Free With Admission Shows in Maddy's Theatre
Have you seen our Free With Admission theatre shows yet? These two shows, Journey to Imagination Island and Beats and Poems with Unique Unknown, premiered Maddy’s Theatre early this summer. You can find the schedule for these shows on the white board behind the front desk- and they are free with admission for that play session.
Both of these shows were written and prefromed by two of our staff members and Theatre Programming Associates, Erica Murphy and Nathan Lapointe. During their interviews, Erica and Nathan were given a choice between three poems to create a ten minute interactive performance. They were both inspired by “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou- a poem about confronting your fear. Even though Erica and Nathan both took inspiration from the same poem, they created completely different performances. You can watch Maya Angelou reading the poem on YouTube.
Erica Murphy performs in Journey to Imagination Island
Journey to Imagination Island, created by Erica, started with a watering can and eventually led to a story of how to help a Maine tourist travel to Imagination Island. The show is interactive and improvised, so “each one is wildly different” said Erica. Audience members are encouraged to share and interact and the show is shaped around the audience discussing their fears. “I love hearing what kids have to say,” she says, “talking about what you are afraid of is both vulnerable and powerful at the same time. It’s really cool to be a part of this process of them going to the island and seeing their excitement grow.” The show offers the opportunity for young people to dream up their own journey and with Erica’s help, bring their imagined adventure to life.
Nathan Lapointe performs in Beats and Poems with Unique Unknown
Nathan, aka Unique Unknown, begins Beats and Poems with a question for the audience: “What are you afraid of?” With the help of the audience to create sounds, movements, and different call and response chants, they then perform the poem together (including a big dance party!). “What happens when you get scared?” he asks. Then, he uses a loop pedal to create a heart beat. This is the base beat for creating the hip hop version of “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”. He loves sharing the stage with kids and is grateful to be able to play a part in shaping their minds. He enjoys that he gets to “offer up a positive message that could help them to adapt to life in the future. Children are the future.”
What is really important about these two shows is how they represent the mission of the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine surrounding children’s continued development, relationships, and working together with parents and caregivers. Erica describes this in how the shows make theatre more accessible: They give kids a place to play and engage, support emotional learning, and help develop the confidence to share their thoughts. The shows welcome any age to play and spark fun, engagement, and curiosity. Nathan adds that these shows “help build resiliency in the youth and give them a creative option for facing challenges in life.” It further provides kids with their first potential poetry (and/or beatboxing) experience and gives them an introduction to the theatre. Ultimately, both of these shows really express the power of collaboration in their inclusive and participatory format that allows for audience members to craft the shows together.
We hope that you will join us for one, or both, of these shows soon. Learn to face your fears, get creative and silly, and experience theatre in an open and welcoming way! Reserve tickets and check the whiteboard in the lobby next to the theatre for showing times of the next Journey to Imagination Island or Beats and Poems with Unique Unknown!