Exhibit Feature Friday: Dress Up Theatre
Exhibit Feature Friday
At the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine (CMTM), we use the word exhibit to describe the interactive experiences, spaces and displays spread across three floors and immediately outside the facility at 250 Thompson’s Point Road. CMTM is home to over 15 exhibits, each designed to encourage experiential learning through open-ended play.
Our team at CMTM decided to give each exhibit the spotlight it deserves and is dedicating Fridays to highlighting a new exhibit, diving a little deeper into the WHY and HOW behind each playful space and experience.
This week we are featuring the Dress Up Theatre!
EXHIBIT: Dress Up Theatre
LOCATION: 1st Floor
The Dress Up Theatre, located next to Maddy’s Theatre on CMTM’s first floor, is a miniature theatre space where families can put on their own original performances! Designed to encourage storytelling and roleplaying, the Dress Up Theatre allows children to develop their imaginations and communication skills through dramatic play.
“What’s so special about this exhibit is that we’re giving children the opportunity to share their imaginative world with others. This is about spontaneous performance, and improv without intention.”
The Dress Up Theatre features a platform stage with an accessibility ramp and classic red velvet theatre curtains that open and close. Detailed murals cover the walls, immersing performers in an alternate world. An ever-changing selection of props, costumes, and puppets allows guests to create unique stories based on the items they find.
The Dress Up Theatre murals are designed and painted by CMTM staff. They change on a regular basis, just like the sets in a professional theatre. The Dress Up Theatre currently houses an underwater scene painted by Exhibits Associate Emilia McGrath. It includes imagery of charismatic North Atlantic marine species like lumpfish, which visitors may recognize from CMTM’s From the Mountains to the Sea Maine Watershed Aquarium. When asked about her process, Emilia shared, “I wanted to paint really big fish so that kids could feel immersed in the painting.”
Visitors will find additional opportunities for dramatic play throughout CMTM’s three floors of indoor and outdoor exhibits, including roleplay activities in the Our Neighborhood exhibit and in the Beautiful Blackbird Puppet Theatre.
Celebrating 100 Years of Children’s Theatre
This May, CMTM is celebrating 100 Years of performance and play with a Theatre Centennial Celebration! The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine is home to the country's longest-running children’s theatre. Join CMTM for a Centennial Celebration Weekend of theatre-focused events for adults, children, and their families from May 18 - 21, 2023.
Find more information about the Centennial Celebration Weekend here:
Tune into next week’s Exhibit Feature Friday to learn about the Children’s Theatre’s hundred-year journey to find a permanent home in Maddy’s Theatre.
Dress Up Theatre was made possible by a generous gift from Kate and Ian Malin.
Interested in learning more about the importance of roleplay for kids? Check out this blog from Theatre Artistic Director Reba Askari: Is Dress Up Theatre “Real Theatre”? And why we should all celebrate Dramatic Play
Coming Up Next:
Tune in next Friday to learn about Maddy’s Theatre!