ANNOUNCING
Fall Classes and Auditions for our World Premiere Musical!
Flat Rock, NC (August 2, 2023)
Playhouse Jr. Fall 2023 Classes are on sale now! Our after school classes for K-12
students help prepare the next generation of artists for success on and off the stage.
This fall, for the first time ever, each enrollee will receive a free ticket to Flat Rock
Playhouse's all-new family musical SLOWPOKE! The True Story Of A Tortoise & Hare!
premiering this November!
ALSO, back by popular demand, this semester we will be offering an adult scene study
course!
See more details and a full list of available courses at:
https://www.flatrockplayhouse.org/classes-camps
The number of course slots is more limited than usual this year, so be sure to check out
your options and reserve your slots ASAP!
Questions? Please email
Want to register over the phone? No problem! You can call our Education Director,
Lauren Hopkins at (828)693-0403 ext. 246
Upcoming Audition Workshop & Auditions
Playhouse Jr. is excited to announce auditions for our WORLD PREMIERE musical,
SLOWPOKE! The True Story Of A Tortoise & Hare!
An audition workshop for this all new musical will take place on Saturday August 19
from 9am-12pm. This one time only class session teaches the ins-and-outs of the
audition process to musical theatre hopefuls, and is a vital resource for understanding
what to expect from a professional theatre audition. Meet the writer, director,
choreographer, and more!
For more information about the audition workshop and auditions visit:
https://www.flatrockplayhouse.org/playhousejr-auditions
A little history about Flat Rock Playhouse
In 1937, a group of struggling performers, led by Robroy Farquhar, organized
themselves as the Vagabond Players. The Vagabonds worked in a variety of places
over the course of three years, and in 1940 found themselves in the Blue Ridge region
of Western North Carolina. The local and tourist community welcomed them with open
arms when they presented their first summer season of plays in a 150-year-old grist mill
they converted into The Old Mill Playhouse at Highland Lake. So successful that
summer, they returned in 1941. After WWII, the Vagabond Players reorganized, came
back to the region and opened a playhouse in nearby Lake Summit. The Lake Summit
Playhouse thrived during the post-war years and soon the Vagabond Players were
looking for a larger and permanent home. In 1952, the troupe of performers, and a
newly formed board of directors made an offer to buy an 8-acre lot in the Village of Flat
Rock. This new home made the Vagabonds “locals” and a rented big top gave birth to
Flat Rock Playhouse. As the beautiful Western Carolina region continued to grow, so
did the Playhouse and in 1961, by Act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Flat
Rock Playhouse was officially designated The State Theatre of North Carolina. What
began as a few weeks of summer performances in 1940 is now a nine-month season of
plays including Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences.
The Playhouse’s dual mission of producing the performing arts and providing education
in the performing arts includes a professional series; a summer and fall college
apprentice and intern program; and Playhouse, Jr., year-round classes and workshops
in theatre and film for students from kindergarten through adults. Flat Rock Playhouse
now hosts over 98,000 patrons annually and is a significant contributor to the local
economy and the Arts in North Carolina.
