Our speaker this gray, damp afternoon was Sean Robinson, Executive Artistic Director of the New Hampshire Theater Project.
“When you hear the word ‘theater,’ you may have had many different experiences,” Mr. Robinson began. “We think of ourselves as ‘applied theater.’ Theater that can be applied to our lives.”
Indeed, as a seven-year-old growing up in northern Virginia, theater was an important part of Sean’s DNA. He graduated from American University with a Broadcast Journalism degree and a minor in theater. After stints at all the major networks, Robinson found himself producing, writing, directing, acting, and doing a lot of film work.
“Eventually I learned that ‘creating’ interested me more than performing,” Robinson disclosed. “I wanted to do work that mattered.”
This led Robinson and his wife to leave a gig in Los Angeles and move to Las Vegas.
“Just an awful place,” he recalled, noting that Vegas was not a good town to raise a child. So, Robinson Googled towns and locations where he could grow professionally and where his family could thrive.
“I found that Portsmouth, NH, was the best place,” he said. “It’s a hugely supportive community for the arts. And NHTP was what I was looking for.”
Here in the West End, Robinson could produce plays that are relevant. In fact, after each show, there is a discussion. The project’s “Elephant in the Room” program produces plays about topics that are important but difficult to talk about. Subjects like elder care and PTSD among first responders. Another offering was “Our Kids Are Not Alright.”
“We are theater talking about things we don’t generally talk about,” Robinson explained.
Another mission of NHTP is “Theater for Life.” Here, the company has partnered with various institutions to deal with topics such as burnout, mismanagement, and social responsibility.
“We are proud of the work we do,” Robinson said, “and fortunate we came to this area where we can make a difference in the life of the community.”
Robinson recruited Barb Miller, Larry, Cleo, and Julia to perform two skits using one prop. Just one nonsense word (“hap” and “cupcake”) could be used to communicate tragedy in one scene and ask for a raise in another. A powerful demonstration of how to engender creativity and communication.
Nuts and bolts.
Cleo was the Four-Way Test lead. Juan Arroz offered “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” and Ashley presented a meditation on kindness.
Tony Delyani’s wife, Patty, was our only guest.
Announcements.
- Julia plugged the Portsmouth Historical Society’s auction this Thursday at 5:30pm.
- John St. Pierre reminded us that the clothing drive for Friends in Action is also Thursday. Bring your gently used garments or drop them off at James Petersen’s Maplewood Avenue apartment. See above for details.
- A book drive for Ian’s Little Libraries project runs the entire month of May.
- The club photo is May 28.
Portsmouth Rotary and The Chase Home invite you to a hands-on fence build at 698 Middle Rd, Portsmouth. Help support gardens that donated 1,200 lbs of food to Gather last year.
