Mixed Media
THEATER
PHOTO: NORA MCBURNETT
Bryan Halperin ’95 and Johanna Bloss Halperin BMC ’94 in the Colonial Theatre in Laconia, N.H., where their Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative is the resident company.
s co-producer of Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, Bryan Halperin ’95 wants to show the 16,871 residents of Laconia, N.H., that theater can strengthen neighborly ties. That’s one reason Powerhouse’s first major production was Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, the classic play focused on ordinary people in a fictional New Hampshire town. But that’s not the only reason. “Theater can be intimidating to people who haven’t done it before. Literally anyone can be in Our Town,” says Halperin, who has been directing plays since his student days. “I can add bodies in the graveyard scene or expand the choir. During auditions, I told people, ‘If you’re curious about trying theater, this is the show for you.’” At November’s opening night in the newly renovated Colonial Theatre, 39 people ranging from ages 10 to 70-plus took the stage, experienced actors alongside curious first-timers. “We wanted to use Our Town to show what [Powerhouse] is about, to showcase humanity and
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art and entertainment while celebrating the restoration of the Colonial,” Halperin says. “Bringing together people from all walks of life, getting people to take a chance on something new, that has an impact, that builds community.” He knows theater can change lives: He met Johanna Bloss Halperin BMC ’94 during a Bi-Co production of Fiddler on the Roof. After graduation, the couple settled near Boston, where Halperin worked at a financial software firm. They welcomed two children and tag-teamed so one partner could be involved with community theater productions while the other stayed home. Then in 2004, they left their jobs, sold their home, and moved to New Hampshire’s Lakes Region to open the Winnipesaukee Playhouse with Halperin’s sister and her husband. “We just decided we wanted a different lifestyle that our kids could be involved in and we could do together,” Halperin says. The Playhouse, which offers professional, community, and educational productions, thrived. The WINTER 2022
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