MeInMaine Blog

Tag: smyrna merrill maine historical society

  • The Hysterical Players Put On Comedy Production In Smyrna Maine.

    The Best Local Plays In Maine Are Close To Home.
    Small Maine Community Theater Play Productions Are Fun, Entertaining, Home Grown.

    Getting out to a small Maine community play where you know all the cast of characters.

    No one is a stranger and the audience is familiar to the production cast too. Community theater with home grown talent polishing the lines, rehearsing a play script to raise money for a good cause. And to give locals something different for entertainment options close to home.

    This Friday and Saturday, October 25, 26th at six pm, The Hysterical Players perform a comedy “I Only Have Fangs For You”.

    Another production on the road to the north in Bridgewater 32 miles away means the curtains at the local Grange hall goes up again November 2nd at 6pm. That production helps costs, funds future projects at the Bridgewater Historical Society. The desperately needed roof of the old Smyrna Methodist Church gets a shot in the arm with funds from this weekend’s play.

    The cost of that drip drip drip leaking roof replacement project estimated to be in the neighborhood of eight thousand dollars.

    Good play, great cause, a night out for entertainment. Like a pot luck supper tasty. Everyone brings their best covered delicious signature dish. That all the locals know you would win hands down. If there was an Olympics for this particular dish all in the area knows is to die for, heavenly good.

    Take a gander at some of the shots, a glimpse of the players for this Halloween flavored Maine community theater play. Or (whispering) SSsshhhh, let’s sneak a peek, tip toe in the big back double creaking doors to sample part of an earlier play production rehearsal.

    Have you ever been in a small Maine community theater play, theater production?

    Either in front of an audience or behind the acts, scenes in a support role? Designing a set, doing lighting or sound? A seamstress for the wardrobe? In makeup, in charge of the meal or snacks during intermission? Or behind the promotion, publicity, ticket sales marketing to get the word out? So nothing is kept a secret.

    All that work that goes into the planning, rehearsals, the nuts and bolts of a theater play to make sure it is noticed. Not witnessed only by a few of the lucky ones that are out in the audience. The bigger, better the audience, the more the cast reaches higher to go over the top with their performance. In the role they are playing to the hilt in front of the bright hot spot stage lights and open velvet curtain. The audience and play cast need each other. One partnership in the back and forth that feeds on the other.

    They say that life is but a stage and every man but an actor.

    For fun, entertainment and the chance to play the part in someone other than yourself, consider involvement in a locally produced, small scale play production. Or get behind a high school, college or children’s theater production so that your small local community shines brightly with the flair of drama, comedy, lights, camera, action. Break a leg. in a good way in community theater.

    Maine small towns are big on the fine arts in lots of little ways. Get to Maine, you have a part waiting, become involved. Add your skill set, hone that talent on a grass roots, small town level. In small Maine town living, you don’t just attend events, you are involved in the local activities working them. That’s what happens and everyone has a part, place, spot in the sun and fun.

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

  • About The Middle Of January, Play Practice Starts In Smyrna Maine.

    Home Grown Local Maine Plays, Community Theatre.
    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