Meet the Players: Maud of the Island
written and directed by Jessica Golden
Performances take place outside at the Pratt Museum & Park • June 29, 30, July 1 @ 7:30, July 2 @ 3:00, & July 6, 7, 8, 9 @ 7:30
In Maud of the Island, Lucy Maud Montgomery, an almost-published author, draws inspiration from her colorful community while she defends her grandmother's beloved home from greedy relatives, and considers a proposal of marriage.
This play was developed in residency with Theater Alaska’s Alaska Writers’ Workshop via Perseverance Theater, 2021.
It’s time to meet the playwright and the players!
PLAYWRIGHT AND DIRECTOR
Jessica Golden, playwright, poet, novelist, & (when no one is properly guarding the stage) sometimes actor, was last seen joining an unruly mob in Beauty & the Beast. Before that she was unclear about guard-duty in Spamalot, showed off her cherry buns in Calendar Girls, and spent several summers dismembering Shakespeare via radio and the Valdez Theatre Conference. Maud of the Island is her first full-length comedy.
MAUD MONTGOMERY
Ten years ago, in her sophomore year at Palmer High School, Cristen San Roman was forcibly enrolled in drama class. In her first week on the stage she’d realized she’d discovered a passion for theatre, and went on to do several shows at PHS. After graduating, she moved here to Homer and took a 6 year hiatus from performing to cut mountains of fish and live the ~ Spit Life ~ . Last year she moved on from that, and with her newfound free time she tried out for Pier One Theatre’s productions of Cosmic Hostel and Beauty and the Beast. She was delighted to be accepted by such incredible and kind hearted people, and feels blessed to be a part of this beautiful piece of the Homer community. This season she is enchanted to be playing Maud in this this show, and also to be assistant directing Cannibal! The Musical. Cristen is playing in these woods most days of the week and would like to thank her partner Kyle for always being so supportive and understanding of all her ventures, coming to every show at least twice, and for taking such good care of their pets Olive, Brother and Jafar.
NORA LEFURGEY
Mebahiah Eller is from Quebec, Canada. She fell in love with Alaska in summer 2015 and has been living on the Kenai peninsula on and off since then. She only moved down to Homer this winter and is excited to join our theatre community. This will be her first time performing in English as French is her first language. Just like her character Nora Lefurgey, Mebahiah is a teacher and a nature enthousiaste!
FREDE CAMPBELL/PRESCOTT MACNEILL
Katia Holmes was last seen in these woods with a bow and arrow in hand as Lady Marian in Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood last fall, and can also be seen as Polly Pry in Cannibal the Musical coming up in July. She has been in love with the world of Maud since playwright/director Jessica Golden asked her to perform a read through of the play in 2021, and has enjoyed every minute spent with the cast and crew to bring this heartwarming story to life. She will graduate next spring with a BFA in Theatre at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in NYC. She would like to thank her brilliant director and playwright Jessica, and her family for their endless support (and food deliveries).
REV. EWAN MACDONALD
Regi Johanos was last seen onstage as Belle in Pier One’s Beauty and the Beast. She is thrilled to be out here in the woods, doing theatre things with such fine folk! Of course, she shall endeavor to temper her excitement to a level befitting the respectable Reverend McDonald. Unlike Ewan, Regi is an avid “book learner” who can be found wandering the stacks at Homer Public Library where she works. For Babcia, who loved Anne. Ja cie kocham!
LUCY MACNEILL
Carolyn Norton enjoys playing on this stage in the woods where there is great “scope for the imagination.” Like the title character in Anne of Green Gables, she is brilliant at taking tests, writing, performing, and getting into scrapes. She is not above a touch of whimsy either and has been known to vow eternal friendship while squishing berries on your forehead
PIERRE MONTEE
Finnley Stineff is going into his sophomore year at Homer High School. He has started to involve himself in local theatre after Homer High’s production of Newsies. As an avid member of the Drama, Debate, and Forensics program, Homer High School Swing Choir, and overall having a loud personality, performing is not something foreign to Finnley. He looks forward to diversifying and improving his artistic abilities, as well as forming relationships within the theatre community. He hopes to continue participating in and supporting the arts after high school and throughout his life.
JOHN MACNEILL
Val Sheppard - I didn't exactly expect to be a part of this show in the role that I currently occupy but I'm exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to be where I am. I've been monitoring Jessica's progress with this script on and off since she first shared it with anyone other than herself and from the moment I read it I was hooked. It's a great honor to be a part of the inaugural cast of a show, and that much more so when it's a script that I admire as much as this one, from a writer and director I similarly respect as highly as I do. I hope that you enjoy your time on PEI as much as we've enjoyed bringing you there.
MRS. MCELROY
Raiden Skorski-O’Donnell is a sixteen year old boy who loves drama, especially competitive acting through HHS DDF, who’s drama division is headed by him. The only reason he’s not bragging more is that fact that he is the most humble person he’s ever met. Raiden’s thoughts on playing Mrs. Mcelroy are “Personally, I love monologues, being the main type of performance I do in DDF. However, Mcelroy just has a different charm about her than all the other characters I’ve done, and I’m really excited for everyone to see her!” He feels like he’s been a sixty-eight year old woman all his life.
Set & Stage Crew
While he prefers to reside in the shadows working tech for most performances, the 17 year old Jackson’s passion for theater actually started on stage in front of an audience. He has been in the realm of small-town theater for nearly a decade, first being a part of Pier One’s Les Miserables of 2014.
He most notably works in technical design, helping design and paint set pieces. His recent works were the HHS Newsies, and Pier One’s Beauty and the Beast.
