ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
It's a performance center. It's also a shop for new and used books, new and used CDs and cassettes (not to mention LP records), comic books and role-playing games, jewelry, arts and crafts and much more.
It's the Alley Cat Books and Gifts shop, on the second floor at 59 W. Main St. above the Colony of Virginia store in downtown Pulaski. The owner is Cat White, a graduate of the late lamented Appalkids (American People Presenting Appalachian Life through Kids in Dramatic Skits) performance group at Pulaski County High School and a performer himself for the past six years.
Averaging 55 shows a year since 1993, White uses family tales, mountain ballads and other devices to take audiences on a tour of 1920s Appalachia. He has appeared on ABC-TV's "America's Funniest People" and won the International Thespian Society's Award for Achievement after studying theater at Radford University.
Now he is bringing his talents and those of others to downtown Pulaski, devoting part of his shop to a performance lounge that he calls Cat's Cradle. He plans poetry, music and storytelling sessions for it, as well as a chess tournament July 25.
A bluegrass jam session will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, with "open mike" presentations on Wednesdays like those of the '60s coffee houses. "Bring in your guitar, bring in a poem ... whatever you feel like doing," White said. "The only thing we ask is be respectful of other people's viewpoints."
Receptions for various artists will be held on some Fridays. White will even provide chips, coffee and soft drink refreshments "and for special things I'll even have lasagna," he said.
He has already had one story-telling concert, with him and Pulaski County children's book author Sherry Vaughn as participants.
"People complain in Pulaski there's nothing to do," he said. "They're not going to be able to say that anymore."
Alley Cat soon will be Pulaski's only used-books store. Its two existing ones, Mountain Peddler located just below White's new shop on Main Street, and Walker Creek Press Used Books at 226 N. Jefferson Ave., are closing.
Arts and crafts in his shop include dream-catcher art by J.A. Asbury of Pulaski, fiber art and weaving by Joanna Sunshine of Blacksburg, and wearable art by Kanta, a textile artist who lives in Pilot. "We're trying to weave the fine arts and the performing arts together a little bit," he said.
The shop also is home to Pulaski County's only role-playing guild, and offers discounts on role-playing items. With such a variety of items and programs, he said, "hopefully, each person who comes up these steps, I can relate to in some way."
As a professional story-teller, he has long been collecting literature on the subject and has a bookcase of that for sale. "I have the largest collection of story-telling books in the New River Valley," White said. He has some antique books as well, the oldest dating back to 1881.
For those who are reluctant to attend the dance sessions because of lack of talent, White gives flatfoot lessons. He also gives guitar lessons to 10 students a week, he said.
"I was always a ham on stage," the former member of the Pulaski County High School Players admitted. He left Radford University, where he was majoring in theater and social science, to become a full-time performer.
"You can't be afraid of all the risks," he said. "You can't stand on the dock and look at the water, you have to jump in."
Always busy, White also is working on a book and planning additional recordings of his work. "I've got a lot of nervous energy," he said. "I just have to channel it."
Further information on programs is available by calling 980-CATS.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL DELLINGER/Staff. Cat White plans poetry, music andby CNBstorytelling sessions for the performance lounge portion of his
shop.