This is the first performance of our 2019-20 Maine Library Tour. Additional performances on the library tour have been scheduled in Rockland, Blue Hill, and Yarmouth. More dates will be announced as they become available.
Seating limited to 50 people. To reserve a seat, call Ray Marcotte at 603-290-1303.
An unquestioned masterpiece of 20th-century literature, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets is a complex, deeply moving meditation on time, memory, and human striving toward the divine.
Eliot completed Four Quartets in 1941, as Britain slid into the abyss of World War II, and he feared that civilization itself might perish in the coming years. Writing at the height of his artistic powers, Eliot packed into the four long poems a summation of his views on poetry and art, on mystical experience, and on humankind’s relationship to history and time.
In 2011, with rarely granted permission of the Eliot Estate, John Farrell committed to memory the one-thousand lines of Eliot’s masterpiece and prepared them for performance. John’s recitation of Four Quartets affords audiences an opportunity to immerse themselves in these gorgeous lines of poetry, spoken from memory, and renew their understanding of one the 20th century’s most exceptional poets.
These five short puppet performances will showcase original student works incorporating elements of puppetry, acting, sound design, and more.
The performances are open to the public. They will run approximately one hour, including a 15-minute Q&A with the students. Holy Cross community members and the public are encouraged to attend.
College of the Holy Cross is located at 1 College Street in Worcester, MA. Special thanks to Arts Transcending Borders for their support of the event!
In Holly Star, a cash-strapped puppeteer returns home for the holidays and gets caught up in a treasure hunt with her paintball-obsessed best friend, her tango-dancing grandmother, and a childhood sweetheart.
We’re excited for the upcoming culminating event at the end of a four-month collaboration between artists from Figures of Speech Theatre, students from Falmouth High School, and residents from The Cedars retirement community in Portland.
On Saturday 12/7 at 1:30 PM at The Cedars, residents and members of the public will gather to watch the students perform three short shadow adaptations of stories, written by the residents using the award-winning TimeSlips creative storytelling method.
Afterwards, we’ll hear directly from the students about their experience and celebrate together over an ice cream social. This free event will last approximately one hour.
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This project was been funded in part by a Project Grant for Organizations from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Life Enrichment Department at The Park Danforth held a TimeSlips Gallery Opening last Saturday.
The visual and audio gallery of stories created by some of the residents will remain on display through the month of November at The Park Danforth at 777 Stevens Avenue in Portland.
FST Director of Education, Ian Bannon, has regularly visited residents at The Park Danforth, working alongside Life Enrichment staff to offer TimeSlips sessions, facilitate outreach to families, and support the staff members as they undergo training to become Certified TimeSlips Facilitators.
This collaboration between FST and The Park Danforth was selected as one of the Coffee By Design Rebel Blend Fund Winners and was also funded in part by a Creative Aging Grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
We’re over the moon to have been selected along with a stellar group of organizations to receive a Coffee By Design Rebel Blend Fund Grant.
This award will be used to support our Engaging Family & Building Community through a TimeSlips Creative Storytelling project in partnership with The Park Danforth.
Congratulations to all of our inspiring co-recipients!
The Maine Jung Center is a community of Jungian thought and a forum for discovery where people come alive together through active membership and support for individual growth.
An unquestioned masterpiece of 20th-century literature, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets is a complex, deeply moving meditation on time, memory, and human striving toward the divine.
Eliot completed Four Quartets in 1941, as Britain slid into the abyss of World War II, and he feared that civilization itself might perish in the coming years. Writing at the height of his artistic powers, Eliot packed into the four long poems a summation of his views on poetry and art, on mystical experience, and on humankind’s relationship to history and time.
In 2011, with rarely granted permission of the Eliot Estate, John Farrell committed to memory the one-thousand lines of Eliot’s masterpiece and prepared them for performance. John’s recitation of Four Quartets affords audiences an opportunity to immerse themselves in these gorgeous lines of poetry, spoken from memory, and renew their understanding of one the 20th century’s most exceptional poets.
We couldn’t be more delighted with the students who have registered for our Devising Puppet Theater course at College of the Holy Cross. Now that they have been exposed to the form and a have bit of construction under their belts, we’re excited to watch them begin to bring their puppets to life!
The Denmark Arts Center is a unifying force, a magical place for all ages, thriving in the historic 1883 Odd Fellows Hall located in the foothills of western Maine. The Denmark Arts Center inspires joy, growth, creativity and community through the arts.
American audiences are in for an exotic treat with Figures of Speech Theatre production of Jester Kings of Java. Gorgeous hand-crafted puppets made from gilded water buffalo hide portray the heroes, villains, and lovers from the ancient Ramayana, who dance across the eight-foot wide shadow screen to the mesmerizing sound of Indonesian gamelan music.
The story follows King Rama, who wants to marry Princess Sinta. But Sinta is in no mood for romance, because an evil giant has dog-napped her precious pup, Furri-Furri! All is in chaos, for there can be no harmony in the Kingdom when the King’s heart is not at peace. To restore equilibrium and win Sinta’s heart, Rama enlists the help of his overly chatty servant Gareng, Hanuman the White Monkey, a giant Garuda Bird, and even the heavenly lord Bathara Guru! Wild battles, strange adventures, and outrageous humor promise to entertain audiences of all ages.
Opera Maine, formerly known as PORTopera, is dedicated to producing creative, inspiring, and professional opera performances of artistic excellence. They foster young operatic talent, provide educational opportunities related to opera, and engage their audience, supporters, and community in collaborative ways that excite enthusiasm for the art form.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary—and the magic of opera—Opera Maine presents its first-ever production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Magnificent music draws you into a fantasy world, where Prince Tamino and the bird catcher Papageno embark upon a trial-filled journey to rescue the beautiful daughter of the Queen of the Night. The twisting tale of good, evil, enlightenment, and love will captivate young and old alike. Roberto Kalb will conduct and Artistic Director Dona D. Vaughn directs the talented cast, including masks and puppeteering by FST artist, Ian Bannon.
Opera Maine, formerly known as PORTopera, is dedicated to producing creative, inspiring, and professional opera performances of artistic excellence. They foster young operatic talent, provide educational opportunities related to opera, and engage their audience, supporters, and community in collaborative ways that excite enthusiasm for the art form.