Schoolhouse needs YOU

On March 9th we will be opening up the schoolhouse doors and blowing of the dust and clearing away the cobwebs from our almost 12 week shut down. We had this event last year and the turn out was great. Many hands make light work! But, last year we just scratched the surface to where we need to be. It can be very overwhelming for me to walk through the place and see all the work there needs to be done. I cant do it alone. I need HELP.
Please consider joining me for a few hours on the 9th to help with anything you are interested in. We have general cleaning but also a lot of organizing. The black box will be making a come back this year and it needs new paint and cleaning.
Dont have time on the 9th? You can come join me any time or maybe donate some supplies.
I hope to get a good turn out and have a bon fire and grill going.
email me if you are interested. deadfangirl@hotmail.com

Hold on Molly's 1st cast rehearsal

The first rehearsal for Molly went GREAT! I saw some old faces and some new faces. We have 19 cast members and there is still room for more. The best parts in Molly is the ensemble by far. The ensemble gets to be towns folk, indians, mariners, french canadian can can waitresses and french soldiers. Some people will have 4-5 costume changes, big dance numbers and a lot of singing. Teresa Dyer is Molly Finny and Matthew Ryder will play her suitor, Captain McLellan. Both actors are perfect as far as I am concerned after hearing them just one time.
I looks like I will be the stand in Stage Manager for a while until we find someone who has the time. There are several people who would do it but have conflicts with the shows run which is April 12-21st. It looks as though I may be costuming as well. Our usual go to costumers have conflicts like the stage managers. So, if anyone knows of any stage managers or costumers out there that are interested have them contact me. There is a small stipend for each position.

Hi, Today is Thursday, February, 27th and yet another snow storm has swooped through Maine to make travel difficult and cancellations have been happening everywhere. Tonight is the first read through for Molly and the first time the cast will all meet each other. I plan on being there as well as a stand in stage manager and as production manager and whatever else I may become (coffee girl?).
We still do not have a stage manager or a costumer so if anyone is interested email me asap.
Ill blog tomorrow about how everything goes .

Hi There.
My name is Kristen Watson and I am the president of the board of directors of Schoolhouse Arts Center in Standish, Maine. I live in Gorham, Maine with my three kids, Jon, Sophie and Zeb.
2013 marks the 25th year anniversary of schoolhouse. Founded in 1988 by Hank and Nancy Beebe. To kick off our year long anniversary party we will be producing a Hank Beebe original, Hold on Molly.
For the next 7 weeks or so you will hear a lot about Molly. There has been drama already with Molly when the first auditions turn out was low. Yup, we only had 8 people show up that first weekend for auditions for Molly. The cast of Molly has about 20 spots so needless to say, we were not going to produce Molly with only 8 people. Director, Harlan Baker, Musical director, Kathleen Scott, producer Terri Plummer and me talked over our options and decided to recruit actors for one more week and see what happens.
You see, Schoolhouse doesnt pay actors. The actors are all made up of volunteers from around the area. Families, college kids, retired folks and many other eclectic people make up our actors and performers. This snowy time of year and the fact that Molly is an unknown play equaled little interest. It was going to take lots of phone calls, emails and begging to get some actors to fill those rolls,including a leading lady, Molly herself.
Well, low and behold, it happened and we have officially cast the production of Hold on Molly, as of today. The show opens in just 7 short weeks, on April 12, 2013.
Stay tuned for more Got Drama at Schoolhouse arts Center.