UNC-TV ONLINE: Our State: Episode 301

Photo: lighthouse,lanscape and horses at the beach

Episode 301: Play Promo Video: Low Speed High Speed
Flat Rock Playhouse - Tar Heel Towns: Davidson - The Can Joe Man - Featured Video Clip - If You Want to Go

UNC-TV’s showcase high-definition series Our State kicks off its third season with a backstage look at the renowned Flat Rock Playhouse, a tour of Tar Heel Towns: Davidson with D.G. Martin, a visit with The Can Joe Man, Herschel Brown, and reflections from a renowned photographer of our state’s beauty on Shutterbugs: Denise Clay.

Flat Rock Playhouse

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Roots of the Flat Rock Playhouse date back to 1937 when a group of performers organized themselves into the Vagabond Players. After finding the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1940, by 1952 the vagabonds, and a newly formed board of directors, bought an eight-acre lot in the Village of Flat Rock. This new space and a retired circus tent evolved into the Flat Rock Playhouse. The North Carolina General Assembly recognized its success and officially designated it as the State Theater of North Carolina in 1961. Today its dual mission combines a 10-show professional series with an apprentice and intern program. Tune in to see how the theater does the seemingly impossible: wrapping one show on a Sunday night and premiering a new one the following Wednesday.

Tar Heel Towns: Davidson

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This exciting show also features Tar Heel Towns: Davidson. Join D.G. Martin sharing highlights of his hometown of Davidson and a return to his alma mater, Davidson College. This historic college claims President Woodrow Wilson and former Secretary of State Dean Rusk among its alumni. It was also one of the few Southern academic institutions to remain open during the Civil War. Martin will guide you down Main Street for a visit to two long-standing fixtures of the Davidson community: The Soda Shop and Raeford’s Barbershop.

The Can Joe Man

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Meet Herschel Brown, known far and wide as The Can Joe Man. Brown believes music should be a part of everyone’s life and he’s created a simple instrument to help that happen. From his love of mountain music, Brown learned to craft dulcimers, eventually giving way to the creation of the one-stringed ‘can joe.’ His simple instrument has put music in all sorts of places—from hospitals to a public school music program. Watch one can joe make its way from Brown’s wood shop to a local school where students present a can joe concert.