Showtime in Belfast

FROM THEATER TO MUSIC, DANCE, AND FILM, WALDO COUNTY'S VIBRANT PERFORMING ARTS SCENE OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

From the 1868 Opera House to the art deco marquee of the 1912 Colonial Theatre, relics of Belfast’s long tradition of performing arts are everywhere. As the county seat, Belfast was a destination for national acts like circuses, and vaudeville shows, and it has always been a place where home-grown theater, music, dance, and performance groups have flourished.

A bevy of dancers, musicians, actors, and performers from a wide array of traditions thrives in Waldo County today. Five theater groups, including the Belfast Maskers, Everyman Repertory Theatre, Midcoast Theater Company, Marsh River Theater, and The Playhouse, perform in the area throughout the year. The Colonial Theatre shows art-house films and blockbusters. The Belfast Flying Shoes offers a variety of participatory music and dance events building on traditions from around the world. Come July, Belfast Summer Nights concerts fill city streets with music and merriment.

“Belfast is just this inclusive type of place where the arts have always thrived,” says Meg Nickerson, artistic director for the Belfast Maskers, the community theater group that started in 1987.

Ando Anderson, who launched the Belfast Summer Nights effort in conjunction with a team of fellow musicians, with support from the city, credits the city’s wealth of talented musicians of all genres and instruments, the critical mass of audiences who want to see live performances, and city leaders who had the vision and the courage to let the event go on.

“Belfast is just special in that way,” he says.

Continuously adapting and improvising has been the key to sustainability, particularly in the last two years, as the pandemic forced all the performing arts groups to rethink how to connect with audiences in safe, fun ways.

The Maskers, for instance, brought their shows outside. Midcoast Theater Company developed a series of audio dramas, which its actors recorded and the theater posted online, then did two performances in its 2021 season. The Everyman Repertory Theatre, an 11-year-old professional troupe, had to cancel its live performances, but partnered with the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland to produce short audio stories that animate paintings in the museum’s collection. Belfast Flying Shoes hit pause on community contra dances and jamborees, but expanded its outreach programs to local schools, virtual music lessons to the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center, and outdoor concerts at local retirement communities. It also held Sunday-afternoon concerts in Steamboat Landing Park, laying out purple mats where people could dance to the music on their own from a safe distance. With the help of grant funding, the Belfast Flying Shoes also recorded their performances for broadcast on the local public-access channel.

While much is in flux for the 2022 season, leaders of the local performing arts community say that the pandemic sparked creative ways to deliver on their mission. Even if they aren’t doing the exact type of performance they imagined, the kind of creativity and flexibility is in keeping with the same spirit in which the groups were founded.

“It wasn’t contra dancing but it was this other thing that brought people together,” says board secretary Chrissy Fowler. “Participatory community building activities are the foundation on which the group was founded back in 2005. There’s no one way to do that. And it’s stretched us to find new ways to do it more effectively and better.” •

The Playhouse (CLAP! Inc)

Belfast Maskers

Colonial Theatre

PRESS PLAY

Waldo County has a wealth of theater, dance, music, and performing-arts groups. To find out about 2022 events, check their websites.

Belfast Maskers - Based in the Basil Burwell Theater, in a 19th-century church, this 35-yearold community theater troupe is planning for a full season in 2022, including a summer production of Mama Mia. belfastmaskers.com

Belfast Summer Nights - Since 1995, these Thursday night concerts on the bank of the Passagassawakeag River have been a can’t-miss event for locals and visitors alike. Find details on performances on Facebook @belfastsummernights

Mary Weaver and the Playhouse - Since 1994, Creative Learning and Performance, or CLAP!, has been giving kids, teens, and adults an opportunity to perform live theater, workshops, and camps under the guidance of Mary Weaver at the Playhouse. clapbelfastmaine.org

Colonial Theatre - This locally owned theater, which has been showing films since 1912, has in-person screenings of blockbusters and indie art films, with COVID-19 precautions like alternate-row seating, plus special events like Noir-Vember and Subtitle Sundays. The theater continues to offer online movie streaming, which was launched during the pandemic. colonialtheater.com

Everyman Repertory Theatre - This professional theater company performs at venues around the region, like the Camden Opera House. Tune in to hear the actors in action through its The Painting Speaks series, available at vimeo.com/farnsworthmuseum. everymanrep.org

Belfast Flying Shoes - This dancing and music troupe plans to continue outdoor performances in the 2022 season, as well as their outreach work. You can see their performances on the local public access channel (channel 1301) as well as its website. belfastflyingshoes.org