Please visit our site or like us on Facebook

Community Theatre for 30 Years

HISTORY

Stage East was founded in 1990 when Cornerstone Theater Company, a group of thespians who had met as students at Harvard, came to Eastport to put on a production as part of their mission to bring theater to rural communities. They adapted the Henrik Ibsen play Peer Gynt, into a play that locals could relate to called Pier Gynt.  They mixed their own actors with local, many of whom had never acted before, for the production. After Cornerstone left, the locals who had been involved in the production founded Stage East and put on their first production in the fall of 1990, The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge.  Stage East continues to produce popular and thought-provoking plays each summer as well as a special New Years Eve production.

We are always looking for people who are interested in participating in a production.  There are many jobs that are essential for the production of a play. Almost all of them behind the scenes. You don’t have to have any experience:  just a willingness to learn and to put in some hours (amount of time depending on the job).  Some of the jobs include:
publicity, distribution of posters, deliver/pickup posters and programs at printers, stage management. obtaining props, placing the props on the stage during the play, house management, bringing food for the reception, selling tickets at the front door, lighting design, lighting techs, running the light board, sound effect design, sound tech, running the sound board, directing and producing.

Stage East’s Summer Comedy Riffs on Small-town Life

Popcorn Falls by James Hindman tells the story of a small American town facing economic disaster after a neighboring town’s dam dries up their famed waterfall. The mayor alongside the town hall’s trusty custodian must rally the townspeople together to put on a play in order to save their … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Stage East Announces Summer Production

Stage East is excited to announce their upcoming production of “Popcorn Falls” starring Morgan Swan and Alba “Hoty” Briggs IV. Swan, who captivated audiences as Mina in Stage East’s production of Dracula: The Musical?, and Briggs, who wowed as Tom in The Glass Menagerie, are set to shine in this hilarious … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Stage East to Hold Trunk Sale of Fabric, Clothing and Costumes

Stage East’s spring clean can be your windfall! The theater’s trunk sale on Saturday, April 15th will offer a selection of fabrics, clothing, and costumes that range from practical to whimsical. The sale will run from 10 am to 2 pm, and items will be sold at a dollar … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Stage East’s Panopticon Runs Through April 2

Stage East’s spring production, Panopticon, premieres this month in the Eastport Arts Center’s downstairs space. The show, an irreverent history of the prison system, is written and directed by Stage East’s executive artistic director, Mark Macey and based off the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault. Challenged to describe … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Passionate Prop Maker in the Spotlight as Stage East Prepares to Premiere ‘Panopticon’

Brandy Codill has once again lent her prop construction skills to Stage East with fabulous results. The task at hand?  Creating a puppet that could come apart at the limbs, speak, and be thrown and handled roughly all while looking like a 18th century Frenchman. “Robert [the puppet’s name] … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Jay Skriletz Playwriting Initiative Seeks Submissions from Maine Writers

Stage East excitedly announces the second year of the Jay Skriletz Playwriting Initiative. The state-wide competition caters to young Mainers in hopes of providing production experience to early-career playwrights. The winning writer will receive a $1,000 prize and a week-long workshop at Stage East culminating in a staged reading. … [Read More]

Posted in General | Tagged

Stage East Staged Reading Kicks Off February Sunday Series Lineup

EAC’s Sunday Afternoons at the Arts Center series will continue February 5 at 3 pm, with a Stage East staged reading of Afternoon Tea by Alaric Greene, directed by Carolee Bier and featuring a cast of four.  “Choosing a play for a staged reading is always a challenge for me because … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Stage East Receives 5K Grant from Maine Community Foundation

Stage East is excited to announce the receipt of a grant in the sum of $5,000 from the Maine Community Foundation’s Theater Fund. This is the second consecutive year that Stage East has received support from Maine Community Foundation. The funds last year were in support of the organization’s … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Youth Theater Group to Resume January 14

Stage East will begin a new session of Children’s Theater Workshop on Saturday, January 14. The program will run Saturdays, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, through February 11th. In this session fierce debate will ensue! Topics like cats vs. dogs, best ice cream flavors, and weirdest siblings will provide fodder for … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged

Stage East Seeks Performers for Comic Staged Reading

Stage East is currently auditioning performers for a staged reading of Hughie Kapooey & the Really Orangey Thing by Cat Lamin, to be presented at 3 pm, February 5, as part of the Sunday Afternoons at the Arts Center series. The comedy is about a bungling detective and his … [Read More]

Posted in Announcements | Tagged