Sedona AZ (February 16, 2010) –  Yavapai College’s Osher Life Long Learning Institute (OLLI) of Sedona and the Verde Valley will present a matinee performance of “Sing Me a Morning Song, Sedona.” Written and performed by Cynthia Strom and based on the life of Sedona Schnebly, this original one-act play and music will be narrated by Curt Ireland. 

A proven audience favorite, the Strom play debuted during Sedona Arts and Heritage Days at the Sedona Heritage Museum. This show will be presented Friday, March 9, 2012 at the Yavapai College Clarkdale Campus, Building M, Room 137 in the Library Building at 2:00 PM.

Refreshments will follow the show. Tickets are $10.00 per person and net proceeds from this performance will be donated to the OLLI Scholarship Fund, a fund for members of the community to participate in OLLI.

“It’s a story the community will benefit from hearing,” enthused playwright Strom, adding that she hopes the audience will gain a renewed appreciation of the Verde as seen through early settler Sedona Schnebly’s eyes.

The play is set in the spring, summer, and autumn of 1942. As Strom ties on Schnebly’s signature white apron, lean back and get ready to listen in as Sedona shares memories with granddaughters, Patsy and Paula, of her romance with T.C. Schnebly that began in 1895, despite her father’s disapproval.

Cynthia Strom as Sedona Schnebly

Strom will portray several characters and depict Sedona both as a young girl and in her older years. Audience members will be invited to dramatize an Aesop Fable and join in singing old favorites.

The script was funded in part through a generous grant from the City of Sedona’s Arts and Culture Commission and originally sponsored by the Sedona Historical Society.

Strom holds a degree in humanities, music, and psychology from the University of Minnesota. She won the Talent Award and First Runner Up titles in the 2006 Ms. Senior Arizona Pageant. A member of the newly formed “Trio Classique” with pianist Nancy Bright and violinist Jonathan Levingston, the trio has performed at Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood accompanied by drummer Dave Renz. Strom and Bright are favorite guest performers at Assisted Living Centers throughout the Verde Valley including Austin House, Cottonwood, and Sedona Winds in the Village of Oak Creek.

When Ireland is finished narrating the “Sing Me a Morning Song, Sedona” he may be found back on the job teaching history, debate, and mock trial courses at OLLI, writing plays, and or working out at the Cottonwood Recreation Center.

OLLI of Sedona and the Verde Valley is a dynamic organization within Yavapai College created to meet the needs of intellectually active mature adults. What makes OLLI a unique learning experience is that there is no pressure of tests, grades, or papers. It is a warm gathering of people who are endlessly curious and love to learn.

For the winter 2012 term, OLLI awarded ten scholarships. According to one OLLI scholarship recipient, Frankie Bemis, the scholarship has been a positive one. “OLLI has been wonderful. Without the scholarship, I would not be able to participate. This term, I am taking Relationship Fitness and the Elder’s Wisdom Circle. Because of my age, the wonderful sense of being able to participate and learn is important to me. I will be eighty-seven years old next month. It means a lot to me to feel welcome in the community and OLLI makes me feel that way.”

Natalia Molina, Director of OLLI of Sedona and the Verde Valley, expects a full house for this delightful show and suggests early purchase of tickets at the Yavapai College-Sedona OLLI Office (928-649-4275) or the Yavapai College-Clarkdale OLLI Office (928-649-5550). All well-behaved ages are welcome.

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