THEATRE

One night only, The Live Theatre, will be bringing the groundlings to The Middle East Club Downstairs on April 11th, 2012 with the world premier of First Annual Northern Maine Arts Festival (FANMAF). Using a venue with far more standing room than seats, The Live Theatre will be performing an original play in iambic pentameter. The entire event will be a throwback to the Globe Theatre of the Shakespearean era – replete with audience involvement and liberal libations.
The Middle East Club is known for having some of the best live concerts in the area, but has never before featured a standalone play. “This promises to be an absolutely unique experience,” said FANMAF writer/director Jeffrey Walker. “This is theater designed to reach the average person; offering humor, social commentary and a truly communal experience unlike the stuffy, Boston theatre scene.” The company says it is reaching out to the concert going audience in the area.
First Annual Northern Maine Arts Festival is a new comedy in four acts, which lampoons New Englanders and artists alike. FANMAF is set in a sleepy Maine town, where Mayor Wally has recently made a surprise announcement: he is to award a three-million dollar prize to an emerging artist in the First Annual Northern Maine Arts Festival. The conniving mayor’s aide then sets about trying to swindle the prize money, but his efforts are complicated by the arrival of an over-the-top artistic duo.
“[This] is writing in the traditional Morality Play style,” says Elizabeth Dale, former Senior Lecturer at Santa Clara University. “He is able to draw the reader in with a simple and uncomplicated plea for a return to a reality unfettered by political correctness.” The play models the work of Shakespeare, written entirely in verse and complete with mistaken identities, love at first sight, and scheming villains.
The Live Theatre will be performing First Annual Northern Maine Arts Festival at the Middle East Club Downstairs on April 11th, 2012. Doors will open at 7:00 PM with live music. The show starts at 8:00 PM. The bar will be running throughout the night. Live music will follow the performance.
The Live Theatre is a Boston based theater company founded in 2011. For more information visit www.LiveTheatreBoston.com.