Tag: maine community theatre productions

Portland Stage, Finding Common Connections Within The Community.

Back in an earlier life as a Bangor Maine broadcast news director, I interviewed Eaton Tarbell, a patron of the performing arts.

New At Acting Old. The Potter In This Play Is A Lady Playing The Business Angles Expertly.

He designed lots of buildings around the state. Tarbell was a regular on the airwaves for colorful sound bites. On the show often to check in and update the listening audience with the latest happenings behind the curtain at Lakewood Theatre , Maine’s oldest summer theatre in America. Lakewood Theatre raises the curtain on first rate performances of comedies, dramas, musicals, and children’s shows. The productions at Lakewood run on stage from late-May through mid-September. This year marked the 117th season for Lakewood. Where is Lakewood Theatre? Find the productions, a restaurant to at 76 Theatre Road, Madison, ME 04950 • (207) 474-7176.

Maine, A Fun Place Inside And Out. Drive The Back Roads Outside And Discover Much About Maine, Yourself. Hit A Play Production Inside.

This past weekend, I was fortunate to take in a live show at the Portland Stage.

The live radio broadcast simulated for the holiday play production Of “It’s A Wonderful Life”. In the handout Anita Stewart, the Portland Stage Executive and Artistic Director spells it out simply. The mission to discover the character who you think you know from your introduction during the first scene. But as the play progresses the unexpected side of the character appears. The unexpected happens. It points the process we all do in quick scans, sudden judgements as we filter all we think we need to know to sum it up nice and neatly.

The connective play thread this season at the Portland Stage according to Stewart is to open up the possibility that there is a different way of approaching one another. The play characters help us understand the World is full of complex people if we just open up to take the time to go beyond that initial layer when we size them up maybe just a little too pat. And if you see yourself in the characters, maybe it will help accepting others in the community. Small towns, the handful of cities in Maine and our families, in our lives that are comprised of folks just like you and me. And many others that are not carbon copies. So we learn to embrace those differences that help us grow and learn that benefits us all.

Learning Over The Play Scenes, That It Is A Wonderful Life George Bailey. An Angel Is Finally Going To Get His Wings.

If you can rip yourself away from the holiday carol singing, the mad dash to present shopping ’til you drop.

Take the time to squeeze in a play performance at the Portland Stage for “It’s A Wonderful Life; A Live Radio Play.” An adaptation by Joe Landry to help you celebrate the Holiday Season with a beloved classic. The show bill teaser promises “This heartwarming story of renewal is retold as a 1940’s radio broadcast. Complete with sound effects performed live on stage. With the help of an ensemble and angle called Clarence who has been waiting around 200 years to get a set of wings. George Bailey discovers the million ways we are tied to those around us.”

The play runs from November 24 through December 24, 2017. There’s even a Christmas carol or two that the audience gets invited to sing. To warm up the audience because they are part of the radio theatre broadcast. You feel part of the production because the audience is relied on to put their hands together when the applause light shines.

Looking Into Their Lives Played Live Before You At The Portland Stage Play House In Maine’s Largest City.

When the hand held signs instruct to “hiss” or “ahhh” or a variety of other commands right on cue. To help the at home audience fill in what they can not witness first hand watching the stage production. That radio land audience that only has their ears to guide the vivid imagination parked behind their unused eyes.

Amidst AM static with the reception degree of crackling tied to the weather, the type and height of antennae. Or the distance away from the transmitted filled with tubes and causing cancer to the majority of first class engineers keeping the signal pumping, the radio station on air.

The audience of thousands tuned into the broadcast signal beamed into each and every living rooms. Where families crowd around the wooden early radio cabinet using the all there was medium for family entertainment. The same device connecting them to the outside World. Used to collect most of their important news from stock market crashes to Pearl Harbor Sunday morning bombings. To follow the radio serial shows, the baseball games and to catch musical performances. Along with the nightly news, crop reports, local weather forecasts and political race results.

The Theatre Production “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”. The Portland Stage Curtain Raises.

The play production intermission means tasty cookies, fresh moist cakes and other delicacies with a variety of refreshments all calling you in unison from your theatre rows and rows of seats. As the house lights come on you rise to saunter to the lobby. To stretch your legs between play production scenes for a little snack.

The chatter is loud after being silent so long. Knowing whispering is really talking. While all attention is eyes forward to follow the unfolding story line. Watching the play line by recited line develop the characters carefully from out in the audience.

Talking between scenes now about the play characters, comparing notes on how the performance is hitting each of those sitting around you. Studying the large black and whites on the wall. Peeking at upcoming play productions and cursing yourselves for past ones missed and still talked about because they were that

Making A Point, To Help The Plot, Develop The Play. Taking Turns Reciting Lines. It’s Show Time For The Portland Stage’s “It’s A Wonderful Life”.

good. Milling around and exposed to new people you get to know that love the same performing arts. Performed under hot spot lights,bathing your favorite characters in colorful pools, inside the shadows of the gels. The audience that follows the actors, the series of season play productions through out the year once the bug bites you. To challenge, inspire, to reflect. That is what the Portland Stage acting troupe strives to do and puts the mission in writing so they never forget either.

Have you been in community theatre as a character, playing in a cast? Do you make it a habit to attend plays, to follow the productions of a acting group? Break a leg. Maine has lots of folks dedicated to small town community theatre. This blogging channel on Maine has featured community theatre before and will again. The play production live audience makes the stage characters soar, stay flat or flop badly. That audience is the reflections, is the indicator of just how are we doing behind the footlights. Maine, so many sides to this jewel. Her facets are many and life is so short.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton Maine 04730 USA

December 10, 2017
Community Theatre In Maine, Home Grown Small Town Entertainment.

The end of the month a small Northern Maine community theatre group I am part of travels to see another Penobscot Theatre stage presentation.

Visit the Penobscot Theatre website and learn more about their mission statement.

“To produce high-quality, professional works of theatre that inspire the imagination and cultivate a lifelong passion for the art form.”
Everything Changes In A Blink Of The Eye. Like The Seasons. The Two Masks At Theatre Productions. Small Maine Towns Pull Together To Get Through The Good, Sad Times.

Community theatre in Maine is alive and well.

There is nothing like seeing familiar faces you know in the audience, on stage. The set staging, lighting, sound and costume crew revealed from behind the velvet curtain.

Holding hands, coming out for bows and curtain calls at the finish of a theatre production in Maine. All that hard work spotlighted, choreographed, presented on the big open stage down front. Sample a simple Maine community play production.

More at what is going on at this link. The appreciation for fine arts, the side trips to larger theatre venues with package city weekend trips to take in a couple plays enriches life. Helps pass the time during a Maine winter too.

Here is a calendar of theatre in Maine events. Learn more about Maine Community Theatre.

In high school was lucky to be part of a one act play competition where we ended up winning the Maine top spot, going on to Rhode Island. For New England competition at the University of Rhode Island in Cranston.

Host homes took in the players and another school from Leominster Massachusetts performed the same play, Interview. But from a completely different approach which is the fun of play production competitions. The interpretation not similar at all but refreshing and memorable to enrich the experience for performers and audience alike.
Maine, A Fun Place Inside And Out.

Our play director, Virginia Osgood from Easton Maine was outstanding.

Small in stature, fiery, dogged. She poured so much passion into our preparation, practices. Had a day job of teaching high school English.

In community theatre practices I attend for a play centered around life in the nursing home, a great escape, it is fun to see it all come together. Lines learned, props collected. Then the character flushed out, developed in the delivery of the script.

As meat is added to the skeleton of the black and white type.

All up to, limited only by the imagination of each of the actors, actresses.

Combined with what actions on set are performed during speaking parts. The times when reacting to others on stage is part of the performance too. When you are in a developing character fed by the audience’s reaction good or bad.

Do they have community theatre where you live?

Have you participated in a play production before and why not now in your life? Children’s theatre in Maine is active and available too.

Get involved, out in the audience to take in a play production in Maine. Or to work to create one. Maybe even get a degree in theatre, play production in Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

March 15, 2015
About The Middle Of January, Play Practice Starts In Smyrna Maine.

Nothing Entertains Like Community Theatre, Local Plays. Especially With Local Talent.

Play practice, theatre production in the twin Maine towns of Smyrna and Merrill begins mid January.

And by April the Maine play spring production bugs have been worked out. The many practices, read through over and over of stage lines. Cast selection, discussion of needed props, what period costumes all held after work every Friday night. Leading up to the house lights dimming, the curtain being raised. And on with the show. Break a leg.

It’s lots of work, plenty of fun and what a feeling of accomplishment. When after the laughs, tears and in between, the parts are played out. The audience responds at the curtain fall of a small local Maine community theater. And you get a standing room only, everyone on their feet curtain call applause. From all sixty five local theatre play patrons. Clapping, wolf whistling, shouting out words of approval. Giving back their sincere appreciation to another troupe performance in the former Methodist Church property bought for $15,000 by the Smyrna Merrill Historical Society.

The live, show must go on with the Maine local theatre audience connecting with the players.

Making them work harder. Everything all tied, based on the reaction the cast receives. Hears, sees and just senses up on stage. Under the bright lights. Wearing all the make up and while acting, each playing their assigned part to the hilt, maximum in the current play. Creating comedy, performing a musical, drama… the good kind.

The Southern Aroostook County drama, usually a comedy directed by Alberta McDonald. McDonald who has a day job in the town office that shares both Smyrna and Merrill muncipal government functions. Smart. Under one roof because each town is small. Like most in Maine. Especially Aroostook County that boasts only eleven people per square mile. In a land mass the exact same size as the entire states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. The troop of thespians have packed up, traveled north to Bridgewater Maine. Acting out on the road to perform at their historical society on US Rt 1 in what was formerly a Grange hall building.

McDonald loves the local community theatre, the Maine performing arts.

Was involved acting in more than most of area local high school productions. The desire to act, to create a play production never faded. I asked her about the costs involved. She shared the figure of about six hundred dollars for a play. She says Hit Plays dot com also lets you pre-screen for free. So you don’t order and then groan when you figure out this is not best for the cast you have to work with. But you had to take a chance because most sites don’t allow the free read through, demo spin before you part with money.

Some of the productions, that are all a fun income generator for the non profit Smyrna – Merrill Historical Society, are dinner theatres. Sit down full course meals, dining fare tied to the theme of the play. To enhance the experience of acting combined with good home cooked Maine food. And served graciously by the cast, always in character. The former church roof now turned to historical society, play production headquarters is needing new shingles or a metal covering. To keep the northern Maine weather outside where it belongs.

Past productions included The 12 Daze of Christmas, Mugsy Sent Me, Hood of Sherwood. This spring’s play is The Great Nursing Home Escape. Snacks will include jello and prunes. Alberta McDonald beamed, lit up telling me about the production. The great cast she has to work with, all her local neighbors. It’s a way off off Broadway theatre production. A dinner theatre play this year with two performances, April 26 and 27th at 6pm.

But because of the very small size of the Maine theatre play production, it is special, intimate and live.

Definitely local Maine. Like a pot luck supper where the best everyone has to offer gets brought in a covered dish. Cooked up, served up on stage. Or by the crew during the meal in cast character as they dish it out. For the pleasure, entertainment of a local community where everyone on stage knows all the members of the audience. And many are somehow related, connected in the small surrounding communities of Northern Maine.

Maine, we make our own fun. Money is not needed and it’s low cost, no cost entertainment across the board.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

March 1, 2013