Asheville Performing Arts
Theatre, Drama and Dance of Asheville and Western North Carolina
Table of Contents
Asheville Civic Center
Visit Their Website
87 Haywood Street
Asheville, North Carolina, 28801
(828) 259-5544
Mon-Fri 10 am - 5:00 pm, Sat.10 am - 1 pm, Event Days 2 hrs. prior to event
Call or visit website for event rates.
Visit our Asheville Civic Center page for more info.
This prominent focal point of downtown Asheville is home to many cultural events including knife and gun shows, sports tournaments, major art conventions and trade shows, concerts, comedians, symphonies, ice skating, and much more. The Civic Center houses a 7,654-seat multi-purpose arena, and the beautiful Thomas Wolfe Auditorium where the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and the Asheville Bravo Concerts take place. Visit our Asheville Civic Center page for detailed information.
Asheville Symphony
The passion and skill of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra adds a bit of class and distinction to a city that accepts the honor like it accepts all of its other greatness, with open arms. Their creativity and energy have produced "impassioned and beautiful performances," and the Asheville Community is lucky enough to be the receiving symphony audience.
Visit our Asheville Symphony Orchestra page for detailed information.
Asheville Bravo Concerts
Begun in 1932 the Asheville Bravo Concerts are still committed to their original mission of, “presenting the best the world has to offer, right here in Western North Carolina!” Whether you are an operetta, orchestra, choir, ballet, or dance aficionado you will not be let down with the excellence that is consistently brought to our wonderful city by Asheville Bravo Concerts.
Visit Asheville Bravo Concerts' website.
Asheville Community Theatre (ACT)
Visit Their Website
35 East Walnut Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-1320
Box Office Open Mon-Fri 12:00 - 4:00
Adults $20-$22, Seniors $18-$20, Students $10.
The Asheville Community Theatre got its start back on June 12, 1946 with a small notice in the local paper. Today Asheville proudly calls the ACT it’s longest running community theatre group. They provide marvelous productions ranging from mystery to comedy, and everything in between. In addition to excellent performances, the ACT provides theatre classes, costume and equipment rentals, and even a Community Outreach program.
BeBe Theater & The New Studio of Dance
Visit Their Website
20 Commerce Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-2621
Call for event rates.
The BeBe Theater is a small black box theater that delights audiences with experimental and modern dance and theater. Located in downtown Asheville, this growing artistic strength was once considered a hole in the wall, and best kept Asheville secret.
Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater
The Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater was founded in 1979 and sets the precedent as Asheville’s first modern dance company. With a strong belief in the community, the ACDT has had an important role in the revitalization of downtown, but more importantly in the health of it’s community. Through creation and production, the ACDT strives to reach out to all generations and teach that all activities in life are dance or art and can be done with excellence and passion. Their repertoire is diverse, uninhibited, and “reflects both traditional and experimental forms of modern dance.” This author has been touched over the years by the strength, love, and readiness of the ACDT to push the envelope to really move their audiences.
Visit the Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater's website
Brevard Music Center
Visit Their Website
P.O. Box 312
349 Andante Lane
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 862-2105 or (888) 384-8682
Prices range from free to $30 or more, call or visit their website for event rates.
For over sixty-eight years, the Brevard Music Center (BMC) has been affording tenderfoot musicians with the opportunity to cultivate their talents. In the summer months more than 400 teenagers, "join professional musicians to eat, breathe and sleep music for seven weeks." Collaborating with faculty and guest artists, students adhere to a rigorous schedule of instruction and take part in more than eighty public performances, burgeoning their confidence along with providing the area a chance to enjoy many new talents. The Brevard Music Center distinguishes itself from other such institutions by allowing their students the chance to catch a glimpse of and take part in the world of professional music, through the combination of studying with distinguished professional musicians and an intense performance schedule.
Diana Wortham Theatre
Visit Their Website
2 South Pack Square
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
(828) 257-4530
Call or visit website for rates. Tickets can be purchased at their website.
Located in the heart of Asheville’s vivacious downtown, this venue is thrumming to the heartbeat of the city with an exceptionally “dramatic and sophisticated,” and always diverse spectrum of performing arts. The Diana Wortham Theatre hosts a myriad of acts ranging from world renowned dance troupes to locally grown theatre productions. They have a Mainstage Season that runs September through May, and all performances are enjoyed in a comfortably, intimate 500-seat theatre with exceptional acoustics and sightlines.
Asheville Lyric Opera
The Asheville Lyric Opera, through the vision of David Craig Starkey, endeavors to blend national and international operatic talent with Asheville's rich artistic base, while giving back to the community through education and community involvement. Most importantly this company strives to preserve this rare and beautiful art form.
Visit the Asheville Lyric Opera's website.
Flat Rock Playhouse
Visit Their Website
2661 Greenville Highway
Flat Rock, NC 28731
(828) 693-0731
Prices range from $12 - $32. Call of visit their website for complete pricing.
Officially designated as The State Theatre of North Carolina in 1961, the Flat Rock Playhouse made their illustrious start with a short summer session of performances and has grown into an eight month season of “Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences.” The Playhouse is dedicated to not only producing the performing arts, but also in educating future generations to carry on their legacy. They enrich the community by providing college apprentice and intern programs and year-round classes and workshops. “The Flat Rock Playhouse hosts over 80,000 patrons annually” in its quaint, yet state of the art barn-like facility. The Playhouse is located just outside of Hendersonville, 29 miles south of Asheville.
Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts
Visit Their Website
129 Roberts Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 232-2980
Visit their website for event rates, class schedules, and calendar of events.
The Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts, draws from the energy of its River District local. It is a community mover and shaker, endeavoring to foster “awareness of and respect for the relevance that the artistic traditions of diverse world cultures can have in our contemporary lives.” Inspiration, education, special events, multicultural arts extravaganzas, movement classes, studio space, and more can be found under one roof. The Center hopes that by having so many diversely ethical arts in one place that the combined energy will stimulate the community into a deep respect for folkways that are our heritage, a heritage that should be "treasured, adapted, and passed on to generations to come."
The Montford Park Players
Visit Their Website
Montford Community Complex
Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-5146
Free. Donations accepted. Visit their website for directions and performance schedule.
Birthed in 1973, and being North Carolina’s longest running Shakespeare festival is nothing to scoff at, not to mention the fact that The Montford Park Players' have been performing free of charge only accepting donations all these years. The original purpose of The Montford Park Players was to bring Shakespeare and other classic plays to the mountains of Western North Carolina, and they bring it year after year. Holding onto the deep belief that Shakespeare is a crucial part of our common heritage, the company sets out to make their plays accessible for everyone to experience, and have continued to fulfill this, "important need in the performing arts community: providing quality productions of classic drama in an authentic outdoor setting."
NC Stage Company
Visit Their Website
33 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 350-9090
Call or visit their website for schedule and event rates.
With a mission to enrich the cultural life of Western North Carolinians, the North Carolina Stage Company provides a year-round professional theatre season. They employ theater professionals in order to provide the best talent for every production. Although, they have a wide range of plays, NCSC focuses on the classics, and has an arts education program called “Stages,” not to mention for each production they sponsor a “Pay-What-You-Can” night in order to include people in every walk of Asheville life.
OxyMorons Improv Comedy Troupe
Visit Their Website
Locations Vary
Free. Donations accepted. Visit their website for performance schedule.
The mission statement of the OxyMorons Improv Troupe could mostly like be summed up into this, “we want to make you laugh.” With thousands of loyal Asheville fans, the OxyMorons have been doing just that since 2002. Improvisational humor is the name of the game and every comedy experience is sure to be a very unique one.
Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater
Visit Their Website
Owen Theatre at Mars Hill College
100 Athletic Street
Mars Hill, NC 28754
(828) 689-1239
Ticket prices range from $25-$28. Season tickets available. Call or visit their website for more info.
With particular emphasis on “works that reflect, identify, celebrate, and educate about the rich cultural heritage of the Southern Appalachian region,” the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater grants prospects for audiences and theatre professionals alike to take pleasure in and assimilate from the highest quality stage productions. In an area considered economically and culturally deprived, SART has aimed to produce quality theater productions, enriching Mars Hill, where the Theater is currently located. In 2002, SART became financially independent of Mars Hill College and today they offer Youth Theater Summer Camp and put on an annual ScriptWorks Playwrights Conference.
UNC-Asheville
Visit Their Website
1 University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804
(828)251-6600
Prices vary depending on venue. Many events are free.
Being the heart of "liberal arts" education and higher learning in Western North Carolina, it is no surprise that UNC-Asheville is also a center for the performing arts. By striving to educate students in the arts, UNC-Asheville has created several venues that can be enjoyed by all.
Carol Belk Theater
Home to the UNCA theater department, the Carol Belk Theater plays host to many wonderful productions each year. Many shows are completely produced, directed, acted, and even written by students, while others are collaborative community efforts. The theater's 200 seats create a full circle around the stage to create an intimate theater experience that allows the audience to connect with the performers in a way that is impossible in larger venues.
Visit the UNC-Asheville theater website.
The general admission rate is $10.
Concerts on the Quad
In the comfortable evening of the Asheville summer delight your ears with the music of Concerts on the Quad. Performances are family oriented, and feature local musicians ranging from Bluegrass to Classical music. Commencing at 7:00 pm, enjoy these Monday evening performances during June and early July.
Visit the Concerts on the Quad website.
Free
Lipinski Auditorium
UNC-Asheville's main assembly hall, Lipinski Auditorium, hosts many wonderful events that are open to the public. The spectrum of events appearing on the stage at Lipinski are as diverse as the students who call UNCA home. Concerts, plays, cultural performances, famous guest speakers, and comedians are just a few examples of what you can find at Lipinski.
Visit UNC-Asheville master events calendar.
Prices vary by event. Some events are free.
