Who are you, where you are from, and how did you start in this field?

Kym Dakin

I stuck my toe into Theatre in High school in Aurora Colorado as a dare. My best friend wanted me to try out with her for The King & I, & she dared me to do it, so I showed up….and got the part she wanted- Tuptim!  I was also on the speech team- as a debater, but a pretty bad one – too emotional.  So the coach suggested I do dramatic Interp instead…. Do they even do speech teams anymore?

I perform with Portland Playback Theatre, and am one of the founding members.

The last stage production I did was at Madhorse Theatre…it was “Skylight” w/ Michael Howard 12 years  ago. My daughter was a year old and I exhausted myself to the point where for the only time in almost 25 years, I got too sick to perform. It was the last show I did and I never looked back.

What inspires you and keeps you motivated?I love bridging the gap between theatre and real life: using this art form in business trainings, in our work with doctors in LegacyMD and in narrating audiobooks!  It’s always growing and changing, and demanding new skills…..

Share with us something funny that has happened to you recently. 

My daughter’s school asked for parent volunteers to wear vegetable costumes to celebrate the new school garden. Skyler was horrified to see her mom at the head of the veggie parade in the “peapod” suit.  You never know when that theatre training will come in handy!

How do you bridge the financial gap between what this profession pays and making a living? It’s a continual struggle. I wear many hats….teacher, trainer, audio coach and narrator plus a part time job …or two.

What’s the best advice for the creative person that someone has given you? A creative endeavor demands as much time, energy, commitment & focus as a child.  

What projects are in the pipeline for you? Continuing to develop LegacyMD, complete three audio narrations by May, do a training on Trust in the Workplace for ICL, present at Maine Health’s Quality Counts conference, judge the finals for the high school one acts, and continue with my coaching clients.

Would you like to share your contact information? How can readers find out more about you?

Websites: sfiaudio.com.     shortfusecentral.com     LegacyMD.com     www.portlandplayback.com   Twitter: @KymDakin

Lucid Stage goes beyond this role of providing affordable performance and lets folks like me be part of the arts. Being exposed to others’ passions is infectious–maybe one day I will be juggling and reading Sartre in his native French–while practicing my poker face. Thanks to the Lucid Stage community!”

~Bob Barrett

I received the spark of music from Andy Krull, the hip guy who played the electric (!) guitar for the parish youth choir I joined at age twelve.
I had other interests and aspirations, but music had become the primary focus of my life by the time I escaped from college and moved to Boston.
I have sung in many choirs, learning from each director.  I was also accompanist for two local choral groups, and am currently organist and choir director at St. David’s in Kennebunk.

Tell us something you know that we may not know, about yourself or the world.
Barcelona is one of the greatest futbol teams that has ever been.  I put that in because, of the things I know, probably the fewest of “us” know that.
Which reminds me of another thing we may not know.  You probably do know of people wishing to be known differently. For instance, someone I know used to be a he and now wants to be known as a she. And you have probably heard of those wishing to be known as a ‘they’. Well, I recently heard of a former ‘they’ now wishing to be known as an ‘us’. I think I might have a problem with this one.

What inspires you and keeps you motivated?
Watching Barcelona play. I am also inspired, more and more, by the multitudinous miracles of Great Nature.
I think part of my motivation comes from my belief that in the field of music it is possible for someone to never stop growing.

Share with us something funny that has happened to you recently.

I have been delaying writing this, waiting for something funny to happen to me. For almost six months. Although I am sure that something funny has happened , and I just missed it, I am going to delay no longer!

Alhan middle eastern ensemble

How do you bridge the gap between what this profession pays and making a living?
I am lucky. I haven’t had to work as a house-painter in more than five years. I wear several musical hats, three of which actually provide income! I also live as a housemate with four (used to be six) other people.

"Fire on Fire" - one of Tom K's bands

What’s the best advice for the creative person that someone has given you?
I don’t know if it’s “the best” – or even good- advice, but it’s the one I seem to have ended up following. According to a book-cover (the old days) I had, Mark Twain said “Put all your eggs in one basket. And then — watch that basket!”

What projects are in the pipeline for you? Do you have a “dream” project?
I have been working on my first ever solo recording for almost two years now (kind of a tar sands pipeline). And I am not procrastinating, even though this recording has nothing to do with something funny happening to me recently.
Dream project? I would like to play in the World Cup 2014. I am many years too old, and I only recently began playing, and these are only two of the reasons why this is a DREAM project.

Would you like to share you contact information? How can readers find out more about you?
(Editor’s note: Tom K. does not use e-mail, nor does he own a cell phone or answer his land-line. If you would like to meet him, your next opportunity will be at The Blue Lobster Troupe’s Winter Concert at Lucid Stage on February 19th at 7:30pm.)

Saturday, April 21st 2012.

Information on presenting companies coming soon. In the mean time, here’s how to register yourself….

MeACT, Maine Association of Community Theaters, a Maine not-for-profit corporation, will be producing our annual one-act play festival and workshops for MeACT members.

What’s it all about?

• Have Fun – If we can’t do this the whole exercise is pointless.
• Have an annual scheduled event that doesn’t conflict with our seasonal productions ‘cause we’ve all included it in our own schedules.
• Comradery – Get to know other Community Theater groups and their members. We, who have been participating since MeACT’s inception, really enjoy getting together each year – it may be the only time we actually see each other all year.
• Share Information, Ideas & Innovations – not to mention props, costumes, scripts, techniques and training opportunities. The Festival workshops often provide a springboard for further discussion and cooperation.
• Act as an entry point for Maine Community Theater groups’ participation in AACT regional (via the New England Theatre Conference) and National and International festivals, should they desire to do so. Groups considering this avenue should consult the most recent edition of the AACT Festival handbook which is available online.
• For more information about MeACT and the 2010 Festival, contact foner.curtis@lonza.com

For any theatre groups that are considering progressing competitively beyond the State level we follow the elements AACTFest handbook to AACT Regionals and/or Nationals. “It is recommended that performances submitted  for competition must run no more than 60 minutes, not including set-up and strike unless these elements contribute to the performance. 

If your group is interested in participating in a non-competitive manner (as most of our groups are) the time element is not as restrictive and allowance can be made but we do encourage a performance of less than 60 minutes (including set-up and strike) so as to keep the day manageable. 

To enter the Festival, if your group is not a MeACT member, you will need to join MeACT, with annual membership dues of $30 for your entire group. Festival registration, a separate item, is an additional $30.  All fees are used to defray the expenses associated with the Festival and the events which take place therein.

The registration fee is due no later than the day of the Festival. Registration Deadline is April 1st, 2012.

Once you decide to participate, please e-mail me the following information as soon as it is known.

            Theater Group Name

            Theater address

            Theater Phone, Theater E-mail and website

            Show Director      

            Title of One-Act Play

            Playwright

            Royalty Rights/Publisher

 Further details on the schedule for the day, order of show presentation, workshops, etc. will be forthcoming after April 1st.