As an actor and comedian, I can really appreciate all types of art. When I was select to be the MC for this event, I knew it was what I wanted. The Conway Arts Fest (http://ArtsfestConway.com) was a weeklong event from September 21st through the 29th. The Conway Artfest is put on by Conway Alliance For The Arts (CAFTA). I took the stage on the 29th for the closing day of the event at Simon Park in Conway, Arkansas and WOW was it a great time! Once I was one stage, of course I put my comedic spin on everything from introductions to just plain funny. I love what I do and having the opportunity to do It with other artists made it all the better.
You can find this article and more on my website at http://MichaelDocDavis.com.
There were dancers, bands, poetry, puppets shows, a chili cook off, comedy, Shakespeare (Modern Style), vendor booth competition, face painting, and more. The age ranges were from kids to adults. The dance portion included students from the Blackbird Academy, a UCA dance team, Bridgette Rogers (Hendrix College’s director of Hendrix Dance Ensemble and Associate Professor of Dance, Soul Speak, Hendrix College’s Black Culture Dance Team, and Cloggers from LTD Express. The music portion included Extol, Pandemonium (a group from the Conway Institute of Music), and Music by Jessica Garrett. There was also a short monologue comedy performance and additional music by other members from the Blackbird Academy. The Shakespeare performance was by performed by the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater Group. The puppet shows were interactive with the kids and performed by kids and it was GREAT!
During the Shakespeare performance, we had a little interesting situation happen with an audience member getting on stage a little upset about the Nerf sword fight going on and I put on my security hat and off the stage they went. By the way, the lady claimed that she was Shakespeare. It almost seemed as if it was part of the act… the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater Group did an amazing job continuing on with the show.
King Pig (My new partner that was given to me by the American Cancer Society) was on the dashboard of my 4Runner watching the whole thing. I’m glad he wasn’t part of the show because he would have hogged the stage.
The entire show was a great success and I was booked in advance for 2013. How awesome is that. I look forward to working with Conway Artsfest again. Oh yeah, the 1st place winner of the vendor booth competition was Judd Mann for $300!!! How awesome is that?!? The booths were by Laurie Ament, Judd Mann, Katie Keck Wilson, Gina Gode, Sheila Parsons, Kathleen Ference, Shelby Matusak, Lisa Ference, Lynn Mortimore, Erin Baier, Lauren Russell, and Chris Massengill.
A big thanks to Apryl for a job coordinating and making my job easy and also a BIG thank you to Lisa and Jim for making me part of the show. A final thanks to Lance and Justin from Hendrix College for making the sound system and setups perfect!
I’ll see you all next year and keep on the lookout for more details on the 2013 Conway Artsfest at http://ArtsfestConway.com.
Michael “Doc” Davis | Actor / Comedian| http://MichaelDocDavis.com