Oceanside Theatre Company Opens Season with Family Centered Production, Foxfire, October 11 at the Brooks Theater

​(Oceanside, CA) September 27, 2019— Oceanside Theatre Company (OTC), the resident professional theatre company at the Historic Brooks, will open its season with an enriching production centered on family and its perseverance through adversity. After engaging audiences at Scripps Ranch Theatre last month, Foxfire, by Hume Croyn and Susan Cooper, moves up to OTC to share the power of family and history with the community at the Brooks Theater from October 11-27— each Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available for $15 - $29 online or by calling the box office at 760-433-8900. Season tickets are now available. ​

​Foxfire takes place on a small farm in Southern Appalachia threatened by hard times and creeping real estate development. But it is really about the strength of family, the burnished love of a long marriage, and the values that have sustained this nation. It is laced with knee-slapping, soul-stirring music by Jonathan Brielle, with live stage performances by a 4-piece bluegrass band. The co-production of Oceanside Theatre Company and Scripps Ranch Theatre is directed by OTC’s artistic director, Ted Leib.

"...What really makes the well-designed production sing is the performances — honest, focused, and by no means overdoing or ridiculing these resilient, self-reliant folks." said theater critic, Pat Launer.

Croyn and Cooper’s production is a well-told story of an estranged family struggling to regain a sense of togetherness through the exploration of their past. Annie and husband Hector cling to their simpler, rural life in the Appalachians of Georgia, while their two children, Holly and Dillard, leave home and the harshness of farming life. Years after leaving, the children return only to discover their loss of identity through the disconnection from their family and its traditions. The use of flashbacks creates a relatable and funny story of a family's journey of rediscovery through an exploration of their past.

The Appalachian lore woven into the play comes from the famous Foxfire books, the outgrowth of a north Georgia high school project in the ‘60s that helped keep Appalachia culture and tradition alive through oral history. The use of Appalachian lore and culture in Foxfire significantly explores the importance of one’s identity through the examination of one’s heritage.

To compliment the play, The Brooks Gallery will feature Heritage, an art exhibit that plays off of the Foxfire stage production theme. Sargent Art Group’s Heritage displays art to explore, enrich, and excite OTC’s production. The exhibit is focused on preserving and celebrating one’s cultural heritage through various artists’ works highlighting the theme of OTC’s production of Foxfire.

The Brooks Theater Gallery offers a unique collaboration of visual art for the playgoer and live theater performance for the art lover. The exhibition opens October 4 during Oceaside’s First Friday Art Walk from 5pm - 9pm, and is open the days of performance.

WHEN/WHERE:

• October 11-27
  • Fridays, Saturdays
  • @ 7:30pm Sundays
  • @ 2pm
• The Brooks Theater
  • 217 N. Coast Hwy Oceanside, CA 92054

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About Oceanside Theatre Company:

Oceanside Theatre Company is the professional production company in residence at the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside, California. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, OTC’s vision is to be a beacon for arts education, culture, and the performing arts in North San Diego County. OTC produces a four-show mainstage theatre season in the 198-seat venue, as well as a music series featuring jazz, classical, blues, country, and American roots music, and ongoing play readings in the adjacent black box theater, Studio 219. As part of a Youth Outreach program OTC runs a four-week Youth Academy during the summer and brings theatre to Oceanside middle schools during the school year. To learn more visit www.oceansidetheatre.org.

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For interviews and press credentials/tickets: 214-289-3563, leanngarms@gmail.com
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