D​ear Friends of River Company,

It's so gloomy I have my desk lamp going. It's nearly noon! But, do not despair. It is now only three weeks till the Winter Solstice, and our Northern Hemisphere will begin to point back to the sun. Something to look forward to.

Speaking of; our hotly anticipated production The Witch of Harpswell has been released on the video sharing site, Youtube. If you haven't already watched it, please do set aside 45 minutes and take in what is possible with a set of intrepid actors from around Lincoln County, a hot new script and an assortment of internet connection speeds! The performance was recorded in a single take about a week ago, with Nick Azzaretti at the helm of the recording software and Allison Eddyblouin narrating the imagined action. I'm so proud have been part of the production, complete with authentic costumes and considered back drops. This project is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Up next, with a release date of December 15th, is A Christmas Carol. This is perhaps our most ambitious Zoom performance yet, with a large cast and scenes filmed over recent weeks to accommodate schedules. This gave us a chance to try multiple takes at the dialogue and capture something uplifting and magical, and true to the spirit of the tale (my favorite Christmas story).

​Today is Giving Tuesday, and we would be honored if you would consider our theater group in your donations this year. Donations can be made by writing a check to:

River Company
PO Box 101
Damariscotta
04543 ME

Or at this link: www.rivercompany.org/join

 Dear Friends of River Company,

Bewilderingly, holiday time is almost upon us. For me, the holidays are about attempting to be my best self around friends and family. I turn into a happy-chappy for some reason. While this has led to some disastrous consequences in pub mop cupboards and supermarket shopping trolleys, irresistibly, I raise spirits yearly and cheer the holidays. Dickens is to blame, I reckon.

River Company continues doing its upmost to bring fun and joy through theater, and I'm secretly delighted to be apart of it... Just don't tell my mates back in that Invernessian pub, they think of me as a very serious person.

River Company is producing three ambitious Internet Video Call performances at the moment. I must give a huge shout out to Nick Azzaretti who has provided tremendous tech support for these undertakings. Hopefully, all of them can be made ready over the holiday period. Keep an eye out for our releases!

Allison Eddyblouin's project, The Witch of Harpswell, had its first Zoom rehearsal. What a fabulous cast we have, including some members of the same household family, some lost research scientists, and local actors. It was amazing to have a small window into everyone's homes as we navigate this year more alone. This project is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Check them out!

Please consider a donation to our theater company this holiday season. If you are able to give this year, there are a couple ways to do so. Please send a check to: 

River Company Theater
P.O. Box 101
Damariscotta, ME 04543

Alternatively, you can go online to www.rivercompany.org  and click the link at the bottom of the page.

This year more than ever we need the arts, not only for their ability to transport us, but also to remind us how to be human, how to create a better world – together. Your support makes community creativity possible.

We whole-heartedly thank you for being part of our community theater and can't wait to share our productions with you soon.

Dear Friends of River Company,

My favorite month! Reach for those neatly folded sweaters at the back of the drawer and witness the foliage blush from the touch of Autumn, then anticipate nervously Winter's cold embrace...

At River Company, we just had an exciting Zoom meeting (such a thing still exists I assure you) and I have some noteworthy news to share with you. No in-person performances yet, but read on!

First, we're looking for actors to audition for a Zoom performance of A Christmas Carol for our Holidays Fundraiser this year. Please email Nick, at admin@rivercompanytheater.org for more information. We've got a handle on online performance thanks to our recent internet shows, The Spooky House and How He Lied to Her Husband. These shows are available to watch on our YouTube Channel.

Following on from that, we have our third YouTube performance in production. Nick Azzaretti, Soren Barker and Emily Randel take on Anton Chekhov's The Boor. First performed in  October 1888, this looks like a hot and happening hoot..., but how does one stage a duel over Zoom, I wonder?

Next, River Company board member Allison Eddyblouin reports some great progress on her project, The Witch of Harpswell. River Company was awarded a grant from the Maine Arts Commission to create a new play based on the folk-tale of the same name. Together with local historical fiction author and Harpswell resident, James L. Nelson, Allison has put together a script and has begun the careful process of fine-tuning it to perfection. "It stays true to the folk-tale as much as possible," said Allison, "But we've made a few artistic choices to add real depth to the characters and setting. It's been a wonderful and inspired journey for me, and working Jim is just terrific!"

I hope we continue to bump into each other outside the Post Office, if not the theater. Now, enjoy the cooler weather.​

​Dear Friends of River Company,

It's Mike here from River Company. Mallory has asked me to write the eblast this month. I will do my best to give it it's usual freshness and positivity that Mallory always imbues it with!

Well, welcome to July! How on earth did that happen?! Midsummer months are always unpredictable: there's so much energy in the air, whether that's literally thunder storms and drought busting deluges, or the many things folk are up to. Myself, I've taken to Saturday fishing on Damariscotta lake at 4am. It's so beautiful at that time of day, quiet and still. Then, when the heat hits in the afternoon, I nap.

July promises one great theater moment with the release of Hamilton on Disney+ this weekend. Like a lot of people, I'm so excited to see it for the first time and put some action to the fantastic soundtrack.

Second to that is River Company's own video-call-based performance being released today! Some members of our board have acted out a socially distanced version of George Bernard Shaw's one act play, "How He Lied To Her Husband." The cast is Allison Eddyblouin, Nick Azzaretti, and myself (Mike Lee) while Mallory Adams directing over Zoom. The four of us had a blast adapting the play to Lincoln County and the present day, while retaining most of the original dialogue. My favorite line is the perfectly absurd, "That's not a very nice thing to say after wasting my pet hand sanitizer." 

We're asking folk to consider donating to the food pantry in lieu of a ticket, here: newcastlefoodpantry.org/

We really appreciate everyone who continues to support our theater group through membership and donation. Your invaluable help is even more gratefully received at the moment with the prospect of an actual play to go see seeming a long way off. But with your help, we'll be there for you when the time comes. You can support River Company, here: www.rivercompany.org/contact-us.html#join

Finally, the board would like to say a big "Thank you," to Lucy Smith who left the board last month. Your work and friendliness were very welcome and appreciated!

Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves and be well!

Mike Lee, River Company

Hello Friends of River Company and Happy 1st of June. Every June I can't help but sing the lyrics "June is bustin' out all over" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. Only recently did I learn that the scene in which the song was sung, in addition to many others, was filmed on location in Boothbay Harbor, Maine!
This June eblast is River Company's first in two months; the last eblast was sent in March. And needless to say, these past two months have been incredibly difficult in a variety of ways. And like all of you, the board of River Company is doing its best to navigate these strange new times.
A few weeks ago River Company held its bimonthly board meeting via zoom. Right now, so much is still unknown concerning our season and we plan to reevaluate at our next meeting in July whether having any kind of performance, whether it be outside or not, will be possible and safe. But we have decided to do a zoom live performance! Stay tuned for another email with performance times and access information.
We also decided to postpone mailing our newsletter and membership and plan to send it out in the fall, with hopefully a clearer plan for the holiday season and for 2021. Thank you all who have donated and renewed their membership in 2020. It is greatly appreciated. We now have a donate button and a membership subscription button on our website and if in the meantime you are so inclined to donate or join us, we humbly thank you. 

"Fresh and alive and gay and young,
June is a love song, sweetly sung."

It's a new month, a new day, and singing those lyrics fills me with positivity - that there's always rebirth, new possibilities, and a chance for things to get better.
Wishing you all safety, health and happiness.

Mallory Adams, River Company President