The World Premiere of
our own original theater-movement adaptation of

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE

It’s the Final Weekend! Thursday-Sunday through May 20!

Discover why audiences at each show so far have leapt to their feet at the conclusion of Kim Bent and Kathleen Keenan’s powerful drama, based on Paterson’s moving book.

Charlie McMeekin of The Herald calls it a ”Triumph!”

Alex Brown from The Bridge calls it “Exhilarating”

check out these posts on our facebook page:

“Lyddie- wonderful play/production and more timely than ever. Saw the Saturday matinee. If you care about yesterday or tomorrow, women or children- make plans to go NOW.” –  Michael Meninger

“A fabulous opening night of Lyddie! What a great accomplishment to be so true to Katherine Paterson’s wonderful book and to be such excellent theatre!” - Jane Youngbaer

LYDDIE is a compelling journey of self-discovery as a young girl works to regain her small Vermont farm and reunite her family at the dawn of the industrial revolution. It’s Vermont historical fiction at its finest. – And like other intergenerational stories with serious subjects (such as The Diary of Ann Frank or To Kill a Mockingbird) LYDDIE is a production the whole family can attend.

 Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE
in an original stage adaptation by Kim Bent
with music by Kathleen Keenan and Nicole Carroll

The show continues Thursdays-Sundays through May 20.
7pm Thu; 8pm Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun 

Lyddie features a cast of over 2o actor-singer-musician-dancers,
choreography by Lida Winfield
costumes by Cora Fauser
setting by Donna Stafford
lighting by Jeffrey E Salzberg
projection design & technical direction by Casey Covey
stage management & properties by Kris Weir

Stay tuned for other special events and discussions surrounding the show, including special matinees for schools and auxiliary programs by the Vermont Humanities Council.
For more information call 802-229-0492

GET TICKETS!

The Season continues

with fun & frolic, heartbreaking and breathtaking dramas, classics & contemporaries with such shows as:
I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, God of Carnage, The Year of Magical Thinking, and Hamlet.

Season Tickets are on sale now.
available on-line or call us at 802-229-0492.

Don’t forget Theater FOR Kids BY Kids shows, classes, and camps!

After a nearly full preview last night that ended with tears, laughter and a grand standing ovation from the crowd, this production, years in the making, opens tonight!

The World Premiere of Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE

The opening night GALA begins tonight at 6:45PM, and it has been sold out for nearly a week! We are so grateful for all of our sponsors for this event, and for our entire upcoming 2012 season.

This event has been made possible by:

Dona Bate – Capitol Copy – Betty Lord

Tom & Charlotte MacLeay

Capitol Grounds – Lindsay & Jim Kurrle

Damn Yankee String Band – John Mowad & Sarah Hotchkiss

ADVANCE MUSIC

Fresh Tracks Farm – Kurrle Fuels

Kimberly Whalen

Manghi’s – Birchgrove Baker – Morse Farm – Cyndi Golonka

Jasper Hill Cheese – Vermont Butter & Cheese – Cabot Cheese

Rain or Shine – Three Penny Taproom

Amanda Menard – Lauren Aradi – Pat & Charlie Keenan

Robyn & Mitch Oseicki – Louise Menard – Shawn Sturdevant

Emily Hyman – Mary Grothe – Susan Reid – Terri Kneen

Kassandra Bell – Christina Murphy – Morgaine Bell

Jeanne Cariatti and Mary Hood for their help with education outreach.

Gretchen & Greg with Bon Temps Gourmet

Kate Smith, Marshfield School of Weaving.

We couldn’t do it without them, and we can’t do it without YOU! The seats are filling up for this weekends performances, and will 3 more weeks after that we are so appreciative for the response from the community for this production.

The twinkle lights are going up and the tablecloths are being pressed- we are making the theater beautiful and anxiously awaiting your arrival!

Happy opening night everyone!

The Point is very proud to present actress and singer-songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon in an intimate benefit for Lost Nation Theater, Monday May 14^th at 7pm!

Rebecca Pidgeon was first noted as a member of the British band Ruby Blue. In 1990 she decided to focus on her acting career.

As an actress she has worked extensively with her husband, playwright David Mamet, as well as doing noteworthy work apart from him on stage, in films, and on television. 2010’s action-comedy Red is her most recent major motion picture. She’s also starred with Gene Hackman in Heist, and on-stage in Oleanna.

At the same time she has continued to develop as a musical artist, with six solo albums to her name, the most recent being this year’s “Slingshot”.

Join Rebecca Pidgeon in an intimate evening of song and stories Monday May 14^th at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier’s City Hall starting at 7 o’clock. Tickets are just $10, available at the door, and all proceeds benefit Lost Nation Theater.

Ms. Pidgeon performs on the set of LNT’s current world premiere: Katherine Paterson’s Lyddie, by Kim Bent. Seating is limited. The Box Office will open at 6pm. Seating will begin at 6:30pm.

That’s Rebecca Pidgeon in an intimate benefit for Lost Nation Theater, Monday May 14^th at 7pm, proudly presented by Independent Radio, The Point!

The wait is over!

LNT’s 2012 Season Begins
Tonight! with
The World Premiere of
its own original theater-movement adaptation of

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE

LYDDIE is a compelling journey of self-discovery as a young girl works to regain her small Vermont farm and reunite her family at the dawn of the industrial revolution. It’s Vermont historical fiction at its finest. – And like other intergenerational stories with serious subjects (such as The Diary of Ann Frank or To Kill a Mockingbird) LYDDIE is a production the whole family can attend.

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE
in an original stage adaptation by Kim Bent
with music by Kathleen Keenan and Nicole Carroll
Previews Tonight! April 26th at 7pm.
Friday April 27 – it’s THE GALA honoring Katherine Paterson

The show continues, running Thu-Sun through May 20.

Stay tuned for other special events and discussions surrounding the show, including special matinees for schools and auxiliary programs by the Vermont Humanities Council.
For more information call 802-229-0492

The Season continues

with fun & frolic, heartbreaking and breathtaking dramas, classics & contemporaries with such shows as:
I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, God of Carnage, The Year of Magical Thinking, and Hamlet.

Season Tickets are on sale now.
Individual tickets to Lyddie are also on sale.
click the “Get Tickets” link or call us at 802-229-0492.

Don’t forget Theater FOR Kids BY Kids shows, classes, and camps!

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE
Looms on the edge of Opening – at LNT!

With its original music and choreography, historically accurate and mulit-media production elements, and an intergenerational cast of 20-plus actor-musicians, Kim Bent’s faithful and skilled stage adaptation of Paterson’s prize-winning and moving novel is The theatrical event of the year!

“The Bear was our undoing.” That first line, throws us into Lyddie’s journey as she fights to protect her family. So begins Katherine Paterson’s prize wining novel. And so begins Lost Nation Theater’s original stage adaptation of the classic, by founding artistic director Kim Bent.

Conceived and directed by LNT’s Kathleen Keenan as a play with music and dance, the World Premier of Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE, featuring music by Keenan and Nicole Carroll and the choreography of Lida Winfield, runs April 26-May 20 at LNT’s welcoming home in Montpelier City Hall Arts Center.

Bent is best known as a playwright for STONE – his work created from oral histories about the Barre Granite Community – for which he won the Vermont Historical Society’s inaugural Hathaway Prize. A native Vermonter who knows how to weave a good yarn about his home state and her people, Bent’s skillful, faithful adaptation shines with authenticity.

Lyddie is a compelling story of self-discovery as an impoverished 1840’s Vermont farm girl journeys to the textile mills of Massachusetts to earn enough money to reunite her family and regain their farm. It is historical fiction at its best.

Like To Kill a Mockingbird and Diary of Ann Frank, LYDDIE features an intergenerational cast, complex themes, and is a show for all ages.  And like these Mockingbird, Ann Frank, and Huckleberry Finn it is an epic story – yet one that is also deeply intimate and personal, with characters you’ll love, laugh at, and loathe.

The plight of Lyddie and her family will capture your imagination and your heart. Lost Nation Theater is proud to bring this story of hope and spirit to the stage for the very first time.

Katherine Paterson is one of Vermont’s most beloved and respected authors. Her awards are numerous and include Library of Congress Living Legend Award, the Hans Christian Anderson Award, the National Book Award, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allen Poe Awards, multiple Newbery Medal Awards, and serving as the country’s Ambassador of Literature. Her works have been translated into a dozen other languages and read around the world.  And when asked which of her characters surprised her the most, Paterson says Lyddie.

A flawed, complex girl, who’s pride gets her in trouble, Lyddie’s grit and unexpected capacity for change, see her through. The story is remarkably relevant, provocative and inspiring  - told within the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. The struggle of Vermont family farms, the rise of the labor movement, literacy and women’s suffrage all play a role.

An intergenerational cast of over 20 actor-musicians bring it to life in a production featuring scenic design by visual artist Donna Stafford, projections by Casey Covey, costumes by Cora Fauser, and lighting by Jeffrey Salzberg. Featuring Liz Gilbert (LNT’s Miracle Worker, and 2008’s Mockingbird) as young Lyddie; AEA Actor Molly Walsh as the now-grown Lyddie; many LNT favorites in multiple roles including Tim Tavcar and Bob Nuner; and several LNT Young Company Members.

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE Previews Thursday April 26 (see ticket deal below) and Opens on Friday April 27. The show runs Thursdays-Sundays through May 20^th.  Opening Night Fri June 27 is a GALA honoring Katheirne Paterson.

Curtain is: 7pm Thursdays; 8pm Fridays, Saturdays;  7pm Sundays—except the final Sun. May 20^th, which is at 2pm.  Additionally, there is a 2pm matinee Sat April 28.

Tickets: $30 Fri—Sun;  $25 Thu; Special $15 Preview Thu April 26 & Sat Mat April 28. Students & seniors: $5 Off.
Ages 6-11: $10. 
(Under 6 admitted at LNT discretion. Infants & Toddlers not admitted.) Gala Tickets are all $60 all-inclusive

LNT’s Youth Programs Win Support at Town Meeting

Lost Nation Theater deeply appreciates the support of the Taxpayers of Montpelier!

Montpelier voters continued their support of our youth programs in 2012, approving Article 39.

Your tax dollars mean: classes, mentorships/apprenticeships and professional training programs, and camps for ages 2 and up, plus opportunities for students to perform (onstage and backstage) alongside professionals on our mainstage.

And, an opportunity to see that support in action, is coming up quickly!
LNT’s season opening production in April features nearly a dozen youth.

It’s the world-premier of  . . .

Katherine Paterson’s LYDDIE
in an original stage adaptation by Kim Bent
with music by Kathleen Keenan and Nicole Carroll

Thu-Sun, April 26-May 20

Stay tuned for details on:

special prices/discussion on the Preview April 26th
The Opening Night Gala, April 27th
discussions and auxiliary events with the Vermont Humanities Council
weekday matinees especially for schools

Call the Theater – 802-229-0492

It’s a Laugh Riot at LNT
as our Winter Comedy Production Camp
brings its act to Town.

The Rules of Comedy
a physical comedy extravaganza in one act

Friday March 2 at 5:30pm

Directors Tara Lee Downs and Christopher Scheer, with coaching from Margo Whitcomb and Kim Bent, led aspiring comedians, age 9-16, through the fine art of rubber chickens, ladder-ducking, pie-throwing, spit-takes and pratfalls, the refinements of honed comic timing, verbal repartee, sheer silliness, and the genius of Shakespeare.  7 hours of study & rehearsal each day, for 5 consecutive days resulted in a fabulously fun production of Peter Bloedel’s wonderfully ridiculous script.

To prove The Rules of Comedy work, Bloedel applies them to one of the greatest tragedies of all time: Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Think: The Complete Works of Shakespeare-Abridged – but for kids!

The show was great – thanks to all for coming out! – A capacity crowd, who got an aerobic workout from laughing!
The audience totally enjoyed learning the rules – demonstrated by flying lettuce, cats & dogs; cream pies; gorilla suits, and how much funnier a sword-fight is when done with rubber chickens!

The Winter Comedy Camp is just one aspect of LNT’s Programs for Youth.

Please VOTE YES! on Town Meeting Day (In Montpelier) on Article 39-
a $3500 allocation in support of LNT’s Youth Programs.

VOTE YES! on Article 39

Lost Nation Theater is asking for level-funding support for its youth programs.

This $3500 allocation adds just $1 for the entire year to the taxes of homeowners whose properties are assessed at $200,000.

LNT’s youth programs start for those age 2!

This funding supports:

• 12  one-to-two week-long instructional camps (in performance and technical theater)
• 3 “Theater FOR Kids BY Kids” productions, which are led by professional directors and designers
• professional training programs (in performance, management and technical areas)
• mentoring, apprenticeships, and community-based-learning opportunities for ages 12 and up
• masterclasses and workshops in specific skills (stage-combat, improv, scenic painting, etc)
• opportunities to work along-side, and study with professional, in LNT’s mainstage productions
• special matinees for schools (including workshops,  post show discussions, and study guides) of curricular-connected shows (such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Miracle Worker, and this year: Lyddie and Hamlet)
• arts workshops for Head Start class rooms and family outings

In 2011, LNT invested nearly $50,000 in its youth programs, served 130 students through its camp programs providing nearly $7000 in scholarship assistance to those students.

Fees for additional students were further reduced by bartering/trade – and by older students serving as assistants in camps for younger students or serving as production assistants on mainstage shows.

Many of LNT’s students have gone on to win full (and partial) scholarships to College Conservatory programs because of the skills learned and experiences available to them through LNT.

1000 more students were served by our school matinee program and hundreds of other students (in 16 different sites) were served by the workshops we arranged for Head Start.

We hope you will continue your support.

LNT’s Youth Programs are supported by our underwriters: National Life Group, The City of Montpelier, Capitol Copy, The Vermont Arts Council, The Times Argus, WDEV Radio Vermont, The Point! and The World;

with additional special support from Vermont Mutual Insurance and Alan Weiss

Headstart programming is funded in part by Central VT Community Action Council, and the Vermont Arts Council.

Final Weekend
brings Great Dance to the Stage!

DON’T LET THE  THREATENING WEATHER FOOL YOU!
THE SHOW MUST GO ON! AND SO IT IS!!!

Lida Winfield’s
IN SEARCH OF AIR

FEBRUARY 23 – 26, 2012

7:30pm Fri-Sat;  2pm Sun.
tickets $20. ($15 stu/sr; $10 under 12)

“simply stunning. the artistry, the emotion and the skill took my breath away” – says producing artistic director Kathleen Keenan

Inventive, courageous, funny and inspiring: In Search of Air

Lida Winfield weaves spoken word, movement, music, and visual art together
in this amazing dance theater work telling her journey growing up dyslexic.

The stories are personal – but the struggles and triumphs universal.

You owe it to yourself to see this extraordinary show.
Get More Details.
GET TICKETS

___________________________

Winterfest also includes a
new show in LNT’s Visual Art Gallery.

International, Award-winning iPhoneography
Prints from Robyn Osiecki of Middlesex, Vermont
and Róbert Herold of Pécs, Hungary.

The Winterfest Art Gallery is open 1.5 hours prior to curtain
and by appointment.

___________________________

The Youth Comedy Camp – IT’S FULL!

LNT’s Winter Break Comedy Camp, Feb 27-March 2 is  sold out.

The camp may be full, but there are plenty of tickets for the show:
THE RULES OF COMEDY!
Friday, March 2 at 5:30pm
Theater For Kids By Kids!

___________________________

Final Casting for LYDDIE soon to be announced!

  LNT’s original play with music & dance based on Katherine Paterson’s novel.
A sneak preview reading of the 1st draft, including Ms. Paterson, took place last week for an invited audience of about 20.
Folks were impressed with the scope, breadth, and pure beauty of the story and play.
With all the great feedback, Kim Bent is hard at work making adjustments.
Stay tuned for updates!
please call the Theater Office at 802-229-0492 for more information.

WINTERFEST Week 3 Features Comedy

JANICE PERRY Roars into Town, Feb 16 – 19

And you will roar with laughter!
Give your funny bone some love this Valentines Week
with Janice Perry’s Outrageous Uproarious Unpredictable
and Totally Outlandish Comedy

Just 2 more shows over 2 more weekends at LNT in February.
Spotlights two brilliant, power-house women:
Janice Perry and Lida Winfield.

Feb 16-19:  Janice Perry’s NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE-a retrospective - hilarious comedy
social and political commentary in Janice’s unique, unconventional, irresistible style
She’s a wild and crazy gal!

Feb 23-26: Lida Winfield’s IN SEARCH OF AIR-  inspiring dance theater
growing up dyslexic – the stories are personal, but the struggles & triumphs universal.

Get more details

GET TICKETS

Winterfest will also include a new show in LNT’s Visual Art Gallery.

International, Award-winning iPhoneography
Prints from Robyn Osiecki of Middlesex, Vermont
and Róbert Herold of Pécs, Hungary.

The Winterfest Art Gallery is open 1.5 hours prior to curtain
and by appointment.

Preview the upcoming events:

Comedy Camp – IT’S FULL!

LNT’s Winter Break Comedy Camp, Feb 27-March 2 is  sold out.
The camp may be full, but there are plenty of tickets for the show:
THE RULES OF COMEDY!. on Friday, March 2 at 5:30pm

Follow this link for more info on the camps

  Final Casting for LYDDIE soon to be announced!

LNT’s original play with music & dance based on Katherine Paterson’s novel.
A sneak preview reading of the 1st draft, including Ms. Paterson, took place last week for an invited audience of about 20.
Folks were impressed with the scope, breadth, and pure beauty of the story and play.
With all the great feedback, Kim Bent is hard at work making adjustments.
Stay tuned for updates!
please call the Theater Office at 802-229-0492 for more information.