Carpetbag Theatre moves shows to Knoxville Botanical Gardens

The Carpetbag Theatre presents a series of outdoor performances at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum during August. Four performances, made up of touring works, local artists and works by Carpetbag, are planned at the 2743 Wimpole Ave. garden.

Founded in 1969, Carpetbag Theatre is a professional and multi-generational ensemble company. Its mission is to give an artistic voice to people silenced by racism, classism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and other oppression.

All shows in the "Home Grown at the Garden Series" begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are at www.knoxtix.com. A series pass is $50. Individual performances are $15 general admission, $10 students per show except for the Loup Garau performance. Tickets to that Aug. 26 performance are $20 general admission and $15 for students.

The schedule for "Home Grown at the Garden" is:

n "Swopera," Aug. 12 and 15. "Swopera" is a Carpetbag Theatre presentation. The spoken-word opera incoporates musical styles and times from bebop to hip-hop.

n "Between A Ballad and A Blues," Aug. 19 and 20. Another Carpetbag presentation, this play tells the story of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong and musical partners Carl Martin and Ted Bogan. The play spans Howard's seven-decade musical career and tells how the musicians' works were predecessors of other American forms of music including country and blues.

n Loup Garou, Aug. 26. Garou incorporates poetry and Cajun into an often physical performance that focuses on the connections between southeast Louisiana's land and its culture.

n Kelle Jolly and The Will Boyd Project. Aug. 29. Jolly and Boyd are known for their jazz music and songwriting.

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