When the Children’s Theatre of Maine was founded by the Junior League of Portland in 1924, the average cost of a house was just $7,720, and a car sold for only $265. A century later, the organization—the oldest children’s theater in the nation—is celebrating its 101st consecutive season. “The Children’s Theatre has had all these different incarnations, but what’s really cool is that it’s kept a legacy alive,” explains Reba Askari, Theatre Artistic Director. “Our current location on Thompson’s Point is the culmination of a hundred-year dream, and our 101st season is a tribute to this legacy and the home that we’ve found,” she adds.
This season’s programming reflects the organization’s core values: belonging, trust, play, curiosity, and community. “The common thread between the shows is the idea of being playful in your life and how play can help you make friends, explore your identity, and embrace any challenges you’re facing,” Askari explains. In the first half of the season, audiences can watch a wacky adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood that turns the well-known story on its head, see the museum’s Beautiful Blackbird exhibit come to life onstage, and observe a version of Winnie the Pooh that features a Pooh puppet helping Christopher Robin adjust to a difficult move from the countryside to the city. After the new year, catch Pete the Cat, a rock-and-roll cat who teaches his family the importance of creativity, and learn the story of Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, based on the children’s book about a young boy who dreams of being an astronaut wearing a tangerine dress.
Accessibility is a priority at the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine (CMTM) and is woven into the organization's fabric from the inside out. CMTM offers two performances of every production with sign language interpreters, and there’s a soundproof viewing gallery in the back of the theatre for children who need to resettle or prefer a different sensory experience. “Sitting in a theatre can be daunting for people, and we just want to make everyone as comfortable as possible,” says Askari.
CMTM offers three categories of performances: theatre for young audiences, which features professional adult actors from the community performing for children; intergenerational shows, where kids and adults act on stage together; and young theater ensembles, which are the culmination of the organization’s classes that teach creative youth how to write and put on an original play. “Adult actors are ready to roll with whatever a young audience is going to throw at them, and they put on a lot of weekday performances for school audiences,” Askari explains. “Intergenerational shows emphasize the process, so we look for actors who are ready to be mentors and role models in the rehearsal room, and youth ensembles focus on teamwork, education, and the social-emotional language of theatre.”
CMTM’s Youth Playwriting Festival offers young playwrights an opportunity to share their work and be a part of the playwriting process from concept to stage. At the latest festival, ten plays from workshop attendees and youth submissions across southern Maine were selected, workshopped, and performed. “It was beautiful to watch everything come together. In addition to creating amazing performances, we cultivated this deep community experience,” says Askari. The annual event—and the 101st season’s programming—continue the Children’s Theatre’s legacy as the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine while looking toward the next century.
"Our current location on Thompson’s Point is the culmination of a hundred-year dream, and our 101st season is a tribute to this legacy and the home that we’ve found."