The Bill Raiten Blog

NST has had an interesting project developing over the past year or so.  Resident playwright Rick Doyle approached us with an idea for a play.  A group of us worked with him in Scene Study class in autumn 2008 to develop the characters and dialog.  We would read the scene, discuss with Rick, then he would rewrite the dialog, and so on.  The initial work was presented as a scene about a year ago during Theater Arts Week 2008.  The story is about a Maine family and how they are being impacted by the shutdown of the paper mill in their town.

Rick continued to work on the play (with director Bill Raiten’s input) and it is now two full scenes.  I don’t think he knows if he wants to write more or not: it could actually stand alone as it is now.  (It’s almost 1-1/2 hrs. long at this time.)  Everyone involved agreed that this was one of the most interesting theater experiences they’ve ever had.  For Rick, he saw his words and ideas brought to life on the stage.  For the actors and director, we’ve never had the chance to work with the playwright directly.  Usually the director has his/her own interpretation of the feelings and emotions that the playwright wants to convey to the audience.  In this case, the playwright is at the rehearsals and we could ask him exactly what he wanted!  And he was receptive to our ideas!  We would like to make working with a Maine Playwright an annual event.  We think we can provide a good outlet for Maine writers.

There is a workshop production of Too Good To Be True on Friday November 20 and Saturday November 21 at 7:00 p.m.  Admission is just $10 and there will be a discussion with the audience, actors, playwright and director afterwards (that’s the “workshop” part).  This is not a lightweight play: it’s the type of thing that Arthur Miller might write.  There is strong language used.  This production has been partially supported by a grant from the Maine Community Foundation.  Please try to attend - we’d love to see you there.

Actually, this performance is part of NST’s Theater Arts Week: on Tuesday 11/17/09 there’s a scene from Arthur Miller’s The Price being presented (scene study and director’s class.)  On Wednesday 11/18/09 there’s a performance by Bill Raiten’s Truth In Acting class, on Thursday 11/19/09 there’s a show by the Musical Vocals class (with instructor Abigail Greene.)  These three shows are free admission!  And there’s still a chance to audition for The Threepenny Opera on Sunday 11/22/09 at 4:00 p.m.  There’s lots going on so please try to attend!