Guilford Forum Wednesday on Act 46

Guilford residents are encouraged to attend a Community Forum on Act 46, to be held Wednesday, September 5, at 7:00 pm, at Guilford Community Church located at 38 Church Drive.  The event is sponsored by Broad Brook Grange, but is being held at the church due to renovations at the former Grange hall.

Public school districts throughout Vermont have been participating in a years-long process to comply with Act 46, which was adopted by the legislature in 2015.  This fall, the State Board of Education will conclude deliberations and issue their final plans for school districts, including Guilford, which do not yet have a school consolidation plan or an approved alternative.

In the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, of which Guilford is a member, there are two proposals from the district now before the State Board.  One plan calls for a merger of the town school districts into a single, unified district.  The other plan proposes an alternative structure which retains the individual districts, with mechanisms for increased collaboration.

The September 5 Forum will open with presenters outlining both proposals, as well as an explanation of the Act 46 process.  The major portion of the evening will be available for townspeople to ask questions about the proposals and the next steps in the process.

Presenters for the evening will include current and former Guilford School Board members along with Windham County State Senator, Becca Balint.

 

Refreshments will be served.

 

 

Spoon River – Next Guilford Stage Play

Guilford Center Stage opens its fourth year with Spoon River on May 4-6 at the Broad Brook Community Center in Guilford.  The modern American classic will be performed in a new adaptation for the stage by Guilford playwright, Michael Nethercott, who directs the play. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.  Tickets are $10 general admission.

The original book of epitaph-monologues, Spoon River Anthology,  by Chicago lawyer, Edgar Lee Masters, created a sensation when first published in 1915, both for its direct, free-verse style, and for what was regarded as its scandalous exposure of the dark underside of a typical American small town.  From the original collection of over 200 town characters, Nethercott has selected about 70 for this adaptation.

Michael Nethercott’s award-winning plays have included premieres of two one-acts and a full-length play in past Guilford Center Stage seasons.  He has also published two mystery novels.

A company of 16 community actors, including many familiar from the past five Guilford productions, will perform the play, which also includes music and dancing.  Scenic design is by Jason Clark, assisted by Maria Pugnetti; lighting and sound is provided by Katia Morosan, and wardrobe is managed by the director and assisting cast members.  Stage manager is Susan Shedd.

Cast members are Beverly Miller, Robert Tucker, Joel Kaemmerlen, William Stearns, Marvin Shedd, Richard Epstein, Joshua Cunningham, Jan van Oene, Maggie McGlone-Jennings, Julie Holland, Cris Parker-Jennings, Jenny Holan, Maryann Kelley Parrott, Carolyn Taylor-Olson, Evelyn McLean, and Sheala Holland.

The May production is up a flight of stairs at Broad Brook Community Center, 3940 Guilford Center Road. General admission is $10 at the door.  Advance tickets & more info are at <spoonrivervt.brownpapertickets.com>  or may be ordered at 1-800-838-3006.

The season will continue with the third year of Stage and Stream, theater and library camp for 9-13 year olds, co-produced with the Guilford Free Library and free for Guilford kids.  For further information on the camp, contact Guilford Librarian Cathi Wilken, 257-4603.

And this year of “river anthologies” will conclude with a revival of Verandah Porche’s Guilford 250th play, Broad Brook Anthology, in November, at the Guilford Center Meeting House.

Early Thanksgiving Dinner this Saturday

Community Early Thanksgiving Meal at Grange

Broad Brook Grange invites everyone to its free, annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, November 18, at 5:00 p.m., at the Grange Hall in Guilford Center.  Grange chefs will prepare turkey, with stuffing and gravy (of course!) and mashed potatoes for the event.

Turkeys are compliments of the Guilford Food Pantry.

Those attending are asked to bring a potluck side dish, bread, dessert or non-alcoholic beverage to share.   If you, or someone you know, is unable to bring a potluck item, please come anyway!  We’ll have plenty for everyone, and the Grange, with assistance from the Food Pantry, is happy to host this gathering for all in the community.  All are welcome.  Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Road, 4 miles west of the Country Store.

Library Talk This Sunday/Plays in 2 Weeks

I will be giving a preview talk about my mother’s plays; the talk is this Sunday Sept 24 at Guilford Free Library, at 2 pm, & is, of course, free!  I’ll be joined by several people involved with the production, the story about which is below.  Thanks, Don

ONE-ACT PLAYS PREMIERE IN GUILFORD OCT 6-8

Guilford Center Stage will give the first-ever performances of four short plays written 70 years ago, in To Their Appointed End, by Jean Stewart McLean (1917-1963.) The one-acts will be given three performances, with shows on Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, October 8, at 2:00 pm, upstairs at Broad Brook Grange.

General Admission tickets are $10, available in advance at: http://bpt.me/2792780  or  1-800-838-3006, or at the door.

The playwright, whose son, Don McLean, is a founder of Guilford Center Stage, wrote poetry, short stories, and these four, short plays.  The production, which concludes Guilford Center Stage’s third season, is being given in commemoration of the centenary of the playwright, who grew up living in the parish family of an Episcopal Church in New Jersey, where her father was rector.

Two of the plays, the drama, To Their Appointed End, and a comedy, Where the Saints Have Trod, are set in church situations informed by the playwright’s childhood.  The show opens with The Vine, a short drama, and concludes with a witty comedy, Happy Hollidays.

Directed by William Stearns, the cast, from seven area towns, includes Nancy Detra, Ian Hefele, Jenny Holan, Julie Holland,  Joel Kaemmerlen, Glenn Letourneau, Todd W. Mandell,  Nan Mann, Evelyn McLean, Cris Parker-Jennings, Maryann Parrott, Arthur Pettee,  Jen Rainville, Genevieve Redmond, Marvin Shedd, Susan Shedd,  William Stearns,  and Bob Tucker.

Guilford Center Stage is a project of Broad Brook Grange, and was begun in 2015 to make greater use of the building’s 19th century stage.  Its particular goal is to present plays which have regional, local, or, as in this case,  personal connections to the theater company.  Three of the five productions to date have been premieres.  The theater is up a flight of stairs.  Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Rd., just under 4 miles west of the Guilford Country Store.

Guilford Stage Tickets on Sale

Tickets are now on sale online for the October 6-8 Guilford Center Stage production of To Their Appointed End, four short plays by Jean Stewart McLean.  These plays were written about 70 years ago, and have never before been performed.  The production commemorates the centenary of the playwright, the mother of Center Stage co-founder Don McLean.

Performances are Friday and Saturday, October 6 & 7, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday the 8th at 2 pm, upstairs at Broad Brook Grange, 3940 Guilford Center Rd.

A cast of 17 community actors will perform the plays, which average about 20 minutes in length.  William Stearns directs.

The future playwright was born in Rahway, New Jersey in 1917.  The family lived in the rectory of the Episcopal church where her father was the minister, thus she grew up in a setting which particularly informs two of these plays.

The show opens with The Vine, a drama about a young man who has a deep-seated dependence on a large vine growing outside his family home.

Two of the plays are based on the author’s upbringing in a church family.  In To Their Appointed End, an aged minister faces the possibility he will have to retire.  In a sort of sequel,  the comedy, Where the Saints Have Trod finds a young minister challenged by his new congregation’s fond memories of his much-beloved predecessor.

The finale, Happy Hollidays, is a fast-paced comedy about the Hollidays, a theatrical couple who host a radio show from their New York apartment.  To their listeners, they are a happy couple.  Off the air is a different matter.

General admission is $10.  Cash or check will be accepted at the box office.  For those wishing to use a credit or debit card, you may go to Brown Paper Tickets at  bpt.me/2792780 or   1-800-838-3006.

Last Call for Theater/Library Camp

We have 2 or 3 slots left for this session, so here’s the scoop again:

Stage & Stream

Theater and Library Camp Returns This Summer in Guilford Center

For a second summer, Guilford Free Library and Guilford Center Stage are again collaborating on Stage & Stream, a weeklong theater and library camp this August 14-18.  The session will be open to 5th-8th graders, and will be FREE to Guilford kids.  Those from other towns may attend for a fee of $50 for the week.

The camp day will run Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm at a pair of adjacent 1890’s venues in the village of Guilford Center.

Mornings will take place at Guilford Center Stage in the Broad Brook Grange, with theater workshops, games, improv, and sketches.  Each day begins with breakfast snacks and an intro to the day’s activities.

Campers and teachers then take the 2 minute walk to the Library for brown-bag lunch and an afternoon of literature, writing, journaling, and outdoor time in the woods, stream, the new play-space and Weeks Trail.  Healthy snacks will be provided throughout the session.

Returning from last year are theater teachers Rachel Durante of Guilford and Maia Gilmour of Brattleboro.  Rachel Durante is a theater graduate of Goucher College and has been featured in Vermont Theatre Co. productions this season.  Maia Gilmour studies Humanistic Psychology at Point Park University, and plans to further her education to go into the fields of Art Therapy and Art Education.

Library staff and parent volunteers will also be part of the team.  On one or more afternoons, guest practitioners will join the group for indoor and outdoor activities.

Guilford Center Stage was founded in 2015 by Broad Brook Grange.  The group has premiered plays by Guilford playwright Michael Nethercott and performed comedies by Vermont authors Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Charles W. Henry,   It is now preparing for its 5th production, the premiere of one-act plays by Jean Stewart McLean (1917-1963) in October.

The Town’s library is regularly open several days a week, and will be staffed on camp days. Guilford Free Library has a history of providing activities for the children of Guilford, including storytime and other workshops for older children and programs for adults.  For a number of summers it has provided two morning-session Library Camps — the summer reading program — free to Guilford children.  These camps, for younger children,  will continue this summer.

For the Stage & Stream camp, transportation will be arranged for any camper who requires this in order to attend.

For further information contact Cathi Wilken, Librarian of Guilford Free Library, 257-4603  wilken@sover.net.

Theater & Library Camp this August in Guilford Ctr.

 

For a second summer, Guilford Free Library and Guilford Center Stage are again collaborating on Stage & Stream, a weeklong theater and library camp this August 14-18.  The session will be open to 5th-8th graders, and will be FREE to Guilford kids.  Those from other towns may attend for a fee of $50 for the week.

The camp day will run Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm at a pair of adjacent 1890’s venues in the village of Guilford Center.

Mornings will take place at Guilford Center Stage in the Broad Brook Grange, with theater workshops, games, improv, and sketches.  Each day begins with breakfast snacks and an intro to the day’s activities.

Campers and teachers then take the 2 minute walk to the Library for brown-bag lunch and an afternoon of literature, writing, journaling, and outdoor time in the woods, stream, the new play-space and Weeks Trail.  Healthy snacks will be provided throughout the session.

Returning from last year are theater teachers Rachel Durante of Guilford and Maia Gilmour of Brattleboro.  Rachel Durante is a theater graduate of Goucher College and has been featured in Vermont Theatre Co. productions this season.  Maia Gilmour studies Humanistic Psychology at Point Park University, and plans to further her education to go into the fields of Art Therapy and Art Education.

Library staff and parent volunteers will also be part of the team.  On one or more afternoons, guest practitioners will join the group for indoor and outdoor activities.

Guilford Center Stage was founded in 2015 by Broad Brook Grange.  The group has premiered plays by Guilford playwright Michael Nethercott and performed comedies by Vermont authors Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Charles W. Henry,   It is now preparing for its 5th production, the premiere of one-act plays by Jean Stewart McLean (1917-1963) in October.

The Town’s library is regularly open several days a week, and will be staffed on camp days. Guilford Free Library has a history of providing activities for the children of Guilford, including storytime and other workshops for older children and programs for adults.  For a number of summers it has provided two morning-session Library Camps — the summer reading program — free to Guilford children.  These camps, for younger children,  will continue this summer.

For the Stage & Stream camp, transportation will be arranged for any camper who requires this in order to attend.

For further information contact Cathi Wilken, Librarian of Guilford Free Library, 257-4603  wilken@sover.net.

Brunch at Grange Sunday 18th

Broad Brook Grange will present its 21st annual Father’s Day Brunch on Sunday, June 18, from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Grange hall in Guilford Center.  The proceeds from the event support maintenance of the historic building.

The all-you-can-eat brunch features eggs and omelettes, any style, made to order.  Also on the menu are  pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon and home fries, with Guilford maple syrup.  Other treats include home-baked coffee cakes and other baked goods, fresh fruit salad, and bread for toasting.  A selection of juices will be available, along with coffee, teas and milk.

The Grange hall serves as a community center for Guilford, hosting meetings, General Election polling, The Guilford Food Pantry every Thursday, Green-Up Day, and the theater project, Guilford Center Stage.  The organization also provides an annual scholarship to a college-bound Guilford student — to be given at BUHS Senior Awards Night this week — and a dictionary to every 3rd grader at Guilford Central School.

No reservations are necessary for the meal, which is priced at $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, and $5 for ages 2-12. Kids under two are free.

This event is the last of two brunches for 2017, and concludes the series of annual fundraising meals which began with the sugar on snow supper in March, and Mother’s Day Brunch in May.

Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Road, 4 miles west of the Guilford Country Store.  For more information, call (802) 257-1961.

Father’s Day Brunch at Grange — Help Welcome!

Broad Brook Grange’s spring season of a cluster of food events (Sugar on Snow Supper in March, Mother’s Day Brunch in May and now this event) concludes for 2017 with our 21st annual Father’s Day Brunch on Sunday, June 18, 7am – 1 pm, an all-you-can eat affair, with famous made-to-order omelettes and much more.  This is an event which helps keep the building going — heat & electricity, paper towels, insurance, maintenance & repairs, etc.

We’ll shortly send out a reminder of the event itself to encourage folks to attend as customers.

The Grange members also ask people and organizations which use the building or have an interest in preserving it to suggest that we could use some help putting on the brunch.  We welcome donations of baked goods, and other food supplies, and especially can use additional staff.  There are a couple of work shifts on the day before, but particularly at the event itself.  Some workers arrive as early as 5 am, and clean-up afterwards usually goes too 3:30 or 4 pm.  But we are happy to have people take — or create — a shift anywhere during that time period.

Perks: (tho modest) include free breakfast — you can even order eggs or an omelette and take a break at any time to have a lavish brunch.  Also, if you’re there at the end of the event, there’s always cool food stuff you’re free to take home.  BUHS students may also get Community Service hour credits.  And it’s a friendly event & fun to work on.

Here is a link to the sign-up BringIt list.  Thanks, Don

http://organizethis.bringit.bz/public/39f3f0

Auditions May 20 & 24 for Guilford Plays

Guilford Center Stage announces open auditions for its October premiere of To Their Appointed End: the One-Act Plays of Jean Stewart McLean.  There will be two sessions of auditions: Saturday, May 20, from 10 am to Noon, and Wednesday, May 24, from 6 to 8 pm, at Broad Brook Grange in Guilford.  William Stearns directs the production.

There are a number of roles for men and women from about age 20 and up.  No reservation is needed, and auditioners may arrive anytime during the 2-hour session.  Those trying out may prepare or bring a dramatic reading, or a passage from a play of their choosing, of about one minute in length.   Director Stearns will also have passages from the one-acts available for those who wish to try some dialogue.  Stage helpers are welcome, also.

The production, running October 6-8, will be the fifth production of Guilford Center Stage, which produces two shows each year, and just concluded its spring premiere of Guilford playwright Michael Nethercott’s Our Enemy’s Cup.   The project was founded by Broad Brook Grange in 2015 to use the small proscenium stage at the 1896 Grange.  Plays with a connection to Guilford and to the region have been the focus of the program.

Jean Stewart McLean (1917-1963) was the mother of Guilford Center Stage co-founder Don McLean.  In addition to short fiction, she wrote four one-act plays in the late 1940’s and early 50’s, none of which has previously been staged.  The plays range from a short drama to a pair of comedies, and are being presented in commemoration of the centenary of the playwright’s birth.

For more information call 802-257-1961 or e-mail <inscapevt@myfairpoint.net>.