Blog: New at CMTM

When the main stage production of The Velveteen Rabbit opens on Friday, December 6, actor Darby Defilippis of Portland will be playing the Skin Horse in his 20th show since 2016 with the Children’s Theatre & Museum of Maine. His first show was also, the The Velveteen Rabbit, but this time around he’s accompanied on stage by his brother, River, who plays Alex, a little boy ill with scarlet fever. Fourteen youth actors in the production - spanning from 8 to 14 years in age - come from five southern Maine towns.

Read More

Executing its strategic plan to serve twice as many children and families and to expand programming to a more diverse community by moving to a new facility at Thompson’s Point, the Children’s Museum & Theatre closed on the sale of its 142 Free Street building to the Portland Museum of Art (PMA) on October 15, 2019. Thompson’s Point is the newly-developing public-transportation friendly destination and hub of creative activity on the Fore River. Proceeds from the sale of 142 Free Street are contributing to the Museum & Theatre’s construction of the new building and its exhibits; a capital campaign for the balance needed will be announced in the coming months.

Read More

Exhibits Associate Andy Rosen is curating a show called FolkLand at the Portland Public Library that opens on First Friday October 4, from 5-7pm. The FolkLand show is described as “crafting a new kind of folklore” where the featured artists “tell a story about the natural world now, threatened by change, still rife with mystery and wonder. Their works ask us to revisit and reclaim our relationship with the world around us.”

Read More

The Museum on the Go program at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine provides informal, experiential learning stations in settings with large numbers of children and parents or caretakers (often 100 or more people). Museum on the Go provides open-ended programming from a six-foot table, accommodates large groups, and allows for varied stay times. The Life of Istar, the Humpback Whale program is an exception as it requires considerably more space to accommodate the 40-foot inflatable whale.

Read More

Educator Samantha Connelly attended the Youth Climate Change Walkout on Friday, September 20, 2019 in Portland, Maine to document how children were talking about their passion for and activism on behalf of the environment. These are some the quotes and images that she brought back with her.

Read More

When our theatre staff are not working with child actors, repairing costumes, or setting stage and lights here at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, they often participate in the regional theatre community themselves. Theatre Educator Allison McCall co-stars in a performance that opens tonight at Mad Horse Theatre Company.

Read More

The seventh annual Joyful Children’s Day is a special celebration of children and families for the Maine community with free admission, eight musical performances, and extended hours of 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Friday, October 4th, at 142 Free Street in Portland.

Read More