Freeport Players’ by-laws state that our mission, in part, is “to encourage and promote the theater arts by the development of skills, education, and appreciation in all phases of theater arts for the community.” Education is an important aspect of what we do, but it might not be immediately obvious how we do that.

Other organizations — such as our friends at Acorn Productions — have committed to theater education by offering classes in acting for learners of all ages. Instead, we’ve got a “learn by doing” approach that has served us and our volunteers well over the years. Sometimes by design and sometimes by accident, we  bring experienced theater people together with people just getting started. By working together to bring work to the stage, both parties learn more about the craft.

Like all our volunteers, I’ve had the chance to work with and observe directors, designers, technicians, and actors who have taught me a lot about theater. When I was in Crimes of the Heart, director Barbara Buck taught me the importance of character development and basic tools to analyze a script, lessons that I have built on by observing and working with other directors since. Technical director Adam Klein has taught me a substantial amount of what I know about lighting design and installation. David and Dorothy Glendinning are beginning to teach me about set design. Each of them has taught me much more than what I’ve said here, and they are but four of the many people from whom I have learned.

Sometimes I learn by doing. I didn’t know how to select and process sound effects for theater or play them through an old stereo on cue when we needed thunder and rain for Deathtrap. But I knew it was possible and I figured it out because Freeport Players let me try.

It is one of the significant roles community theater plays to provide these opportunities to experience theater from the inside and to learn and grow in the process. Kat Sirico, who designed the lighting for our most recent show Cabin Fiver and is now working on the design for I Hate Hamlet, has made it her mission to pass basic knowledge along to young people to keep the fire burning. She takes the time during loadin to provide instruction about how to hang instruments properly and safely, how to maintain the equipment, and how to speak the language of lighting technicians so they will be able to step into any theater’s tech crew with confidence.

The Glendinnings and Sam Hunneman have been working with Beth Paterson, Tim Ryan and the high school drama program for years. They have devoted countless hours to supporting and mentoring students, helping them envision critical aspects of a production and teaching them how to execute that vision.

One of the most satisfying byproducts of my new role as Managing/Artistic Director of the Players is I get to carry on that tradition. I have a front-row seat in watching the learning happen.

So next time you come see a show at Freeport Players, remember you are seeing the final results of a process that started with people of all skill levels coming together to learn from each other and entertain you.

I spent today painting…again. This time I remembered to bring my camera.

Our work for today: eight of the ten pieces of the Cabin Fiver set, prepped for painting.

I sent out a call for volunteers, but this was the first sunny warm weekend day we’ve had since last fall. The usual suspects all had lots of work of their own to do, cleaning up the stuff that they meant to clean up last fall, but then it got cold, and then the snow came and covered it up — out of sight out of mind. But the snow is gone now, and there’s no getting around the fact that if that stuff is going to get put away they’re going to have to do it. So I forgive our volunteers for not turning out in large numbers to paint.

I did have one helper. Cole T stuck with me until base coats were brushed and rolled onto all the pieces I hadn’t done during the week — insides, too. Yay Cole! One of the things that makes these projects fun is that you get to know people better. Painting isn’t rocket science, so we could chat while we worked. I now know embarassing things about Cole’s taste in music and film with which to blackmail him in the future…but I won’t, because he now knows an equal number of embarassing things about me. My best friends are people I met through theater, and projects like we worked on today were the starting point for some of those friendships.

I do my impression of Jackson Pollock.

While Cole worked on base coats, I tackled spatter painting. I’d never done this before, but Dorothy Glendinning, set designer and painter extraordinaire, got me set up and showed me what to do. It looked so easy when she did it. It took me a little practice on scrapwood before I got the hang of it. Eventually I worked up the courage to spatter the real thing. Dorothy inspected my work and says I did fine. I learn at least one new skill every time I do a show. This time it was spatter painting. I am one step closer to earning my Set Design & Construction merit badge.

By the time we stopped working, all the pieces that have been built were painted and spattered. Dorothy thinks we should spatter one more time in a different color. She has chosen a deep burgundy. The audience won’t really see this speckling, but when you come see the show — I know you will — sneak up at intermission and take a look. The three colors are really pretty together. I might have to paint a room in my house this way. [OK, maybe not. That might just be paint fumes and sunstroke talking.]

With just under three weeks until the show opens, set construction is ahead of schedule. All that’s left to do is that second spatter coat and some lettering. For now, I am tired but very very happy.

Come see the results of our effort in Cabin Fiver, April 9-25 at Freeport Performing Arts Center.

I joke about theater merit badges a lot. If you volunteer with a community theater, you’ve probably earned a few yourself. This week I’ve been working on my Set Design & Construction badge.

Our upcoming production — Cabin Fiver — has a spare setting. We share the Freeport Performing Arts Center with Freeport Schools and other community groups. In the next two weeks alone, Figures of Speech is staging The Snow Queen there and the Freeport Lioness is having their annual talent show. Because time on the stage is at a premium during the school year, for our spring show I chose short plays that lend themselves to a somewhat minimalist presentation. This saves us time setting up and clearing the stage so other groups can use the space when we’re not there. It also gives the actors lots of room to explore their own creativity in making the staged environment “real” for the audience and each other.

It’s not giving away all that much to say that in place of a realistic set — a fully decorated living room, for example — we’re using a bunch of wooden blocks in various sizes. Actually, I considered calling the show Cubism, but I decided that was too obscure and didn’t really tell you anything about the plays. The poster could’ve been super cool, though. [It turns out Cabin Fiver, a play on the cabin fever we all felt during the winter when we brainstormed show titles, wasn't quite right either. Who knew we'd have temps in the 60s in March!]

But back to the cubes. Or blocks. This is my first set design. It seemed like such an easy concept to execute. We’d just build six or seven cubes. Heck, we have a bunch of these things already; we surely must have most of what we need, right? Then I read the scripts and talked to the directors. It got complicated.

After a bunch of hen scratches on graph paper and even a few construction paper blocks made to scale, I settled on the minimum blocks to create everything we needed. I made cardboard “footprints” for the actors and directors to play with, and it was instantly clear I was way off base on the scale. I was so glad I hadn’t started construction! A few more chewed pencils and conversations with trusted advisors Dorothy and David Glendinning later, I worked it all out and handed the drawings to David to work out how to build them.

There are nine blocks. In various combinations and with just a few accent pieces they become a kitchen, a restaurant, an efficiency hotel suite, a bedroom, a living room, an airport gate and even a Mesopotamian construction site. (You’ll have to come see the show to find out how I did it!)

David’s been FCP’s master carpenter for as long as I can remember. Dorothy has designed the majority of our sets over the years. With each design she raises the bar, and I’m proud to say that even with our very limited resources — anyone got any lumber and lauan they want to donate? — Freeport Players’ sets are as well-designed and well-built as those I see in even professional theaters. So, upstart that I am, it’s been great to have their help. David figured out how to build these things sturdy and light, which I know the actors will appreciate when they are moving them for scene changes. He put in a lot of hours in his magic workshop and has them almost all finished.

That’s where I came back in. Tuesday was a beautiful day, and I got spring fever. I had to be inside all day and it was driving me nuts. When Wednesday looked to be even warmer and sunnier, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I was going to wait until Saturday to paint, in hopes of getting a few volunteers to do the work, but instead I put on my “grubbies”, packed up my painting supplies and headed to the workshop. We set up a station on the lawn and I spent a glorious six hours painting boxes. When I left, the base coat was on six of the nine boxes. Weeellll, I did miss one side of one box. Oops. nevertheless, it was a very good day.

Today I snuck in another hour of prepping and painting, and I can’t wait until Saturday to finish the base coats on the remaining pieces and get started spatter painting them. Dorothy says spattering “gives them a more active surface” for the lighting. I say it adds texture to them so they don’t look so plain. We probably mean the same thing, but Dorothy’s way of saying it sounds much cooler.

I’m not selfish. If anyone wants to volunteer to help me paint on Saturday, I’ve got plenty of brushes and rollers!

You can see the results April 9-25, 7:30pm Fridays & Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, at Freeport Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale now at www.fcponline.org. Purchase your tickets in advance and get them at the bargain price of $10, saving $5 off the at-the-door price.