At the Corner of Community and Professional Theatre

Actors Alex Rushton and Richard Waterhouse with Director, Eric Love

As I read over the bios for our show program,  I am struck with the incredible talent that is represented amongst this group.  We the People Theatre is a bit of a hybrid.  We are most assuredly a community theatre.  Our name says it all.  We have attracted a wonderful collection of talented performers over the seven years since our founding, most of them from our own community.  There is so much talent in the world.  We see it on our stage and in our auditions.

This year our director, Eric Love, is a NYC based freelance director.  He has deep routes in the Upper Valley having acted as the Associate Artistic Director at Northern Stage as well as the Education Director for 8 years.  But he also has wonderful connections with professional designers from elsewhere.  Our scenic designer for this production, Alexander Woodward, grew up in the Upper Valley but now teaches at the University of CT and also designs in NYC and elsewhere.  He was the scenic designer for the gorgeous production of Beauty and the Beast at Northern Stage this winter.

Our music director, Alex Arlotta is a NY based Music Director and brings great energy and talent to our production.  Likewise our lighting designer, Andrew Canaan is based in NYC.

Costumes and props are being handled by talented local folks- Martie Betts and Angie Spickard along with our sound designer, Clif Rogers and our Technical Director, Chris LaMontagne.

So what is different about a community production from a professional production?  We certainly strive to mount the most professional, polished production that we can. We hope our audiences will have a thrilling, moving theatrical experience.  But we also know that we are asking our cast and crew to fit this project into their very busy lives. Many of our actors have been professional actors in the past. They now come from disparate professions. We have teachers, nurses, IT professionals.  We even have a psychiatrist in the cast.  That should come in handy. :-) So we plan a rehearsal schedule that allows our people  to manage their lives alongside this production.  It’s a bit like herding cats. It’s a big commitment and the final push can be exhausting.  The reward is being able to bring something to our community that we are proud of.  The countdown to opening night is on.