GUILFORD-Guilford Center Stage's fall production is a Guilford collaboration in which the subjects are 30 Guilford elders recalling life in town in the early 20th century. Guilford poet Verandah Porche interviewed current and former Guilford residents, ages 69 to 91, between 2006 and 2019. The result is a play for voices, Broad Brook Anthology, which will be performed October 25–27 at Broad Brook Community Center.
From the interviews, Porche crafted a narrative for each elder, then returned to have them work together to put the stories into final form. She published these in two volumes entitled Kitchen Talks.
For Guilford's 250th anniversary in 2011, the poet redrafted some of the narratives into a play, read by six area actors. Photographer Jeff Woodward of Guilford photographed each of the elders, and in some cases, reconstructed scenes of their childhoods, and combined all of these with vintage photos from the elders' personal albums, into a slideshow, which accompanies the readings. Guilford composer Don McLean wrote incidental music, which is played by an instrumental trio.
Guilford residents whose stories are heard include: Arnold Clark, Margery Evans, Helen Marynuk, Alberta Allen, Peg Hunter, Wilma Higgins, Doris Seale, Shirley Clark Squires, Norm Coleman, Maddie Meyer, Al Franklin, Shirley Searles Squires, Tucky and Pat Houghton, Bea Garland, Ken and Pat Lynde, Nancy Ragle, Ed Petrie, Bernie and Bernice LaRock, Addie Minott, Peg Jaqueth, Margaret Borkowski and John Kristensen.
Director of Broad Brook Anthology is Michael Kennedy, and actor-readers joining Porche are Christopher Coutant, Gay Maxwell, James Maxwell, Arthur Pettee, and Robin Wolf. Musicians are Alison Hale, flute; Mary Seaver, clarinet; and Emily Packard, violin and viola.
Shows are Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25 and 26, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m., at the fully-accessible Broad Brook Community Center, 3940 Guilford Center Rd. General Admission is $14 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased online at bpt.me/6361185.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.