The 11th Annual

Deertrees

Theatre Festival

..

Student Acting
Workshop


Ages 12 - 15



Monday - Friday
August 2-6, 2010

Student Acting
Workshop


Ages 8 - 12


Monday - Friday
July 26-30, 2010
&

August 9-13, 2010

Straw Hat Summers

Seventy summers ago there were almost as many plays being produced in Maine as on Broadway. At Deertrees the noted producer, Bela Blau (pictured left), would import a complete play, including cast, from New York each week during an eight-week season. Talullah Bankhead and Dame Mae Whittey were just two of the many stars of the day that played what was considered at the time as "Maine's Most Enchanting Theatre."  Rudy Vallee (pictured right) made his dramatic debut on the Deertrees stage and a young David Merrick is credited on several playbills as being the associate producer. However the era of "summer stock" died as Americans discovered television and vacation habits changed.  Soon the number of "playhouses" active in Maine could be counted on one hand.

The 2010 Deertrees Theatre Festival

Now in its eleventh year, the Deertrees Theatre Festival is creating a new “summer theatre’ tradition.  While most of the few remaining original summer playhouses in Maine are now producing only lavish musicals, Deertrees has chosen to present authentic, award-winning Broadway drama, complete with Equity casts brought in from New York. The plays presented range from beach-reading, bedroom farces to what might be considered poignant humor, in other words, they all have enough depth to provide conversation over a glass of wine in the theatre’s BackStage Gallery during intermission but are still light enough for a summer’s evening entertainment. Recently designated a “Small Professional Theatre” by Equity, Deertrees takes pride that the acting and staging presented is as professional as one would find in any New York theatre yet remaining true to the illustrious past of the theatre.

Festival
Transportation supplied by

Macdonald
Motors

Murray Schisgal's
"Luv"

When the play begins there is Harry Berlin, looking like a shaved, mustachioed beatnik who has sunk so low that honest beatniks would disown him. He has no future except to jump off the bridge and is about to do so when Milt Manville comes along and intervenes. Milt and Harry turn out to be college classmates. As Harry, in his rags, slowly drops hints of his tale of woe, Milt, a picture of prosperity, is all sympathy. But LUV has ample place in its bosom for more than one miserable fellow. Milt is also full of frustration, for his wife won't release him and let him marry the girl he loves. Presently Milt's wife, Ellen, appears. As she stands under a lamppost, her expression congealed and fur-coated body rigid, it is clear that she, too, is torn by anguish. Now we have a triangle matched in misery. Milt has had an inspiration. Why not bring Ellen and Harry together and thus win the freedom to marry the other girl? Milt, Ellen and Harry end up in sorrow and agony, and the greater their misunderstandings and problems, the more you laugh."
Starring
Terri Eoff, Jeff LaMarre, Goerdie Broadwater
Directed by Jordan Reeves

Thursday & Friday
August 5, 6,12,13,& 14
8:00 pm
$ 20 adults/ $10 students
Anthony Shaffer's
"Sleuth"

The ultimate game of cat-and-mouse is played out in a cozy English country house owned by celebrated mystery writer, Andrew Wyke. Invited guest Milo Tindle, a young rival who shares not only Wyke's love of the game but also his wife, has come to lay claim. Revenge is devised and murders plotted as the two plan the ultimate whodunnit..
Starring Matt W. Cody, David L. Carson, Willam Felts
Directed by Ed Chemaly
Thursday, Friday & Saturday
August 19, 20 &21
8:00 pm
$ 20 adults/ $10 students

William Gibson's
"Two for the Seesaw"

The girl from the Bronx whose love for a lonesome lawyer brings a few months of happiness into their lives. The lawyer is married to a beautiful, well to do girl in the midwest whose family sets the pace in local society and intends to run his marriage and his career as well. He has rebelled, come to New York and taken up residence with this intriguing young woman. He is lonely and in need of consolation; she is one of those rare women whose only purpose seems to be making others happy. Their briefly fulfilling relationship is unhappily destined to failure: he is a cultured gentile with a wife and painful memories while she is a plain Jewish girl with little education . They share happy and humorous moments together, but they both see with sadness the utter hopelessness of the affair. 
Starring Jordan Reeves, Aimee Howard
Directed by Tom Schwans

Thursday, Friday & Saturday
August 26, 27 & 28 September 2, 3 & 4
8:00 pm
$ 20 adults/ $10 students

The Deertrees Theatre Festival Student Acting Workshops

These Workshops are an integral part of the Deertrees Theatre Festival’s goal of not only bringing professional theatre to our area but providing young, aspiring thespians with the opportunity to study the art of theatrical performance under trained professionals in a real-time theatre environment.  The Deertrees Theatre Festival Student Workshop began in 2001 when about a dozen students enrolled for a single week-long workshop. Today the Workshop has grown to include three one-week sessions  with near-capacity enrollment. The Student Workshops are designed to introduce students to the craft of acting,  exploring the basics of stage acting and building a character with games and exercises that awaken the imagination, expand onstage awareness, enhance focus and, hone listening skills. 

Androscoggin Bank Community Outreach Coordinator, Kristina Bennett, has confirmed that Deertrees Theatre & Cultural Center is the recipient of an ABCommunity grant in the amount of $2500. Some of these funds will be distributed as scholarships for the Student Acting Workshops. There are openings in the second and third week sessions. August 2-5 is for students from ages 12 -15. August 9-13 is for students from ages 8 -12. Call the Deertrees Box office (583-6747) for more information. Acting workshops allow children the opportunity to use their imaginations and creativity in a stage environment, building confidence and allowing for greater interaction among peers.

2010: July 26 - July 30:  ages 8 to 12

This workshop will explore similar elements of theatrical practice as the workshop for older students, but will do it in a less formal and more intuitive way. A spirit of play will be encouraged to build confidence and unlock natural creativity.  Students will work together to create short “improvised” performance pieces to share with an audience at the end of the week



Molly Rice: Workshop Director

Molly has taught at Brown University, the Brown/ Trinity MFA Acting Program, the University of Rhode Island, and Kenyon College, where she stood in for Wendy MacLeod last year. She currently teaches Site-Specific Playwriting in an old mansion at Brown University, and at Marymount Manhattan College. Molly was a Lucille Lortel fellow at Brown (2004-2006), where she earned her MFA in Playwriting.



Please call the Box Office at 207.583.6747 for workshop enrollment information

.2010: August 2 - August 6:  ages 12 to 15

Participants in these workshops  will explore the fundamental elements of performance and story telling. Each day will begin with exercises to encourage development of the voice and provide a better understanding of how an actor uses his body. A variety of improvisational theatre games will be used to create a sense of ensemble amongst the group. The members of the group will learn how to integrate the warm-up exercises into an approach to text and performance, while also learning how to work within an ensemble. All of this work will culminate in a brief program based on a  text either the children create themselves or something from Classic Literature.

Androscoggin Bank Community Outreach Coordinator, Kristina Bennett, has confirmed that Deertrees Theatre & Cultural Center is the recipient of an ABCommunity grant in the amount of $2500. Some of these funds will be distributed as scholarships for the Student Acting Workshops. There are openings in the second and third week sessions. August 2-5 is for students from ages 12 -15. August 9-13 is for students from ages 8 -12.

2010: August 9 - August 13:  ages 8 - 12

This workshop will explore similar elements of theatrical practice as the workshop for older students, but will do it in a less formal and more intuitive way. A spirit of play will be encouraged to build confidence and unlock natural creativity.  Students will work together to create short “improvised” performance pieces to share with an audience at the end of the week.

Androscoggin Bank Community Outreach Coordinator, Kristina Bennett, has confirmed that Deertrees Theatre & Cultural Center is the recipient of an ABCommunity grant in the amount of $2500. Some of these funds will be distributed as scholarships for the Student Acting Workshops. There are openings in the second and third week sessions. August 2-5 is for students from ages 12 -15. August 9-13 is for students from ages 8 -12.

 

The Friends of Bela Blau

The reality of theatre funding is that ticket sales do not, and may never, cover all the costs of productions.  Equity fees, housing, transportation, salaries, the list of expenses seems endless.  While every effort has been made to keep costs to a minimum, quality presentations require a degree of financing that is stretching the budget capabilities of Deertrees. Named in honor of the New York producer who introduced Broadway to Deertrees, The Friends of Bela Blau enables theatre patrons to actively participate in keeping professional theatre alive at Deertrees. 
You can be part of the effort by becoming a Friend of Bela Blau.  With your tax-deductible contribution, you will receive tickets for two reserved center-front seats to each of the four plays in the 2009 Deertrees Theatre Festival and invitations to the Performers’ Receptions following each opening night, plus the opportunity to help choose a play for the 2010 season.



To Join the Friends of Bela Blau Call the Box Office or Visit our store on the Web