather, so this is the last chance to see this little gem of a play.

“Christmas Cabin” is presented by Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theater, an ensemble of professional actors and musicians who work alongside community and student performers.

Tickets are $10.

Adapted from a classic Irish folktale, “The Christmas Cabin of Carnaween” is set in the days of the great famine. The story follows the journey of Oona Hegarty, a tinker’s child who spends her days caring for the young, the sick and the elderly in other people’s homes, but dreams of one day having a cabin of her own.  Her wish would go unfulfilled were it not for the intervention of the fairy people who come to her aid one snowy Christmas eve. This beautiful and poignant story celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, reminding that if we hold fast to our dreams in times of hardship and need, we too will experience the magic of this holiday season.

Lauren Williams will play the role of Oona Hegarty. Williams is a gifted musical theater actress who holds a B.A. in Music from Catholic University.  She has been performing professionally since she was a young child and has appeared locally in leading roles at the Studio Theater, Signature Theater, The Rep Stage, The Kennedy Center’s Theater for Young People and with the Maryland Arts Festival. She was nominated for a 2008 Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Resident Musical” for her role as Little Red in Into The Woods at Signature.  In addition to her work at Creative Cauldron, she teaches early music at Friendship Heights Pre-school and an outreach program at Martha’s Table.

Professional storyteller, educator and actress Penelope Fleming will narrate the story with live music and underscoring by the Irish band “Tir Na Nog.”  Fleming has toured the U.S. with four different acting companies and taught both music and drama to children, ages three to eighteen.  She is a member of the “Voices of in the Glen” professional storytellers organization and has performed her unique telling of folktales and myths at storytelling festivals and community events across the greater D.C. metropolitan area.  “Tir na nog” (the Land of Eternal Youth otherworld in Irish mythology) is the musical duo of Rosemary Gano and Keith Carr, who play Irish music in the “pure drop” manner, playing and singing in the style heard in pub sessions and at traditional dances and events.  They are both classically trained musicians who were drawn to Irish music, honing their skills on traditional instruments through study with Irish musical masters.  They perform regularly at O’Sullivans Irish Pub and at various community venues throughout the Washington DC metropolitan region.

In addition to the professional actors and musicians, the performing ensemble will feature children, teens and adults who are regular participants in Creative Cauldron’s learning in the arts programs.  Margie Jervis is the scenic designer and Paul Spiegelblatt the Lighting Designer.

This tribute production will honor the life and work of Cay Wiant, a writer and long time educator and community activist in the City of Falls Church. Wiant, an Agnes Meyer award-winning educator and Creative Cauldron teaching artist, passed away last year. Her life was enriched by a reverence for all things magical. Creative Cauldron Producing Director Laura Hull noted, “Cay wrote enthusiastically of the fairy world. As with other elements of the fantastical realm, fairies represented to Cay the joy to be found in wonderment and the power of belief. We are thrilled to have her spirit guiding us as we bring this enchanting Irish fairy tale to the stage.”

Creative Cauldron is a not-for-profit arts organization operating in Northern Virginia since 2002 that provides opportunities for learning and participation in the performing and visual arts for children and adults.  In June of 2009, Creative Cauldron opened the doors of its new home in the ArtSpace Falls Church, a 3,000 square foot flexible arts facility located in the City of Falls Church.  Classes, workshops and performances in all disciplines are offered year round at the site. A visual art gallery is also featured with exhibits curated and managed by Falls Church Arts. Creative Cauldron’s programs are funded in part through grants from the Arts Council of Fairfax County and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about Creative Cauldron programs log on to: http://www.creativecauldron.org

ArtSpace Falls Church is located at 410 South Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square Building.  Free Parking is available in the garages at both the 400 and 410 S. Maple Buildings.