IN PERSON AT AUBURN PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ZOOM

Everyone who registers will receive a link to ZOOM in their email on the morning of the class, and may attend either in-person or by ZOOM.

When you buy a ticket and see a show, what you’re seeing is just a fraction of the entire effort that goes into a production.  

Ray Dumont, Executive Director of The Public Theatre, will offer participants a “backstage pass” into the professional theatre world and the many artists, builders, and supporters who make it happen. A production doesn’t come to life by accident.  Each moment is precisely rehearsed.  Every element you see is carefully chosen by the director and a team of designers.

Join in the discussion of the life of a production.  You may never see a show the same way again.  

Ray Dumont is Executive Director of The Public Theatre in Lewiston, Maine.

IN PERSON AT THE FIRST UNIVERALIST CHURCH

Join Maine Inside Out for an interactive theater workshop from 3:30-5pm on September 24 at the First Universalist Church at 160 Pleasant Street Auburn! The workshop explores how theater can be a tool for deepening our understanding of ourselves and our community through play, collaboration, improvisation, and vulnerability.

Maine Inside Out (MIO) is a Lewiston based nonprofit that ignites collective creativity and inspires social action by engaging youth and adults impacted by system oppression to create and share original theater. Since 2008, MIO has facilitated theater workshops and performances inside Maine prisons, schools, and community settings. MIO's performance tours have engaged audiences across the state of Maine and as far away as Washington, DC and the University of Michigan. For more information about MIO please check out our website at www.maineinsideout.org.  

IN PERSON AT THE LEWISTON-AUBURN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE PUBLIC THEATRE

Lewiston-Auburn Senior College is partnering with The Public Theatre to offer a unique opportunity for you to get a behind-the scenes look at a thrilling stage adaptation of Stephen King’s MISERY, the first play in The Public Theatre’s 2025-26 season, The Theatre will be offering us a sneak peek into the rehearsal process, including the chance to ask questions about the experience of how much work it takes to produce a professional play.

You may have read Stephen King’s best-selling psychological thriller or seen the Oscar-winning film adapted by William Goldman (Marathon Man), but nothing compares to seeing the story play out live on stage. Truth is stranger than fiction when a famous romance novelist veers off the road in a winter storm and wakes up incapacitated in the home of his “number one fan.” A heart-pounding life or death game of cat and mouse quickly ensues as his number one fan unexpectedly becomes his number one enemy.

Session One: October 8, 11-1 at the Chamber of Commerce Conference Room (415 Lisbon Street, a short walk from the Public Theatre). A two-hour discussion about the themes and content of the play.  How does it differ from its source material?  How are the events from the book and the movie depicted on stage in front of an audience?  How do we give a sense of time and place on the stage, without the book’s narration and the film’s ability to be virtually anywhere?  We will also include a sneak peek of set and costume designs for the play. After the discussion, we will travel over to the Public Theatre to see the set “in progress.”  Experience up close the amazing craftsmanship of the set designers and builders.

Session Two: October 15 (at the Public Theatre, time TBA) A Rehearsal Sneak Peek:  Attend a short piece of rehearsal to watch the script transition from page to stage.  See the Director work with the actors to make the story come to life.

Session Three:  October 26 (at the Public Theatre, 2pm) Attend a matinee performance of MISERY, which will be followed by a post-show discussion with cast members, led by The Public Theatre’s Artistic Director, Janet Mitchko. (Cost of matinee ticket is covered by tuition for the course.)

Reading:  

NOTE:  A familiarity with MISERY is helpful, but reading the book or seeing the movie is not a prerequisite for participation.  Participants will be asked to read the play’s script prior to the first session.  It is available in one of four ways: 

• You may purchase the script for $13 at Dramatists https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=5493
• You may read it free on line at: https://www.scribd.com/document/852716717/Misery-Script
• You can sign out one of 2 copies for 3 days at the Public Theatre.  Please call ahead to reserve the copy for pickup at 782-2211.
• The Lewiston Public Library has ordered copies of the script for borrowing.

Ray Dumont is Executive Director of The Public Theatre in Lewiston, Maine 

Janet Mitchko is Artistic Director of The Public Theatre in Lewiston, Maine