MILLA BELL-HART // Started at 8 years old, 33 years old now // TV Writer in Los Angeles (previously wrote for Night Shift on NBC and Absentia on Amazon, Currently writing for Truth Be Told on Apple TV+, and a forthcoming show for Apple TV+.)

"I knew I wanted to be a writer, but when I was a teenager in Maine I didn’t know it was a job I could actually have. The Theater Project was the closest I could get to it. For Voices in the Mirror, we got to write original skits, even though we didn’t know that’s what we were doing because it was so fun and playful. And all of us were creating the show together, as opposed to looking to a director on high, making mandates about art. That collaborative spirit was instructive to me, and it comes into play everyday for me in my work now as a TV writer in Los Angeles.

I also learned a lot doing Shakespeare plays with Al. What was most important to him was that we all understood what we were saying. He taught me how to understand what a scene is really about and how to communicate something emotionally or physically rather than just through words. I took that lesson to film school with me while studying visual storytelling and now I use it in my work in the writers’ room. On TV shows, traditionally directors only come in for a single episode, but the writers are in the room for the whole season. When I cover set, I work closely with the director and am often the person the actors come to to better understand subtext or their character’s ulterior motive. Some actors just say the words but don’t understand what the scene is actually about. The actors I like working with best are the ones who really want to understand.

My current writing job is for Apple TV’s show Truth Be Told. So, you can go from writing skits for Carl Elsaesser at The Theater Project, to writing TV scenes for Octavia Spencer in LA.”

MAGGIE ADOLF // Started TP at 6 years old, 19 years old now // Sophomore at Connecticut College

"When I started at The Theater Project I was 9 years old, and I was treated like an adult and not a child. It was the first time in my life I had been treated like that. I was a really anxious kid and spent a lot of time talking to therapists. At The Theater Project it was shocking to suddenly be spoken to like a person. It gave me a kind of courage I couldn’t get anywhere else. That made all the difference for me. Now that I'm older and teaching theater camps myself, I often meet kids who are anxious too, and I have a unique perspective and respect for how they feel. Respect is the biggest thing at The Theater Project - respecting the people around you, respecting yourself, and respecting the people who are teaching you. Everyone cares so much. They want to talk to you, know how you’re doing, and know how they can help. They don’t do it in a heavy way, but in a funny, fun, and exciting way. It feels unique and specific to this place. You figure that out the second you walk in and then you keep learning it as the people here show you over and over again how invested they are in you."

SHAWN BAYRD// Started TP at 14 years old, 24 years old now // Working at GWU School of Nursing, planning to get his MA in Public Health next

"Brunswick is a very white town, and certainly a place of privilege. The Theater Project has always been an outlet for me to reckon with that. I grew up as a pretty poor kid. Coming to The Theater Project allowed me to spend time with kids and adults at all levels of affluence and communicate with them in a setting that didn’t have anything to do with that. I didn’t understand economics or wealth then, but I remember that the Theater Project’s “pay what you want” model for purchasing tickets stuck out to me. Also memorable to me was being invited to post-show cast meals at Al’s or Wendy’s homes and having the opportunity to see how other people lived. The Theater Project is a life education in that way. Similar to how having access to the internet increases your awareness of the world, interacting with people in your community at a place like the theater increases your awareness as you grow up.

I don’t know how The Theater Project attracts the people that it does but everyone there truly values listening to each other and trying to understand what the other is saying. There’s never any aggression. It’s such an honest place. Each person is allowed the room to breathe into their character, from where they’re each coming from."

JULIA BROWN // Started TP at 13 years old, 27 now // Principal of JAB Strategies

"At The Theater Project I learned the values of a teaching theater: that it’s okay to mess up, that you don’t have to be the best, and that it’s all about the journey of making something together. Professionally, I am in politics now, and these are all the core values of my management style. For me, it’s about not using guilt or fear or competition to motivate people. It's all about creating a safe environment for everyone to learn.

Now that I have a professional career responsible for hiring people and building environments of success, I try to bring the values of The Theater Project with me. For me, that means making space to mentor marginalized folks in the workplace. It means recruiting diverse sets of people to run for the Maine Legislature. It's about finding ways for every type of person to shine and contribute their unique gifts. This directly connects to my experience at The Theater Project because it's a place you can go when you feel different, or you don't fit in. Because honestly the Theater is run by a lot of great adults who know what it's like to be the weird kid. When you get to be surrounded by a diverse set of supportive people, you can see a pathway in life for yourself, even if you have spiky hair or dress differently.

Once I found The Theater Project, I worked on every single show all through high school, whether I was acting or behind the scenes. I kept coming back as a teen because I needed an adult in my life that was going to tell me “You're doing a good job.” I felt unconditional love from Wendy, Al, Chris and Molly. They saw me as a whole human being. There was trust. It helped me grow as a person and to become responsible for myself, responsible to a place, and accountable to other people’s feelings."

Nick Caruso started at The Theater Project when he was 10 years old. Now he's 19 and studying Spanish Linguistics at the University of Southern Maine.

“I did a few summer camps when I was little and then when I was 12, Al Miller scouted me to play “The Boy” in the professional company’s production of Waiting For Godot. I was the only kid alongside four adult actors. That was when I really fell in love with theater. After that, I was involved in every show until I graduated. While I was in high school, Jen Crosby trained me to be a House Manager. She was my first boss and it was my first job. My friend Maggie and I were 16, and I remember many nights when we would get out of a show that she stage managed and I house managed and we were the last two people in the building. It was our job to shut everything down and lock up. Feeling responsible for a place that means so much to so many people is nerve wracking at first but then you gain a lot of confidence. You don’t expect to learn that lesson from a theater.

There aren’t a lot of after school programs that are as accepting as The Theater Project. Coming here as a young queer kid, I always felt welcomed. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but we were all a little different in our own ways. I wouldn’t be as confident in myself if it weren’t for my second family at the theater. On my keychain I have two keys, one to my actual house and one to The Theater Project. It literally is my second home.”

Marjory Sweet // started at 15, 35 now // Farmer in Santa Fe, New Mexico

"I auditioned for A Midsummer Night’s Dream because I liked that it was totally unaffiliated with school. At school, it felt like we were only allowed to ask certain kinds of questions and there was always a right or wrong answer. The Theater Project was a different reality where you could ask any question and there were endless interpretations. It was a place of raw, joyful creativity. We were doing Shakespeare, which is really hard to do with a disparate group of teens, but Al Miller set a high bar for us, took us seriously, and guided us through with grace and playfulness.

Al has ultraviolet wisdom levels, which sets a certain tone at the theater. His powerful, beautiful demonstration of leadership is one I’ve internalized because to somewhat of my own surprise I’ve naturally grown into being a leader in work situations in my life. I’ve farmed for 10 years in New Mexico, and I’ve found that farming can feel like a ton of spinning plates in the air, which I think is sort of like putting on a play. At the end of the day if you’re going to put on a Shakespeare play, it requires reigning in a lot of chaos. In farming you’re managing a similar chaos. A big garden is going to do what it’s going to do. I’m always thinking about how I can gracefully manage that natural chaos, letting the plants be themselves, while also working towards something beautiful.

It’s all about the process. Al is operating his work with kids at The Theater Project on a celestial mindfulness level where he’s able to fully embrace the process and let go of the outcome. I think that’s the point of everything. Whether you’re executing a Shakespeare text, or counting on a tomato bed to flourish - you can embrace all the steps, but then you have to let it go. You have to have a high threshold for chaos, mistakes, playfulness and questions. This is the point of life - to put your heart into something and then step aside. Everything else when I was a teenager was purely about the outcome. I learned from Al and The Theater Project that if you can instead embrace the process, that’s when you can really thrive and grow."

Karin Baard // Started at 15 - is 32 now // Advocate at a Domestic Violence Resource Agency in Maine

"The summer before I started high school, my family moved from Arizona to Maine. I was really lonely and didn’t have any friends when I got here. One of my mom’s coworkers had a daughter named Elise who was a senior in high school. She was a Theater Project kid and brought me to an audition. She went out of her way to include me, introduce me to her friends, and drive me to and from rehearsals. I think The Theater Project is the only reason I held onto any sense of self or sanity my first year being in Maine. I felt seen, cared about, and valued at the theater, and Wendy Poole was a big part of that.

It’s who Wendy is: when you walk in that building you matter to her. She doesn’t treat you like a kid. She doesn’t patronize you or coddle you. When you mess up, she tells you and when you do something well, she tells you. You always know where you stand with Wendy. She’s really good at seeing people’s inherent skills or strengths and giving them space to grow. She encouraged me to try teaching. In the early days of it, I was never alone - I always had backup from Wendy. She would be right there with ‘Do you want me to talk to this parent?’ ‘Do you want me to step in?’ or ‘What do you need from me to feel successful and confident at this? She put me at the center of my own learning. She never made a decision about what she thought was right for me, but instead she’d say: ‘Here are the things I can offer you. What feels most helpful?’

Now I work in advocacy at a Domestic Violence Resource Agency. In her own way, Wendy so embodies the spirit of an advocate. An advocate never tells you what to do or dictates your life to you. The role of an advocate is to really listen, to hear you, to bear witness to you, provide you with what they see as options, and then support you no matter what your choice is. If that doesn’t describe Wendy Poole I don’t know what does."

Steve Mendes // started at 14 - is 61 now // Cloud Engineer for Dell in Boston

"In 1974, I was a freshman at Mt. Ararat and one day after school I missed the bus home. While I waited outside for the late bus, I noticed kids working on something. They shouted, “Wanna watch?” and pretty soon their director (Al Miller) asked me to join in. So, all of the sudden I was a part of the Young People’s Theater. I didn’t get a part in the next show, Noah’s Ark, but Al asked if I’d do the sound for it. He’d bought a big reel-to-reel tape deck that was fun to look at and said that if I could figure out how it worked, we could use it for the show. We needed the sound of a boat rolling in the waves. We found a creaky floor board and I figured out how to slow it down, so it sounded just like an old boat. We built the whole soundtrack that way. I toured with the Young People’s Theater as their sound guy all through high school. We toured Maine, New England, and DC in the van, putting on shows.

In college, I came home in the summers and was a part of shows at the Summer Theater Project at the old UU church, their temporary space before they found their home on School Street. In those early days, it was just Al. I can see now that he had a vision that he was building. He was collecting directors, and making relationships with the schools and audiences. As teens we weren’t aware of this, we were just having fun.

I don’t feel 61. It all feels like yesterday. When I see what The Theater Project has become in the last 50 years, it feels like a continuation of the same beautiful thing. It doesn’t matter if you put it in a van and drive it around the state, or put it in a building and invite people in to come see you. Every year there’s a new batch of kids making the same kinds of discoveries that I did. It’s about growth, about adolescence, about finding out who you are, and ultimately about how to just relax, learn, and become the person you want to be without worrying. You can grow in all these ways here because you’re in a safe space. And for us in the 1970’s, we didn’t even have a tangible ‘space.’ We had a van, or a church, or a bank lobby. But it was about what we were creating together."

Stef Clark// started TP at 16, is 42 now, and works in Customer Service.

"When I was 16, my friend Elise said to me ‘There’s this brainstorming meeting happening at The Theater Project. I want you to go with me. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.’ I responded, ‘Okay, but it’s not an audition right? I’m not an actor, I’m just loud.’ She assured me it wasn’t but when I arrived I saw that it definitely was. Elise tricked me and I thank her for that, because that day I met some of my most favorite people in life who are still my most favorite people now.

I’m a walking cartoon, loud and animated, but in high school that was interpreted as ‘class clown’ or ‘you talk too much.’ At The Theater Project those parts of me were appreciated, and I began to see them as talents and learned how to use them to connect to other people. For the first time, I was a part of a community of my peers that wasn’t connected to school, and wasn’t mandatory. I chose to be there, and bring what I had to the table. Through the magic of Wendy and Al and my peers, I gradually began to see that I had things to bring to that table. This all happened at a time when I really needed community and didn’t know that it existed like that. I was an only child, I had strict parents, and I didn’t go to camps. I had friends in school, but until my time at The Theater Project, I had never experienced being a part of an ensemble or a bigger ‘we.’ I don’t have kids now, but I’m the favorite auntie and in my relationships with my smalls, I always try and exude the ‘bigger we.’ I tell them they don’t have to do anything alone - that everybody is here to lift you up. The seeds of this way of being started at The Theater Project for me.

I just turned 42 and celebrated with friends, sitting on the mall and social distancing. Two of the friends that were there were from that first ‘meeting’ at The Theater Project. One of them lives all the way on the other side of the country, but was here for me. These are my forever people."

Caroline Kittredge Faustine - 32 now, started at 14 // In NYC - a stage director, sound designer, and musician who works mainly on queer projects.

“Before coming to The Theater Project, I had lost a lot of friends because I was gay. This was the first place where there was touch, and people could be close, and I could experience physical freedom. It was work that rectified a fundamental divide within myself between body and mind. I could see a thing, become it, and then feel a different kind of wholeness that wasn’t otherwise available to me as someone who was struggling with dissociation. All this was happening within the frame of a summer camp or a play. We were working and creating, and having freedom and exploration within that work. There was never any bullying, and even if there was dislike there was always respect. It was a degree and variety of socialization I’d had difficulty finding before as someone growing up gay. Being at The Theater Project fundamentally changed my life.

I loved having a space that felt shared. I remember in high school we were doing a show, and the couch in the green room was old and it sunk back too much. It wasn’t going to work for one of the Professional Company actors, Heather, because she had cancer and needed more firm support. So Karin, Trevor, Patrick, and I all went to Salvation Army and bought a new couch with our own money. We didn’t have a car. We carried it back to the theater. The Theater Project is our home. It’s a space that is shared and that we have agency in. Some kids don’t even have that with their own bedrooms. Whereas here, we knew we needed a couch, so we went and got one. We have ownership here. We show up. We claim this space. Our photos and posters are on the walls marking it. We have a home in a way that I don’t think a lot of people in the world get to experience.”

Meghan McGuire - 27 now, started at 5 // In Chicago - an HR Onboarding Coordinator by day and a writer/comedian by night. Has been involved with improv and sketch comedy at the Annoyance, the Second City, and the Neo-Futurists.

“My two brothers started at The Theater Project before I was allowed because I was too young. I would storm in and say ‘when is it my turn!?’ I was always playing catch up with my brothers. Seeing them making connections was exciting for me and I wanted that, too. There’s a picture that Wendy found of me and my parents sitting in the audience at a Christmas show and I’m so enthralled watching it. It feels very significant how interested I was at 4 years old. It was thrilling when I finally burst through the door on my first day. I wanted so badly to be good at it. I had a lot of fears about looking silly in my normal life, but I quickly realized that being silly was accepted at The Theater Project, and that made me feel safe. I think I had a lot of undiagnosed depression and anxiety as a kid that was tightened by school and social things. The theater was my respite. People understood me and I was celebrated. I was always working hard but never working towards perfection - just on the show, and then the next show.

The Theater Project takes children and teens seriously as artists, and the extension of that is taking them seriously as colleagues. They trust us with creating entire shows and running things behind the scenes, as well as becoming teachers ourselves. I wasn’t just showing up for rehearsals and then leaving. I was engaged in what it actually means to run a theater.

So much of my creative philosophy comes from Al and Wendy. I have brought all of what I learned from them into my life as an actor in Chicago. I’m the person who shows up on time, has my lines memorized, brings an extra scene just in case, and is prepared. Aside from my skills as a writer, improviser and performer - the skills of being reliable, knowing my stuff, and showing my stuff is the legacy I’ve taken from The Theater Project. You can be a great artist but you also need to be a responsible person.”

Sean McGuire -- Started when he was 8 years old, is 30 now // Lives in Chicago - works with the Boys & Girls Club and is involved in Improv Comedy.

"We moved around a lot when I was a kid. I would just start to feel settled into a place, and then we’d move again. When we arrived in Brunswick it wasn’t long before my brother and I started at The Theater Project. I had never experienced after school programs before. I had a blast, and I never left. I’ve always been shy - but the theater allowed me to be on stage and be goofy and it wasn’t weird because it wasn’t ‘me’ being goofy it was ‘the harp’ in Jack and the Beanstalk. You didn’t just get to know parts of yourself better, you got to know everyone - the other kids, your teachers, your directors. You’d see them around town and say hi. As a kid, this gave me a huge sense of belonging that I’d never experienced before and it's one that I have found in very few places in the wider world.

Now, as an actor living in Chicago, I’ve taken many classes that culminate in an audition. Throughout the whole class you’re very aware of the fact that you need to attract certain attention and recognition if you ever want to be noticed by Second City or SNL. There’s a level of competition and an underlying feeling of 'if I make a good impression on so-and-so teacher, they can make x-y-z happen for me.' When this competitive voice is embedded in the back of your mind, it’s almost impossible to create or feel any sense of community. That voice simply is not present at The Theater Project."

Rose Callan started at 14, 30 now // RN on Chebeague Island // Theater Project Board Member

"I started acting at The Theater Project when I was a freshman in high school. Karin was a senior, and when she was getting ready to graduate she approached me to say she thought I might enjoy Stage Managing. She taught me everything about it. I felt a lot of nerves having that amount of responsibility as a teen amongst the casts & crews of adults, but I realized that I had faith in everyone else, so I began to have faith in me. Every show that gets to production is a miracle, and it was incredible to be a part of that birth each time. Sometimes I’d be working on multiple shows at once. I quickly developed strong time management and organizational skills. I still have every single script with all of my detailed notes. After high school, I moved to New York for Nursing School and went to my first job interview at a hospital. It was a group interview, and I stood out to the interviewers because of my work experience at The Theater Project. They asked me about it and I connected what I’d learned at the Theater to what I’d be able to bring to the hospital. I got the job. The responsibility I was given in high school gave me the confidence to move to a metropolis, get a degree, and do work that I care about.
Now I am an RN working in a nursing home on Chebeague Island and I’m also on The Theater Project’s board of directors. I know that I’ll always have this support system and want to make sure young people in the future do, too."

Audrey Burns started at 13, 26 now // Asst. Dean of Admissions at Bates College // Theater Project Board Member //

"As a teen, I had never experienced a place as open and welcoming as The Theater Project. When I joined as an actor in high school, some people had been a part of theater since they were 5 – basically born into it. I didn’t know anyone but never felt like an outsider. I remember sitting in the green room being amazed by how smart and welcoming everyone was. I learned that spaces like that exist, because I first experienced it the Theater Project. That speaks to the community that’s been so intentionally created. It’s the sense that the people who work here are all educators who care deeply about each individual, wherever they currently are on the path to whatever it is they are becoming. They welcome you with kindness, and support you.

This sense of community and the importance of being welcoming has stayed with me, as I’ve gone on to work as Assistant Dean of Admissions at my alma mater, Bates College. I literally welcome people everyday, carrying on the values I learned from the theater. My acting experience has also helped me because I give presentations to diverse audiences daily. Because of the theater, I am able to stand with my two feet on the ground, and speak with confidence. My presentations don’t feel like speeches, as I am comfortable improvising and letting it be more about telling a story and connecting with students."

Emma Roth-Wells - started at 9, 19 now // Computer Science major at Mount Holyoke

"When I was 9, Al Miller came to my elementary school in Georgetown to do a theater workshop with us. I liked it, and my teacher recommended me for a part in his professional production of Les Miserables. I got the role of Young Eponine. I was so little and there were all these talented adult actors in the show. There was another little kid in it, Maggie, who played Young Cosette. She became my best friend. Everyone was super nice. Wendy would let me and Maggie sit in her office during the long rehearsals for the scenes we weren’t in. During the shows, we would leave after the first act because we had to get home for bedtime!

In high school, I started acting year-round. I’ve played so many roles and been able to discover and learn so much through them. At first, it was lighter roles, mostly playing fictional children, like Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was so fun. But then in shows like Radium Girls I got to tell a real person’s story for the first time. That was so meaningful to me. My role in Peter and the Starcatcher was a stretch because I played a creepy gross man - it was a much harder exercise, but I know it also made me a better actor.

One of the biggest reasons I’ve kept coming back is that it’s the only time I see my best friends Maggie and Nick. We all went to different high schools, but we’ve bonded here. We’ve all seen each other through crazy shows and embarrassing costumes, and we’ve learned how things work behind the scenes. When we had to cancel our final high school production because of the pandemic, we were all so sad that our time at the theater was ending in such an abrupt way. But I've realized that it doesn't actually ever end. Now, I'm a sophomore at Mount Holyoke, and I know that Maggie and Nick, and Theater Project role models like Karin and Wendy are only a text away. They will always be here for me, and I will always be here for them."

Elise O'Connor // Started TP when she was 8, is 34 now // School Social Worker

"When I was little I did summer camps at The Theater Project. I looked up to Wendy from the moment I met her. She was generous, loving and so funny. I wanted to be like her. It was special to see her act on stage but then also know her in real life. I saw her on the street once and I lost my mind. She recognized me from camp and I was so starstruck that I jumped into her arms and gave her a big hug. It felt like, 'Oh my god she knows who I am!' To me, she was a famous person. And it made me feel special and famous too that she knew who I was. For my birthday party in fourth grade, my parents asked Wendy to come over and play theater games with me and my friends. We played all the hits - gesture circle, lots of movement games, even a Conga line. I couldn’t believe she was at my house! It was so special.

People like Wendy, Craig and Reba were true mentors to me growing up at the theater. I could have fluid and honest conversations with all of them, in a different way than I could with my teachers at school. The people at the theater validated who I was as a person. When I feel validated, I feel comfortable and like I belong.

The validation I felt as a kid at The Theater Project made a difference because years later, my whole job is to validate childrens’ experiences everyday as a social worker at an elementary school. Much like The Theater Project, the work I do is about self-regulation, and getting to know your body through movement and your emotions through talking. I use games and humor that I learned at the theater to draw my students out and navigate difficult conversations with them. I am an empathetic person and I can tune into my students’ emotions easily. I know that I have this skill because I learned early on how to tune into my own self at The Theater Project."

Kevin and Corrie Calderwood

fell in love 28 years ago at The Theater Project. They grew up just a town over from each other but never met until they both were cast in a community production of “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree” at the TP in 1994. Here's their story:

Corrie: I have a vivid memory of coming in from the fall sunshine and it was very dark in the theater. My eyes adjusted as I walked in, and Kevin was the first person I saw. The chemistry was immediate.

Kevin: During that first rehearsal, Corrie and I were sitting on opposite sides of the stage and we couldn’t keep our eyes off of each other. I remember she was wearing a blue LL Bean vest with a teal trim. I couldn’t stop thinking about her so I called her later. I think I was more scared making that phone call than I’d ever been backstage before a show.

Corrie: I remember being in my bedroom and my brother yelling up to me, 'Corrie you have a call from some guy named Kevin!' I was so excited when he asked me out. One night after rehearsal, we went on our first date to see 'Interview with a Vampire' at the Eveningstar Cinema, then to Denny’s for dinner and Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream. He gave me a mix tape.

Kevin: As we were getting ready for the play, she and I would run lines together. I remember we were both always skipping ahead in the script trying to find the kissing scene. By the time the show opened at Christmas, we were inseparable.

Corrie: Wendy and Al were at our wedding. We have a photo of Al in his colorful vest giving our first toast with Wendy next to him looking so happy. We’re The Theater Project’s first marriage - followed later by Wendy and Chris, Patrick and Lauren, and others.

Kevin: It doesn't get much more perfect than this right? We met as teens in a play, fell in love, got married, had two kids, and now our whole family acts at The Theater Project.

Sophie, their 21 year old daughter: I literally was born because of this place.

Lily, their 15 year old daughter: The Theater Project feels like another limb of our family.

Aidan McIlhenny, 31 now - started at 14 // Special Education Teacher

"I struggled in high school for a bunch of reasons. I hadn’t found my people. I was nervous when I arrived at the International Teen Camp at The Theater Project. There were two girls my age from Palestine - one of them was nervous like me. It was her first time leaving home and she didn't speak the language fluently. I, on the other hand, was only 20 minutes away from home. Getting to know her helped me get out of my head. I remember Al was very funny, like a stand up comedian for teens. I grew comfortable quickly because the Theater Project kids liked being goofy. I was much more shy than most of them, but it was so good to see people put themselves out there, and to try it myself. Improv helped us all practice saying yes. As a teen, you’re so deeply insecure on a cellular level, and improv forces you to be silly which is really important.

Now I’m a Special Ed teacher. Being in school is hard and can be boring for a kid, so I always try to bring humor into my teaching. I think I got that from Al. I work hard to create a safe place for kids, to build trust and meet them where they are. I have students who act out, or throw things when they’re upset. I stay with them until they calm down, making sure that they know that it’s okay and that I care about them. It makes a huge difference.

I remember one day during Theater Project camp I had a panic attack and one of the teachers, Molly, stood with me and met me in that moment. That meant so much to me. It happened 17 years ago and I still remember it.

Molly and Al and the adults at the theater have an actual interest in young people's well-being. The majority of kids don’t have that experience with adults. Kids read the mood of the room and if the adults are fun, collaborative, and supportive, kids will pick up on that. I want to pass on the respect and support I felt as a teen through my work with youth now. I hope I make kids feel seen, and make them feel cared about, because that’s what they’ll ultimately remember."

Jen Crosby, 33 now, started at 12 // Senior Marketing Coordinator and Small Business Owner

"I thought I wanted to be on Broadway when I was a kid. Once I got my first role at The Theater Project, I acted in every show I could. But when I was a junior in high school I started wanting to see the other side of things. Because the theater is so small, I was able to meet the professionals working behind-the-scenes and learn more about their jobs. The theater cultivates an environment where it’s encouraged to be curious like this and explore your interests. I started Stage Managing, House Managing, and Box Office Managing. Later I joined the Board of Directors and became the Secretary, then the Vice President.

This all helped me realize what my skill set is. I am an organizationally-minded person. I have a vision, I can delegate, and I can easily see how things are. There’s a place for everyone at the Theater Project. You’re not going to know what that is when you first walk in the door. I certainly didn’t. It’s not just about the actors and the stage here. It’s what we’re creating together. All the different pieces and people are what make it work. Even the person who makes the coffee for the show - it is for the audience to enjoy on a cold night when the heat might not be working well. The responsibility and collaborative skills I learned in my early professional years at The Theater Project have stayed with me. Whenever I enter a space now, I feel equal to everyone and like we’re all in it together

Charlotte Crosby, 27 now, started at 9 // Portfolio Manager

"I saw my older sister Jen in Winnie the Pooh and felt so proud of her. People were asking her for her autograph afterwards. I wanted to have that experience too, but I was really shy. Throughout all of the shows I did in middle and high school, I became way more confident. I started assistant teaching with Lee and later became a lead teacher. Because I had been so shy, I never could’ve imagined that I’d one day be teaching, but I wanted to give back to the place that had nurtured me and helped me overcome my fears.

Another way I gave back was during my senior year of high school, when my capstone project was a fundraiser production of Peter Pan. The show raised money for Theater Project kids who wouldn’t have been able to afford to come otherwise. Around the same time, my Theater Project peers and I also started The Young Company board. We learned the financial realities of running a small community theater and we organized many events to keep the place in operation for future generations.

Now I’m working in a big financial institution for corporate America, helping tech companies get loans. I network and collaborate well, I have the confidence to talk with my team members, and I am organized and on my A game. I have these skills because of The Theater Project."

Charlie Gill // started at 11, 25 now // Grower at a local greenhouse

"I had a teacher in elementary school who told my mom that I was a rambunctious show-off and warned that other kids might not like that about me. It was the first time I realized that just because someone is an adult, doesn’t mean they are always right. I’m really silly. I’ve always loved making people laugh and helping them feel comfortable. It makes me feel more comfortable too! I was always performing for my parents at home, so they signed me up for The Theater Project to support my interest in comedy. I finally had a place where I could be weird and be myself and it was celebrated. I got to play and learn so much.

Voices in the Mirror was unbelievable. When we first showed up to rehearsal Wendy was like, ‘Yeah, there’s no 'show.' You guys are going to make it up.’ I was like, ‘What the heck? That’s a lot of work. You’re not going to tell me what to say?’ But then it happened so naturally. Voices created a space for us teens to work stuff out that was happening in our lives and gave us an audience to listen to our perspective. I learned so much about how to collaborate with other people at The Theater Project.

My parents are both farmers and I would one day love to own the family farm. I like being in a leadership role and motivating other people. It’s hard work but it doesn’t feel as hard when we’re all in it together. I remind everyone that farming can also be silly! We’re picking tomatoes and playing in the dirt! It’s so important to have fun when you’re working together - and I learned that at The Theater Project."

Carrie Bell-Hoerth // started at 10, 33 now // Library Specialist

"One of my earliest and most joyful memories that I have is being a 3 year old and roaring with laughter at the library’s ‘Pajama Storytime’ while listening to Al Miller act out 'Twas the Night Before Christmas in his nightcap. I was so excited to become old enough to do The Theater Project myself and later had lots of fun doing summer camps and shows.

After high school, I moved away and went to a tiny liberal arts college. I was an English major and I felt overwhelmed by the very academic and intellectual environment. I moved home after graduation, feeling lost and unsure of what to do next. My Dad ran into Al at the grocery store and he invited me to act in a production of Midsummer that he was directing. Being at The Theater Project again was a really important reminder for me that intellect and joy are not mutually exclusive. I’ve met some of the smartest people I know at the theater who also approach their work wholeheartedly and with sincerity. I don’t think there are a lot of spaces for adults where you’re encouraged to take your work seriously but also to play. Al is in his 80s and still models this everyday in the way he lives his life.

Being immersed in that creative community after college reconnected me with joy and helped me to find the profession that I love - working in a university library. At the end of the day, I am always excited about what I’ve done and it’s brought me joy. I love working with the students and hearing their ideas and working with them as equals, like I experienced at The Theater Project. I have stayed connected to the students I met at the theater too and seen them at many protests and community events these past few years. They are advocating for a better world for everyone and are confidently using their voices in powerful and joyful ways. They’re really excited to explode into the world and shake it up. It’s exciting to support and be a part of that."

Corrie Legge // started at 15, 30 now // Actor & Coach in MA

"In high school, I was scouring the newspapers for auditions and came across an ad for The Theater Project’s production of Peter Pan. My parents drove me the 35 minutes to get there, and I got a part in the play. I had been so excited, that I didn’t realize I was also enrolled in Driver’s Ed, which conflicted with almost all of the rehearsals. The theater was amazing and accommodating. They cast me as a pirate and let me come to just one rehearsal a week and still be in the show. They found a place for me. I hadn’t experienced that feeling of immediate acceptance anywhere before. After that, the theater became my home. I did pretty much every show in high school.

I loved the community. It was unmatched. In school, I excelled academically but was timid socially because I had been put into a box early on and wasn’t able to grow out of that. At the theater, I was able to be more myself, and to explore. I realized that I have creative thoughts that I‘m passionate about and like to share with others. I felt safe and comfortable doing that here. In some acting circles, there’s a push to make yourself uncomfortable and lean into your fear. I do think that the best art happens when you’re vulnerable, but first you need to be in a safe place to be able to access that vulnerability. After high school, I worked for several years in New York City as an on-camera actor, a film director, in casting, and also as a voice actor. Whenever I’m in a leadership role, I always work hard to create an environment where everyone’s creativity can shine through and they feel safe.

I learned all of this at The Theater Project. I found my lifelong best friends there too. We shared a love for The Theater Project that was so deep. We fought to save it when it almost closed. Theater always bonds you temporarily, but it’s different at The Theater Project. It’s lasting. It’s been 11 years, and I’m still teary when I go there. Recently, I even made all of my Theater Project t-shirts into a colorful quilt. This place will always be with me."

Alumni Portrait Project