Stephen Stearns, VT Arts Council Award Film, 2012

This film was produced by Vermont Films for the Vermont Arts Council, and premiered at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro Vermont during the 2012 Governor's Awards Ceremony on December 10th, 2012.

Celebrating artists, and a community: Four Windham County artists earn Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts

By Olga Peters/The Commons

BRATTLEBORO—A series of firsts occurred on the Latchis Theatre’s main stage on Dec. 10, capping a year of accomplishment by the Windham County arts community.

For the first time, Gov. Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Council for the Arts honored four artists with the 2012 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

For the first time, all honorees reside in Windham County.

And also for the first time, the awards ceremony took place outside Montpelier.

Authors Karen Hesse and Archer Mayor, cellist Sharon Robinson, and professional clown, teacher, and founder and artistic director of the New England Youth Theatre Stephen Stearns accepted their awards in front of a packed house.

In interviews filmed by Vermont Films shown during the awards ceremony, the honorees spoke about the twisty-turning paths they took to Windham County and why they stayed.

The artists all said that Windham County had felt like home from the moment they arrived. Their respective communities welcomed them unlike any place they’d previously lived.

Karen Hesse said, “I’m proud to be a Vermonter.”

She jokingly hoped the award made the “Vermonter” title official.

All the honorees also spoke of serving their communities with their creative output, whether through entertainment, teaching, or introducing audiences to new places, times, characters, or sounds.

“I’m swept away by the feelings of this,” said Mayor in his acceptance speech. “You’ve given me this song to sing.”

Robinson, who said she believed Brattleboro and Southern Vermont were experiencing a renaissance, added, “In my own small way, I get to serve you all.”

“Dreaming big is important for all of us, but dreaming big is nothing without partnership,” said Sterns as he thanked his wife, Bonnie, and his creative collaborator, Peter Gould.

“Thank you for allowing me to live in my dream,” Sterns said.

In a press release, Doug Cox, president of the Arts Council of Windham County, said, “One thing we’ve learned in the arts is that excellence does not develop in a vacuum. All of us working in the arts can take pride in the accomplishments of those being honored.”

“We can all celebrate the rich community of which we are a part and that feeds all of us as artists and workers,” Cox said.

After the award ceremony, standing in the Latchis lobby, Cox said that everyone now knows what he has always known — that the arts nurture the communities of the artists themselves.

Artists and the larger communities to which they belong are part of a volley, he said: As one group dreams big, the other is nurtured, and visa versa.

The arts and media help the larger community define an identity, he said.

The real work, said Cox, comes from creating an arts industry in Windham County, one able to support all the arts.

Despite the evening’s festivities, the lack of nourishment for all the participants in the county’s creative industries remained an acute dent in the county’s economy.

Andrea Livermore, executive director of Building a Better Brattleboro, the town’s Designated Downtown Organization, said she felt excited that this year’s recipients hailed from Windham County.

But she didn’t feel Brattleboro was experiencing a renaissance — yet.

In Livermore’s opinion, the town was putting “one foot in front of the other,” and she could see this perseverance slowly carrying the arts and related economy forward.

Kate Anderson offered a more bullish perspective on Brattleboro and its cultivation of the arts.

“Overall, those four artists are treasures to the nation and on a global level as well,” said Anderson, member of the Brattleboro Town Arts Committee, who added the honorees deserved every single kudo they received.

Anderson said she wished the night’s festivities had concentrated more on the cultivation, nourishment, incubation, and shelter that Brattleboro provides for artists.

Like the four honorees, artists congregate in Windham County for a reason, said Anderson.

“Brattleboro is the fifth honoree,” she said. “I hope that the Vermont leadership recognizes what a creative community this is.”

According to Anderson, the town recently received a National Endowment for the Arts two-year Our Town grant because the people involved with the creative industries have cultivated a soil that nurtures an arts community and economy despite very little supportive infrastructure.

Anderson admitted she lacks an outside perspective on the area’s creative community. She added, however, that she thinks the arts are receiving a wider recognition of “the fuel that arts provide a town.”

Some of this recognition has come from the community’s increasing awareness of these issues.

Still, she added, there’s more work ahead before the creative industries in the area thrive as a whole.

“It is so rich,” she said. “It’s so full of potential.”

Nominations for the Governor’s Award come from the public. The Arts Council passes the top nominees to the governor, who makes the final selection.

To qualify for the annual award, participants must reside in Vermont. They must have made a “significant and sustained contribution” to the advancement of an art form. They must have been recognized for their achievements on a regional, national, or international level. They also must demonstrate a personal commitment to the development of cultural life in the state and possess high standards of professional integrity.

According to the Arts Council, it is the only designated state arts agency nationwide that is also an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organization. It has served as the state’s primary funding provider, advocate, and information source for the arts since 1964.

For more information, visit www.vermontartscouncil.org.

Gov.'s arts award honors local artists and Windham County

By JON POTTER / Brattleboro Reformer

Posted:   12/12/2012

Gov. Peter Shumlin addresses the crowd at the Latchis Theatre and the four winners of the 2012 Governor s Award for Excellence in the Arts, from left, Archer Mayor, Sharon Robinson, Karen Hesse and Stephen Stearns. (Jon Potter/Reformer)

Wednesday December 12, 2012

BRATTLEBORO -- Bathed in the glow of a spotlight they had earned for themselves, the four Windham County artists chosen for the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts spent Monday night trying to redirect as much of that light as they could.  

Spouses, children, friends, family members, collaborators, partners, neighbors in Brattleboro, the people of Vermont -- in fact everything about Vermont -- all caught the rays originally sent toward the four honorees -- Karen Hesse, Archer Mayor, Sharon Robinson and Stephen Stearns -- at the 2012 Vermont Arts Award Gala at the Latchis Theatre.

"Down-home comfort-food good" was a phrase Hesse used to describe how her life in Vermont makes her feel, but those words could apply to the whole evening, which began as a love letter to four extraordinary creative souls but became a love letter to the arts and to life here in the southeast corner of Vermont.

"They finally figured out in the rest of Vermont that the center of culture, the center of taste, the center of virtue and the center of creativity is right here in Windham County," said Gov. Peter Shumlin, showing his hometown pride. "If you want to be hip, if you want to make it in the arts, you gotta come to Windham County."

Certainly the Vermont Arts Council, which presents the award, got the message. Typically given to one or two people in a ceremony in Montpelier, the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts went to four people for the first time in its 45-year history. Since all four were closely linked to Brattleboro, the Vermont Arts Council held the ceremony in the Latchis Theatre -- and was rewarded with a crowd of roughly 400 people, who enjoyed a night that mixed the serious business of honoring four deserving people for their staggering accomplishments with a whole lot of fun.

Stephen Stearns, dressed for success in a bright yellow shirt, rainbow-striped pants, rainbow-striped socks, clown shoes and a trademark hat, even got Shumlin to try on a red clown nose. The governor did for a second or two, then removed it. "It's just so small," the governor quipped.

Alex Aldrich, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council, recounted to the crowd a trip he made to Brattleboro shortly after Tropical Storm Irene devastated the area. Encountering a group of men in HazMat suits cleaning the muddy mess in the Latchis basement, he discovered they were from Texas -- and that they liked it in Brattleboro very much.

"'We love it here. The spirit is just wonderful. ... ‘Before you can spit, this place will be back,'" Aldrich recalled them saying.

"We celebrate the recovery of Brattleboro. We celebrate the four world class artists we are honoring. We are also celebrating what the arts mean to our local communities," said Aldrich.

Picking up on that theme, Shumlin said the arts are integral to strong, healthy downtowns and to communities where people care for one another. The arts, he said, are also "a vital part of the economy."

The four honorees are united not only by high achievement in their artistic endeavors, but also by the fact that they all moved to Vermont in adulthood, making the intentional choice to live here. All four delivered paeans to the state.

In a video aired before she spoke, Hesse described how she and her husband drove around the country looking for a place to put down roots, then crossed the bridge from New Hampshire into Brattleboro and immediately felt at home.

"We discovered such a level of decency in everyone we met," said Hesse, author of more than 20 novels for young people and winner of a National Jewish Book Award, the Newbery Medal, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, two Christopher Awards and the Kerlan Award.

Sharing with the crowd that a house she and her husband once owned in Williamsville was swept away by Irene, Hesse recounted how she had met FEMA workers who were astounded by how much work had already been done and by how willing Vermonters were to roll up their sleeves and help one another.

"It is that spirit that sustains me as a writer and as a Vermonter," she said.

Mayor said he chose Vermont after rejecting the idea of moving to his parents' house in New Hampshire because he didn't want to live in a state whose motto was "Live, Freeze, or Die" -- a remark which brought down the house.

Feeling at home in Windham County, Mayor honed the skills as a writer which have allowed him to produce 23 Vermont-based crime novels featuring Detective Joe Gunther. He also works as a death investigator for the Vermont State Medical Examiner's Office and as a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff's Department. He has 25 years' experience as a firefighter and EMT.

"You have given me my song to sing in this interminable series of books, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart," Mayor told the crowd.

Robinson has done her "singing" as a cellist who has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world and with chamber ensembles, including the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, which has dazzled audiences for 35 years. A passionate teacher, Robinson is a native of Houston, Texas, and moved to Guilford with her husband, renowned violinist and 2006 Governor's Award-winner Jaime Laredo.

In introducing her, Zon Eastes, a fellow cellist and important player in the Brattleboro area arts community, now on staff at the Vermont Arts Council, praised Robinson as a supremely gifted collaborator. He also touted Robinson's "Herculean commitment to the creation of new music."

"She's made a remarkable investment in the future of classical music," Eastes said.

For her part, Robinson effused about how much living in Vermont means to her and spoke with humility about her life in music. "In (my) own small way, I get to serve you all," she said.

Introducing Stearns, Vermont Arts Council board member and local cardiologist and artist Mark Burke praised Stearns for the ways his work -- as clown, teacher and founder of New England Youth Theatre -- has transformed the lives of others.

"For Stephen, waiting for the other shoe to drop is not about fear, it's about anticipation," said Burke.

Pledging his devotion to "the infinite realm of possibilities" and the "ever-changing world of ‘interesting,'" Stearns touted the power of partnerships.

"I know that it has to do with so many other people besides myself," said Stearns, who sprinkled gratitude, like clown noses, to his family, the NEYT family and to his longtime partner in clowning, Peter Gould. "Dreaming big is an important thing for all of us to do, but big dreams don't happen without partnership."

Big events don't either. Among the other collaborators in Monday's ceremony were Robert Burch of Brandywine Glassworks of Putney, who made the awards, and Vermont Films videographer Tim Wessell, who produced the short videos.

The four honorees also received letters or proclamations from the Town of Brattleboro, through the Town Arts Committee, and Vermont's Congressional Delegation. Members of the Arts Council of Windham County were on hand to pass out buttons that said "Working Artist" or "I Work in the Arts," so that event-goers could show the state officials just how big a role the arts play in the area.

The event was co-sponsored by Local 300 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (represented by president Jeffrey Wimmette) and by Entergy Vermont Yankee (represented by Mike Twomey, vice president of external affairs).

For more information on the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, visit www.vermontartscouncil.org.

Creative Windham County residents honored with Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts

By JON POTTER / Reformer Staff

From left: Author Karen Hesse, cellist Sharon Robinson, author Archer Mayor and teacher and clown Stephen Stearnes have all been selected to receive the 2012 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.

BRATTLEBORO -- If they weren't already, the eyes of the arts world will be on Brattleboro on Dec. 10, when Gov. Peter Shumlin comes here to present the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts to four people from Windham County.

Authors Karen Hesse and Archer Mayor, cellist Sharon Robinson and teacher and clown Stephen Stearns have all been selected to receive the award, which honors Vermont residents who have made significant contributions to their art forms and to the cultural life of the state and beyond.

The award will be presented at the 2012 Vermont Arts Award Gala on Monday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre in a night of historic firsts -- the first time ever that four people have been honored with the Governor's Award in a single year and the first time the award has been presented outside of Montpelier.

"I haven't the slightest idea what I've done to deserve this, but I'm grateful nevertheless. ... I consider this exalted company to be in," said Mayor in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. "It's an extremely important testament to the region's artistic strength and presence."

Admission is free, and the public is welcome to come enjoy a night when these four artists -- and the area they call home -- are in the spotlight.

"You should be deservedly proud," said Alex Aldrich, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council, which nominates the finalists, who are then selected by the governor. "I think it demonstrates, not just to the rest of Vermont, but throughout New England and the country, that, in particular, the Brattleboro area is definitely what I call a cultural destination."

Not only do tourists recognize Brattleboro as such -- and come there to enjoy the cultural offerings -- but other artists do and move here, creating what Aldrich called the "critical mass" to sustain and perpetuate its lively arts scene.

There are artists everywhere in Vermont, but Aldrich said the Brattleboro area is rare in having that critical mass of artists continuing to live and work there.

"The two communities in the state of real significance (for that) are Burlington and Brattleboro," he said.

"I think it's just one more affirmation of what a great place it is for artists here to live and work," said Douglas Cox, artist and president of the Arts Council of Windham County. "I think it's a sign of a healthy community."

Each year, the Vermont Arts Council compiles a list of nominees for the award, with the winner selected by the governor. When officials realized that this year's list contained four people who call the Brattleboro area home, the idea of honoring all four and holding the ceremony in Gov. Shumlin's home county came together.

Aldrich hopes the Dec. 10 gala evening is not only a fun and fitting celebration of the achievements of these four artists but also helps the town and the state continue to make the case for the importance of the arts to healthy communities.

"The arts, in case anybody didn't notice, have really arrived," said Aldrich. "I often find myself with people who are mired in the belief that the arts are a luxury ... that they are something to do when you've run out of other things to do. ... Instead, the arts are frequently the cause of what works in a community, of how you get people talking to each other."

The Dec. 10 gala ceremony is free, but reservations should be made by calling 802-828-3293; please RSVP by Dec. 3, at 4 p.m.

Cox said the Arts Council of Windham County will be encouraging all artists to attend the ceremony and to wear a tag describing themselves as artists -- to wear their art on their sleeves as it were -- not to upstage the honorees but to show their pride and to remind people "that these things only happen when there is broad, rich humus of artistic activity."

About the award-winners
* Karen Hesse has written more than 20 novels, primarily for young readers. In 2002, she received a MacArthur Fellows Program award. She has also received a 1993 National Jewish Book Award, the 1998 Newbery Medal, the 1998 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the 1993 and 2002 Christopher Awards, and the 2006 Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota. Her book "Out of the Dust," which won the Newbery, is a story of the dust bowl and the Depression. Hesse's other novels include "Witness," the story of the Ku Klux Klan's attempt to recruit members in a small town in Vermont; "The Cats of Krasinski Square," a portrayal of the Holocaust; and, her latest novel, "Safekeeping," published in October. Hesse lives in Brattleboro.

* Archer Mayor is the author of the Joe Gunther detective series. Before turning to popular fiction, Mayor worked as an editor, researcher for Time-Life books, photographer and journalist. He also worked for the University of Texas Press in the late 1970s, where, as Special Projects Editor, he found and caused to be published "The Book of Merlyn," the barely known conclusion to T.H. White's famous "The Once and Future King." Mayor's first novel, "Open Season," was published in 1988, and was the first of his popular 23-book Vermont-based mystery series. Since then, a new novel has been published almost every year, typically in the fall. Mayor works as a death investigator for the Vermont State Medical Examiner's office and as a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff's Department. He also has 25 years' experience as a firefighter/EMT. He lives in Newfane.

* Sharon Robinson, cellist, graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Peabody Institute. She made her New York debut in 1974, collaborating with violinist Jaime Laredo and pianist Samel Sanders. Robinson has performed with many major symphony orchestras throughout the world. In 1976, she joined colleagues Jaime Laredo and Joseph Kalichstein, to create the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio which has performed worldwide and is considered among the finest chamber ensembles in existence. Robinson has participated in music festivals such as Aspen, Edinburgh, Granada, Madeira, Marlboro, Mostly Mozart and Spoleto. She has served on the faculty at Indiana University and recently joined the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Robinson lives in Guilford.

* Stephen Stearns is a teacher, director, professional clown, mime and actor. In 1977, he began his solo clown/mime career while simultaneously creating the Horizons Project, a federal program bringing Vermont artists into rural schools. In 1980, he and Peter Gould formed Gould & Stearns. Their play, "A Peasant of El Salvador," has won several awards. They are Vermont Arts Council grant recipients and have been sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute. In 1998, Stearns founded the New England Youth Theatre. He lives in Brattleboro.

In a Facebook message, Stearns wrote: "I am honored to be receiving this award with three other amazing Windham County Artists. Please come and help me and NEYT celebrate all the work we have done together over the years to make NEYT a place where young people can find their own voices and do amazing things with great power and confidence. That is my life, and you are in my life, and I honor and love all of you who allow me to teach and direct in one of the best places on earth, our town of Brattleboro."

The Dec. 10 gala ceremony is free, but reservations should be made by calling 802-828-3293; please RSVP by Dec. 3, at 4 p.m.

NEYT’s ‘Godspell’ a life changer

NEYT’s ‘Godspell’ a life changer

[To the] Editor of Reformer:

Emotionally moving, fun, humorous, serious, heart wrenching -- how can I describe the performance of "Godspell" at the New England Youth Theater last month? As an old clown and kids opened the show I wondered if I would stay awake. Returning late from intermission I watched the remainder of the show from stage level center aisle. As each youth poured her/his heart into their parts big and bit I asked the clown beside me, "Are you the director?" With tears running down my face I said, "Oh my God, what a show!" and hugged him.

Broadway acting cannot be as inspiring as these kids. I understand these performances are often life changing for the youth. It was for some of us audience.

David P. Terrell,

a visiting Buckeye,

Ohio, July 18

NEYT presents 'Godspell' in all its positive, groovy glory

By JON POTTER

Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO - - Religion is highly charged territory, so if you're going to go there, it's best to tread carefully - like with big clown shoes and groovy dance steps. Once again, the New England Youth Theatre steps boldly where others merely mince, as two dozen Senior Company actors go all-in on a production of the groundbreaking rock musical, "Godspell."

Performances open Friday and continue through July 14. With memorable songs such as "Day by Day," a full-on rock band backing the singers, colorful costumes and a story that leaves plenty of room for improvisation, clowning and the high-energy contributions of the NEYT cast, "Godspell" is based on the parables of Jesus, particularly the gospels of Matthew and Luke. But at NEYT, the show also comes right from the Book of Stephen. "They call this show NEYT's religion, because clowning is NEYT's religion .... I've talked a lot about this show being about changing 'me' into 'we,'" said director Stephen Stearns. "This show is probably just about the most universal show ever written. The messages go back to way before the Bible .... We've had talks with the cast about religion. … There are no-religion kinds in the cast, and Catholic kids and Protestant kids and Jewish kids and atheist kids." Though based on Christian texts, the themes of "Godspell" transcend any particular religion, and the music is set in modern times - NEYT transports audiences back to the late-1960s when a bunch of people step out of their everyday lives, come together and are reminded of some powerful lessons they may have once learned but forgot. "People are so plugged in and connected all the time, we've lost our organic roots. It's a way of pulling back from looking at the screen and seeing what's around us," said Chris Diak, who plays Jesus in this production. "I feel like it has the lessons of The Bible with the religiousness removed," said Alec Silver, who plays Judas, a complicated and painful role. "I, can honestly say that I really feel awful when I decide to break away .... The last scene ... it's not acting." Indeed the last scene, when Jesus takes his leave, is powerful and emotional. More than one cast member had tears in his eyes after it during a run-through Tuesday afternoon. But most of the time, "Godspell" is a freewheel in', fun, high-spirited set of stories told with clowning, comedy, improv and inclusion - it might as well ho an outward expression of NEYT's mission. "It preaches NEYT's philosophy of everyone joining in," said cast member Emily Seymour. "Community .... I feel like that's a big part of it," added Rachel Durante. "The miracle of it is that this guy shows up and goes into the 'interesting' zone and convinces other people to go into the interesting zone, the curiosity zone, with him, and through some simple children's stories teaches them lessons about how to behave," said Stearns. "It's about getting involved." Sounds like a winning formula. It certainly has been in "Godspell's" case. Conceived and originally directed by John Michael Tebelak, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, "Godspell" debuted in 1971 and became one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time. And Stearns was one of the first people ever to see the show. He and his wife Bonnie were living in Greenwich Village when some of the actors in the original production called them in off the street saying they needed an audience for run-through. "We got the first glimpse of it, and we loved it," said Stearns. About 10 years ago, Stearns was planning to do "Godspell" for NEYT's summer show, but the cast didn't come together, and he scrubbed the plan and moved on to other shows. This year, it bubbled back to the top of the list. For this production, Stearns has added some unique NEYT twists, including a new beginning, which features him on stage as an old clown, selling all his clown stuff. The young people passing by take him up on his offer and are transported back in time to the '60s. Things take off from there. Stearns will be on stage, clowning, for about half a hour before the show as part of the setup, so audiences can come early and be entertained. The show has a groovy look, thanks largely to the efforts of Sandy Klein, who assembled the costumes. There is technicolor lighting, a rock band led by musical director Alii Lubin and dancing choreographed by Jen Moyse. Adding a further bit of authenticity, local artist Scot Borofsky, a nationally known street artist, painted the back wall to look like a cityscape of the period, complete with "Clapton is God" graffiti. The songs are well-loved and instantly hummable. Asked which one was there favorite song, cast members reeled off seven titles, no two of them the same: "We Beseech Thee," "Save the People," "On the Willows," "All for the Best," "By My Side," "Beautiful City," "The Finale." Performances of "Godspell" at NEYT, 100 Flat St., are this Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, at 2 p.m., and Tuesday, July 10, through Saturday, July 14, at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Saturday, July 14, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $9 for students and may be purchased at www.neyt.org or at the NEYT Box Office in person, or by phone at 802-246-6398, from noon to 5 p.m., on Wednesdays. New England Youth Theatre is an accessible theater, with accommodations for wheelchairs, and assistive listening devices for patrons who are hard of hearing. The sponsor is 1st Advantage Dental. New England Youth Theatre is also supported by Foard Panel, the Vermont Children's Trust Fund, Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.  

Rocking the boat: NEYT troupers act against bullying

By JON POTTER, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer
Posted:   03/30/2012

BRATTLEBORO - No kid wants to feel like roadkill.

But that's how Daniel McMahon feels after being buried in an avalanche of bigger, older kids, who trample him in a schoolyard touch football game, take the ball away and call him "loser" as they leave him lying there ... like roadkill.

Fortunately, this game comes with a "Rewind" button. As the big kids celebrate their touch football success, Celia steps forward and stops them in their tracks with a disarming question: "Would you want that done to you?"

Chastened, the big kids rewind the scene, and their leader, Aja, chooses sides a little differently, mixing big kids and little kids and picking Daniel to be his quarterback. The scene plays forward again, this time happily ... with no roadkill.

But life doesn't come with a "Rewind" button. Nobody knows that better than the 14 teens and tweens who gathered on a March afternoon to enact this little scene in a classroom at New England Youth Theatre.

Those young people make up the "Rock Your Boat" AcTouring Company, a program of NEYT that aims to address real-life issues kids face, through skits, theater games and direct engagement with students.

Working with NEYT Founder and Artistic Director Stephen Stearns, the 14 young people appear to be having plenty of fun as they worked for more than two weeks to create skits and scenes for student audiences. But a list of issues on a blackboard behind them indicates the serious nature of their work: Bullying, gay taunting, laughing at misfortune, betraying trust, exclusion of the uncool, cyberbullying, making fun of race or religion, spreading lies, ganging up, intimidation, bus bullying.

No wonder Stearns had little trouble finding four high-school-age mentors and 10 actors ages 11 to 13 from Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Keene, N.H., willing to do such important work.

"NEYT is a big part of my life. Stephen Stearns is one of my first acting coaches, so I knew it would be a lot of fun," said 11-year-old Rock Your Boat troupe member Lexi Larsen. "It's good to help people, because in my school there's a bunch of bullying, and it has to stop."

"Rock Your Boat" began a tour of four elementary schools on Tuesday at Vernon Elementary School and Wednesday at Oak Grove School in Brattleboro. The programs include 30 minutes of performance and 15 minutes for the actors to talk about issues with the students at the school. The tour continues on April 3 at Academy School and April 6 at Guilford Elementary School.

The burning question is will it work? The Rock Your Boat actors believe it will.

"We're not saying it in a lecturing way. We're saying it in a fun way,"said Rock the Boat trouper Maia Struthers-Friedman.

"I think that theater can be super-influential," agreed fellow Rock the Boater Maeve Campman. "I'm not positive this will change bullying, but it will definitely raise awareness of it."

The early returns are favorable. One woman in the audience in Vernon told Stearns "This is the best thing I have ever seen brought into the school."

It made a big impression with the fourth- through sixth-graders at Oak Grove, too. Very telling was the first question a student asked the troupers: "Will you be back next year?"

The Rock the Boat program represents the latest step in NEYT's growing efforts to reach outside its walls and beyond merely performing plays and musicals.

"I think of New England Youth Theatre now under his moniker: 'NEYT: It's the attitude,'" said Stearns. "I started NEYT to teach a positive mental attitude."

And to help kids make a difference.

The genesis of Rock Your Boat grew out of efforts by a number of groups in the community to address issues of racism, bullying and other forms of intolerance, peer pressure, violence, healthy choices and building empathy. In developing programs around this, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Superintendent Ron Stahley invited Stearns to work with a group of middle school students who were being trained as peer mentors. The students were invited to see NEYT's summer production of "Grease" and over three years, Stearns led other training for students and educators alike, many involving dramatic role playing and other theater games. NEYT has developed other programs around themes of restorative justice and has inspired BUHS to create an Arts for Social Change course.

Stearns envisions the AcTour program as an ongoing endeavor that could one day run year-round, with three different plays, three different troupes, different directors and more.

"The troupes that go out will not only be NEYT actors. Other organizations and art forms can be involved," said Stearns.

For now, the test pilots are the 14 Rock Your Boat troupers, who are working on skits written by Stearns and the troupers and based on extensive research and consultation with area educators and experts in the field.

"In talking with (Academy School Principal) Andy Paciulli, he said 'My students will really respond to kids who are their own age. He also said 'Please bring in some older kids who are in high school,'" said Stearns.

The Rock Your Boat troupe fits the bill, including Amelia Graff, who attends Academy School and is anxious to see what her friends and fellow students there think.

Fortunately, she has a lot of support among the Rock Your Boaters.

"I want Amelia to come back and tell us that people at her school took it seriously," said Rock Your Boat's Aja Selbach. "A couple of us are older, and we're not around the schools we're performing in. We're like the ambassadors, and we'd like the next generation to be better than us."

Providing wind for Rock Your Boat's sails, People's United Bank stepped in as sponsor.

"We were very impressed by the fact that it was students talking to and performing for students," said Arne Hammarlund, community services manager for People's United Bank in Brattleboro.

The Rock Your Boat troupers are: Maeve Campman, Celia Cota, Cassie Dunn, Amelia Graff, Jason Guerino, Lexi Larsen, Rye Lyczak, Elias Martel, Daniel McMahon, Joseph Meima, Mia Rubinstein, Aja Selbach, Kaelan Selbach and Maia Struthers-Friedman.

Robin Hood at NEYT

Thursday March 1, 2012

Brattleboro Reformer

BRATTLEBORO -- You still have one more weekend to Occupy Nottingham.

"Robin Hood" continues at New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat St., with performances on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

This version is adapted and directed by Peter Gould, who says "Robin Hood is the ultimate archetypal myth of the little guy fighting against the big guy in the most non-violent way possible."

Robin Hood and his merry men will not stand by as Prince John usurps King Richard’s throne and taxes the life out of the working people of the country for his own benefit. Prince John, with the help of the Sheriff of Nottingham, tries to suppress this unruly uprising -- who will prevail?

Robin Hood’s merry men will be Occupying Nottingham in this play to resonate with the imagery of current clashes between rich and poor. This archetype represents the age-old struggle between the 1 percent and the 99 percent.

But mostly, "Robin Hood" is just plain fun. Friendship, brother- and sister-hood, equality and having a good time together -- that is what this show is about.

Tickets are $7 for students, $9 for seniors and $11 for adults and may be purchased in advance at www.neyt.org. Sponsor is The Bear Bookshop. New England Youth Theatre is also supported by Foard Panel, the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. New England Youth Theatre is an accessible theater, with accommodations for wheelchairs, and Assistive Listening Devices for patrons who are hard of hearing.

Godspell Junior Opening Friday at the Gifft Hill School

Opening night is this Friday, January 13th, at 7pm for Gifft Hill School and New England Youth Theater's production of "Godspell Junior" at the Upper Campus. Suggested donation $10 per adult and $5 per student/child. Please join us!

— with Salia, Genesis, Katelyn Vincent, Kaitlyn, John Spanale, Lloyd Joseph, Uncle Stevie, Landis Wallace, Zohar Sofer-Greer, Larissa, Larisma, Larisma Madura, Larisma Maduro and Vela Culbert.