Founded in 2011 by Chiara Klein '10, Stephanie Strohm and Meg Kiley Smith, MaineStage is a non profit that produces plays for the Kennebunk community each summer.
Klein, who founded the Rude Mechanicals at Dartmouth in 2008, said she has always been interested in outdoor Shakespeare performance and wanted to share her passion with young people who may be new to theater.
"I want this to become New England's public theater," she said.
Associate artistic director Jay Ben Markson '10 said he enjoys the opportunity to perform in Kennebunk.
"I've always loved the idea of doing theater for free and for audiences that don't get a lot of it," he said.
The company's theater camp, called ShakeSTARS, offers four week-long sessions for children between the ages of five and 17. Each MaineStage actor is a camp counselor and works with students on stage combat, improvisation, dance and other theater skills.
Campers have an opportunity to write, rehearse and perform in a "curtain raiser" a short play preceding the main event that is staged before the company's Saturday matinee.
Kennebunk residents have been very welcoming of the company. Some come every night, and others stop by to watch their favorite parts.
"MaineStage allows actors to really get in touch with their community in ways other acting gigs don't," Markson said. "There's a symbiosis that develops between actors and the community, as well as actors and their craft, that can only be established by a resident theater company."
Participating in MaineStage allows members to showcase a wide variety of talents while becoming "jacks of all trades," Klein said.
The company, which consists of primarily New York-based actors, has formed a cohesive community. Between the camp and nighttime performances, members are kept extremely busy and spend a lot of time with one another. Unlike New York, where most actors have different day jobs, everyone at MaineStage focuses on the same project.
"Yes, you're busy and doing a million things, but the singularity of focus is unbeatable," Klein said.
In addition to performing in Kennebunk four nights a week, the company has two shows a week in nearby tourist destination Kennebunkport, Maine.
On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, the company packs its set into a decorated U-Haul boasting a spray-painted Shakespeare decal and travels from its small stage in downtown Kennebunk to the Kennebunkport Village Green and the Colony Hotel.
The venues allow actors to highlight different aspects of their performances, Markson said. Inside, the players can vary their vocal intonation as they do not have to worry as much about projecting.
Private and corporate sponsors fund the company, which operates on a budget of approximately $40,000 for the summer.
This spring, an ensemble of nine MaineStage Shakespeare actors went on their first tour and performed "Macbeth" for schools in Kennebunk and Westchester, N.Y.
David Mavricos '10 participated in MaineStage the past two summers but is taking a break this year while he pursues a master's degree at George Washington University.
MaineStage Shakespeare's season opened July 5 and will end August 10.
