Meet the Centennial Celebration Play Festival Directors!
The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine is proudly celebrating 100 years of Children’s Theatre! 2023 is the Centennial Anniversary of the founding of the country’s longest-running children’s theatre.
Centennial Celebration Weekend
CMTM will mark 100 years of performance and play with a Centennial Celebration Weekend of theatre-focused events for adults, children, and their families from May 18 - 21, 2023.
The festivities include a two-day play festival for children and families on May 20 and 21. Over a dozen original plays written by local and national youth and adult playwrights will be performed throughout the weekend. CMTM’s exhibits inspired the plays that will be performed throughout the facility.
Guests attending the Centennial After Dark: Theatre event (May 18, 7-10 pm, 21 +) will also have the opportunity to see pop-up plays written by adult playwrights as well as additional themed activities and refreshments. For this year's After Dark, we'll be adding a selfie booth from DigiBooths, a DigiGroup Entertainment company, and your source for any entertainment needs no matter where your event is located. Learn more about After Dark: Theatre here: kitetails.org/afterdark
Theatre History
Having journeyed from parks to flatbed trucks, storefronts, and temporary locations across Portland since 1923, the Children’s Theatre of Maine merged with the Children’s Museum of Maine in 2008. Organizational leaders dreamed of one day finding a permanent home for the museum and theatre that allowed both to flourish and weave together narrative, play, performance, and learning all under one roof. The new Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine at Thompson’s Point is the realization of that dream and the product of 100 years and countless individual’s hard work to retain a precious community resource for current and future generations.
Play Festival Directors
The Centennial play festival will feature fifteen original plays by sixteen adult and youth playwrights. A team of seasoned theatre professionals is directing these plays.
Read on to learn more about the directors!
Reba Askari - CMTM Theatre Artistic Director
Director: Sources of Light by Ciara Neidlinger, The Bush Creature by Pearl Rockers
Reba Askari is Theatre Artistic Director of Maddy’s Theatre at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine and a proud native of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. She majored in Theatre Arts, minored in Women’s Studies at Mount Holyoke College, and holds a Masters in Theatre Education from Emerson College. Reba served as a Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. Reba is a company member of Mad Horse Theatre Ensemble and has worked at the Museum & Theatre since the organizational merger in 2008. Reba has spent the past decade creating children’s theatre by kids for kids, harnessing the power of the dramatic arts as a powerful teaching tool.
Emily M. Dixon - CMTM Theatre Technical Coordinator
Director: Dr. Winkle and the Nightmare Factory of Doom by Jessie Raspbury, The Color Constellation by Sloan Willows and Maeve Narbus
Emily Dixon is a Theatre Technical Coordinator at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. Emily holds a degree in Theater & Dance from Keene State College. She served as the Technical Director at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, VT the stage manager at MoCo Arts in Keene, NH, and the assistant camp director of MoCo's CAKE Summer Arts Camp. Emily loves watching kids make discoveries about themselves and their place in the world as they develop lifelong skills through theater.
Allison McCall - CMTM Theatre Company Coordinator
Director: Granny Fairy and the Boomsy Feather Cake by Jessie Raspbury, Insect Play I: Metamorphosis by Charlotte Wimple, The Tale of the Lost Seal Skin by Tatiana Esbjorn-Hargens
Allison (she/her) spends the majority of her time in theatres as a working artist, educator, and theatre-game-enthusiast. Previous CMTM directing experience includes Icarus and Daedalus, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Little Mermaid, and A Tale of Two Bad Eggs (virtual), along with original devising & playwriting classes and camps with young actors. Allison holds a BA in Theatre and Art History from Muhlenberg College and studied Theatre/Performance Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her theatrical training includes Commedia dell'Arte, Shakespeare & classical verse, Boal Forum Theatre/Theatre of the Oppressed, Playmaking & New Play Development, and perhaps any type of puppetry you can imagine. She has been a proud Mad Horse Theatre Company member since 2015 and currently serves on the MHTC Directorial Leadership Team. When not in a theatre, Allison loves playing with her pup Ichabod and climbing mountains.
Caleb Eugley - CMTM Theatre Intern
Director: Finding Sheila by Zack Handlen, The Legend of the Night Moose by Megan E. Tripaldi
Caleb (He/Him) is a multi-hyphenate theater artist thrilled to be working with CMTM and Maddy’s Theatre! He has performed throughout Maine, Vermont, and upstate New York throughout the past decade. In Maine, he’s worked with numerous community theaters and Heartwood Regional Theater in Newcastle. He’s received multiple regional and national awards for his directing, design, and collaboration work from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas. Some previous acting credits include The Baker, Into the Woods, Franklin Hart Jr., 9 to 5 The Musical, Matt/Scratchy, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, Macduff, Macbeth, Jonas, Antigone, and many more. Caleb studied at both Northern Vermont University and SUNY Plattsburgh, having studied Theatre with a focus in Directing. Caleb is a strong advocate for accessibility in theater along with underrepresented artists and works and consent-based work practices. @caleb.v.e
Nathan Lapointe - CMTM Theatre Programming Associate
Director: Roller Coaster Caper by Annika Johnston and Nolan Ellsworth, Speed Lobster Trap by Eleanor Keniston
Nathan (he/him) is a Theatre Program Associate at CMTM. Nathan, aka Unique Unknown, found his creative roots in Van Buren, Maine. Starting out playing drums to classic rock music, his love of wordplay inevitably guided him towards theater and hip-hop, which he has embraced through his time at college and beyond. He and Kyler Henningsen co-founded Family Banned Records with the aim to bring awareness to the healing power of art and culture. He has also created a hip-hop curriculum with students in Windham and Raymond, ME and currently uses his music and theater skills to collaborate with the children and families at CMTM. In addition, Nathan has performed in multiple main-stage productions in Maddy’s Theatre. As a Theatre Program Associate, Nathan is a key individual in Pop Up Play development and performance.
Robbie Harrison
Director: The Emotion Song by Nathan Lapointe, Dr. John Dactylian Telmer Under The Sea by Elliot Nye
Robbie (he/him) is an actor, educator, and director. Last seen in Maddy’s Theatre as Pigeon in Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! And Scott Gibson in Apollo to the Moon (summer 2021), he also directed the recent bilingual production of Snow in the Jungle / Nieve en la jungla. Outside of the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, he has performed with Mad Horse Theatre Co., Fenix Theatre Co., Theater Project, and Camden Shakespeare Festival.
Juliet Moniz - CMTM Visitor Services Manager
Director: Adrift by Linda Shary, An Unlikely Story by Kelsey Tribble
Juliet (She/Her) Celebrating children's theatre and engaging with family audiences is an everyday pleasure for Juliet. Therefore, she is overjoyed to be part of the Centennial Celebration and sit in the director's chair for this occasion. You may have seen her in 3 Little Kittens, Nieve en la jungla, or Dragons Love Tacos. Juliet is the Visitor Services Manager at CMTM, frequently checking in guests and handing out stickers. She holds a BA in Theatre from USM, with a focus in Directing/Literature. USM credits include She Kills Monsters, and Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play. She is a passionate theatre educator with a firm belief that the stage is the best place to spark joy and foster a sense of belonging.
To learn about the Centennial Weekend Play Festival adult playwrights, visit:
To learn about the Centennial Weekend Play Festival youth playwrights, visit: