Upstage Players is a community theatre group drawing talent and pleasing audiences north and west of the White Mountains for over 30 years.
Our History
Bye Bye Birdie (Apr 2004)
In the summer of 1978, the Lisbon Regional School, in partnership with a group of interested community adults, combined efforts and talents for a joint production. Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado was presented to a full house in the Lisbon Town Hall/Opera House. Out of that initial effort, the Upstage Players was born in 1979. In January 1981, Upstage Players was registered as a New Hampshire Voluntary Organization.
For over thirty years, our organizational principles and objectives have been: 1) to promote excellent theatrical endeavors at the community level, 2) to encourage participation in theatre arts by all generations in Lisbon and the surrounding communities, 3) to build an audience and encourage talent, and 4) to foster the growth and continued improvement of community theatre in our region.
Joseph (May 2009)
In most years, at least two shows have been produced, which have covered a wide variety of dramatic and musical genres. For the past several years, our annual tradition of a musical production of “A Christmas Carol” has become an area entertainment staple. In addition to standard book shows, Upstage has produced or participated in variety shows, a melodrama at Lisbon’s annual Lilac Time Festival, haunted houses, children’s plays, skits for the Lisbon Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and award-winning floats in the Lilac Time parade.
Participation in Upstage productions is open to citizens of not only Lisbon, but of communities throughout the White Mountains and Great North Woods regions of New Hampshire and many communities in northeastern Vermont, encompassing a radius of approximately 50 miles. Ages of our members have ranged from four to eighty-something years old. Some of our members have acted, or been otherwise involved with, the professional summer stock companies Weathervane Theatre in Whitefield and North Country Center for the Arts in Lincoln. We share talent with other community and school theatre companies in the area, including Colonel Town Players of Lancaster, the former Silhouette Players and Ammonoosuc Actors Guild of Littleton and Theatre North of Berlin, all in NH and the St. Johnsbury and Danville Players of VT.
Gypsy
Hundreds of hours of behind the scenes work are devoted to each production by volunteers in the capacities of director, musical director, choreographer, set designer, builder, stage crew, lighting designer, lighting technicians, sound technicians, photographer, costuming, hair stylists, makeup artists and performers. Our volunteer thirteen-member Board of Directors contribute to many of these aspects of theatre as well as maintain the governance of the organization.
Upstage Players is also involved in community affairs. We were instrumental in the formation and early support of the Ammonoosuc Region Arts Council by lending our by-laws as a model for the development of theirs. Both groups share mutual goals of expanding the opportunities for artistic development and expression in our region. Many of our board members have also served on the Arts Council board, and we have shared several projects over the years. The Arts Council has offered a sale of refreshments at many of our performances and the participants of each show provide the baked goods for the sale.
We offer one or more scholarships to graduating seniors from area high schools.
The Upstage Players community theatre is all about local talent, local entertainment, and local opportunity. We welcome you to get involved, if not as a player, at least in the audience. See you at show time!
