ISLE Theater Company

Last updated
ISLE Theater Company
TypeCommunity Organization
PredecessorANNA + MARVIN
Founded2020 (2020) in Deer Isle, Maine
Founders Marvin Merritt IV, Anna Fitzgerald
Website isletheater.org

ISLE Theater Company ("ISLE") is a Maine-based organization known for creating original, community-driven theater productions. [1]

Founded in 2020 by Anna Fitzgerald and Marvin Merritt IV under the name ANNA + MARVIN, ISLE Theater Company began on Deer Isle after its two founders graduated from Harvard University and sought to make safe, accessible theater in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [1] [2] Merritt serves as the Artistic & Executive Director, while Fitzgerald serves as the Associate Director. [3] Fitzgerald and Merritt aim to produce two shows annually. [4]

In their first year, ISLE Theater Company produced two shows: Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries at Moss Ledge Cottage, an oceanfront cottage overlooking Penobscot Bay, and Anna Fitzgerald's Do Not Move Stones at the Settlement Quarry Preserve, a defunct granite quarry in Stonington, ME where they reached over one thousand people over three evenings. [5] [6] [7] ISLE received ten BroadwayWorld Maine awards in 2021 including "Best Production of the Year" and "Best Play." [8]

In 2022, ISLE Theater Company announced the world premiere of Anna Fitzgerald's Playing Mercury , a medieval-period comedy inspired by William Shakespeare's As You Like It with outdoor performances at Horsepower Farm in Penobscot in August and released for digital on-demand in September. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 Keyes, Bob (26 September 2021). "Artists sought refuge from pandemic by returning to Maine, and found opportunity". The Portland Press Herald . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  2. Bonneville, Brenda (29 May 2021). "Artists Anna Fitzgerald and Marvin Merritt IV Produce Live Theater with Island Partners". Maine Art Scene. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  3. "MARVIN MERRITT IV BIOGRAPHY". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved 28 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Virtual comedy "Do Not Move Stones" to debut". 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  5. Verdino-Süllwold, Carla Maria. "BWW Review: Suppliants in Stonington: Isle Theater Company Premiere New Work" . Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  6. Rabinowitz, Chloe (3 August 2021). "Harvard Artists To Produce Live Production of DO NOT MOVE STONES With Maine Community Partners This Summer". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved 28 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Landrigan, Leslie (19 August 2021). ""Do Not Move Stones"—huge project, epic space". Island Ad-Vantages. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  8. "Winners Announced For The BroadwayWorld 2021 Maine Awards". BroadwayWorld . 12 January 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. "ISLE Theater Company announces original play at Horsepower Farm". Bangor Daily News . 11 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.