The 12th Annual

Deertrees

Theatre Festival

..

Student Acting
Workshop


Ages 12 - 15

August 1 - 5

Ages 15 - 18
August 8 - 12

Monday - Friday 9 AM - 1 PM

Student Acting
Workshop


Ages 8 - 12


Monday - Friday 9 AM - 1 PM
July 25 - 29
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 2011 Deertrees Theatre Festival

Celebrating our 12th year of the Deertrees Theatre Festival and 75th year of our existence we are taking a different approach this year. Many of the original Summer Straw Hat Circuit Theatre's offered musical entertainment. So in lieu of our standard drama offerings this year, we are going to let the rafters ring with songs. Three original musicals with professional casts and musicians will grace our stage this summer in addition to a new Comedy. Thus four plays that take us back through the 60's to date. From Bikini's on the Jersey Shore in the 60's through Burt Bachrach and Hal David's repertoire and a joyful exploration of life's transitions in Monsters: The Musical. Finally closing our season with a new comedy, "Breakfast with Mary". All the actors, directors, and choreographers come to us from "away." This has been no small undertaking and we hope you will enjoy each one to its fullest.

Festival
Transportation supplied by

Macdonald
Motors

Move over JERSEY BOYS, make room for...

THE BIKINIS!

Back together after 20 years! That girl group from the sixties everyone loves is bringing back the sun, fun and all the great songs they sang down on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore... all to raise money for the good folks at Sandy Shores RV Resort on Florida's Gold Coast.
With a show that promises to get everyone dancing in the aisles, THE BIKINIS, or "The Jersey Girls," relive their heyday and beyond, beginning the summer of 1964, the night these four inseparable friends got their name, winning the Belmar Beach Talent Contest, wearing just their bikinis! The boardwalk was smitten with the 4 teens... Jodi and Annie, two sisters from Paramus New Jersey; Karla, their slightly manipulative first cousin from Philly; and best friend Barbara, from Staten Island.
THE BIKINIS is a nonstop celebration of song filled with hits like IT’S IN HIS KISS, YELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI, HEAT WAVE, MAMBO ITALIANO, UNDER THE BOARDWALK, THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’, AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH, INCENSE AND PEPPERMINT, LOOK WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO MY SONG, MA, WHEN WILL I BE LOVED, I’M EVERY WOMAN, I WILL SURVIVE, IT’S RAINING MEN and many more!

THE BIKINIS
A new Musical Beach Party!
You'll laugh, you'll cry... you'll do the limbo!

Show: "The Bikinis: a new musical beach party"
Starring: Kirsti Carnahan, Marva Hicks, Kathy Morath & Karyn Quackenbush
Directed By: Ray Roderick
Choregraphed By: Ray Roderick
Produced By: Miracle or 2 Productions
Show Website
Photos of the show at Deertrees

Bikinis Cast 2011 Deertrees Theatre

August 3 - 6
8:00 PM
August 7
2 PM
$ 25 adults
$15 students

Burt & Me

By Larry McKenna

Featuring music by Burt Bacharach

& lyrics by Hal David

The Story

Joe Madson and Lacey Turner had two strong common interests; they both loved basketball and the music of Burt Bacharach. When the two met in high school, it was as if the stars had aligned to form the perfect union. However, when they each went away to different colleges, their history could not overcome their geography. The two separated only to meet years later. Joe would then plot an elaborate scheme to try and win her back…and the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David would play a big part.

This romantic musical comedy features the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It includes such classic songs as “What the World Needs Now,” “Walk On By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “This Guy’s In Love with You,” “The Look of Love,” “You’ll Never Get to Heaven,” “Always Something There to Remind Me,” “One Less Bell to Answer,” “Blue on Blue,” “A House Is Not A Home,” “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Close to You,” “I Say A Little Prayer for You,” and more.

Starring: Zack Jackson, Anabelle Garcia, Michael Hogan, Jordi Wallen, & Dave Scheffler
Directed By: Larry McKenna
Choregraphed By: Nora Fitzgerald
Produced By: A-1 Entertainment & Deertrees Theatre

Show Website
Photos of the show at Deertrees

Burt and Me Cast Photo 2011 Deertrees Theatre

Reviews:

"A fun romantic musical comedy!" NBC's "The 10 Show" in Philadelphia, PA
*****
"The perfect romantic fling…it's a whole lot of summer lovin' and light-hearted fun squeezed into one whimsical act, complete with its own soundtrack. The precise arrangement of pop classics nicely complements McKenna's playful script." T.J. Neary, Stage Door Magazine
*****
"The script nicely weaves the dialog around the music, all songs by Bacharach and David, to create a light, fun, very enjoyable performance." Christine Perryman, Delaware County Times
*****
Vince DiMura's musical arrangements of songs such as "Wishin' and Hopin', " "What the World Needs Now" and "Say a Little Prayer" would make "Glee's" Will Schuester proud…Conceived and written by McKenna, "Burt & Me" weaves Bacharach's irresistible music into a story about young sweethearts who meet up again as adults." Naila Francis, Bucks County Courier Times
*****
"Playwright Larry McKenna delivers a seamless integration of the best popular music with the story of two high school sweethearts brought together by music…Burt & Me a great selection for a light-hearted summer show. For Bacharach fanatics and those who don't even know his name, Burt & Me gives the audience a chance to reminisce upon high school memories of first love, memorable friends and, most of all, good music." Christine Adkins,Philadelphia Citypaper
*****

August 10 - 13
8:00 PM
August 14
2 PM
$ 25 adults
$15 students

MONSTERS! THE MUSICAL

by Gail Phaneuf &  Ernie Lijoi
Monsters! the Musical is a mid-life story that captures the humor, agony and insight experienced at life’s milestones. The show is set in Samantha’s Manhattan apartment. Her mother pays a visit to celebrate her 40th birthday, during which Samantha reveals that she has plans to quit her Wall Street job and head for soul-searching adventure in Machu Picchu. Distressed at this potentially hasty move, her mother desperately tries to convince Samantha to reconsider, to do the practical thing. Samantha insists she's firm in her resolve to strike a new path at 40, but the echo of her mother's words stirs up a toxic blend of old insecurities embodied by monsters – familiar to us all – Apathy, Fear and Body. 


MONSTERS! The Musical
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Gail Phaneuf and Ernie Lijoi
Starring: Emily Browder Melville, Patti Hathaway, Lisa Beausoleil, Lynda Blair-Vernalia, Zachary Gregus and Jennifer Fogarty
Directed by: Jerry Bisantz
Choreographed by: Christine MacInally
Music Direction by: John Kramer
Produced by: G.P. Productions and Image Theater

Show Website

Photos of the show at Deertrees

Monsters the Musical 2011 at Deertrees Theatre

August 17 - 20
8:00 PM
August 21
2 PM
$ 25 adults
$15 students
Buy Tickets On-Line

“Breakfast with Mary”

by Gail Phaneuf

It was supposed to be a festive weekend in the country; a birthday getaway. In this curious play, a group of friends is tossed suddenly into turmoil, as they enter the world of a sage but declining innkeeper in a remote New England town. Through a compelling and surprising turn of events, the friends find themselves wrapped up in ghostly intrigue and mystery that tests their perception of truth and each other. To walk through the door of Mary’s Bed & Breakfast is to face vexing questions of honesty, family, and loss. As Mary slips more and more into her own deluded world, she begins to piece her lost family back together with these new strangers. Before they get out, each will have to face ghosts – Mary’s and their own.

BREAKFAST WITH MARY
by Gail Phaneuf
Starring: Lida McGirr, Alli Ritts, Matthew Brendan Ford, Erin Cole and Robin Rapoport
Directed by: Gail Phaneuf
Co-Directed by: Marc Ewart
Produced by: G.P. Productions

Photos of the show at Deertrees

 

August 24 - 27
8:00 PM
August 28
2 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. 

2011: July 25 - July 29:  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. No previous theatrical training is required



Molly Rice: Workshop Director

Molly Rice is a NYC-based playwright, performer, composer and educator who has been teaching theater to students of all ages for over 10 years. Molly received her MFA in Playwriting from Brown University in 2006, under the instruction of Paula Vogel. She has taught acting, improv, writing and theater history at children's programs such as KidsActing in Austin, TX, Choate/ Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, Princeton's McCarter Theater, and Young Playwrights, Inc. College teaching experience includes University of Rhode Island, Brown/ Trinity Rep Graduate Acting Program, and a visiting Assistant Professorship at Kenyon College. She currently teaches Advanced Playwriting at Marymount Manhattan College and Site-Specific Theater at Brown. She is thrilled to return to Deertrees for another magical summer.



Please call the Box Office at 207.583.6747 for workshop enrollment information

.2011: August 1 - August 5:  ages 12 to 15

This workshop will explore the basic elements of theatrical practice. This includes improvisational work as recommended by the students and lead by the workshop leader. As the week progresses more elements of stage movement and voice projection on stage are developed. As the students interact with each other each will develop an improvised performance that will be presented at the end of the week before an audience of parents, friends and relatives. The ultimate goal is to provide the framework for the creative development that come from each of the students and encouraged by the workshop director. In addition to the learning aspects of theatre, laughter and fun are also a large part of the week. Many students have returned each year to continue their theatrical exploration. No previous theatrical training is required

2011: August 8 - August 12:  ages 15 to 18

This workshop will explore the basic elements of theatrical practice. This includes improvisational work as recommended by the students and lead by the workshop leader. As the week progresses more elements of stage movement and voice projection on stage are developed. As the students interact with each other each will develop an improvised performance that will be presented at the end of the week before an audience of parents, friends and relatives. The ultimate goal is to provide the framework for the creative development that come from each of the students and encouraged by the workshop director. In addition to the learning aspects of theatre, laughter and fun are also a large part of the week. Many students have returned each year to continue their theatrical exploration. No previous theatrical training is required

 

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