Acorn Productions Opens 2nd Season of FAIRY TALE PLAYERS PRODUCTIONS, 11/5

Acorn Productions begins the second season of Fairy Tale Players at the company's Acorn Studio Theater at the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook with an adaptation of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The production is adapted and directed by Acorn's Director of Children's Programming, Keith Anctil, and features young performers who have been taking classes at Acorn over the past few years.  "Fairy Tale Players offers these talented youngsters a chance to take the next logical step in their development as actors," says Acorn's Producing Director Michael Levine.  "Working on a fully-developed piece of theater allows them to complete the training process by applying what they have learnt in our classes to professionally-produced public performances."  The Fairy Tale Players presents classic fairy tales with a contemporary twist, adding modern references and tongue-in-cheek humor to create original adaptations that entertain family members of all ages. The Three Billy Goats Gruff will be performed 9 times between November 5 and 21, with tickets ranging from $5 for kids 12 and under to $7 for adults.  Call Acorn at 854-0065 or visit www.acorn-productions.org for more info or to order tickets.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff features 9 students from the Acorn Acting Academy, ranging in age from 7 to 15.  The productions offers them a chance to showcase the talents that they have been honing in Acorn's after school classes, which help kids practice their acting skills in a safe and nurturing environment.  The cast members come from a variety of communities in Greater Portland, and many of them were featured in productions during last season's series of the Fairy Tale Players.  The following actors will be appearing in The Three Billy Goats Gruff : Alexandra and Tom Neudek from Falmouth,  Nate Jacobs and Gus Febles who reside in Westbrook, Parker Harnett from Yarmouth, Calien Coilfi , a resident of Standish, Sophey Potter , who lives in Windham, and Brooke Dawson and Sophia Olore from Portland.

Everyone knows the old Norwegian folk tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  There is a terrible, horrible, mean and nasty troll who lives under the bridge and threatens to eat the goats as they cross.  It's only through quick thinking that the goats save their skins.  But what if the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding?  In this fractured version of the story, audiences meet Henry, a well meaning, misunderstood and lonely troll.  His greatest wish is to have some company for dinner.  With the help of a cable TV cooking show, he tries to accomplish his goal by "Making meals, Making friends."

The second season of Fairy Tale Players is part of Acorn's new Studio Series, a year-long schedule of plays presented in the company's Acorn Studio Theater.  These plays showcase the work of local playwrights and actors, allowing for a more comprehensive training program at the Acorn Acting Academy, a theater school offering classes for adults and kids.  Acorn Productions is a 501(c)3 organization founded in 1998, and dedicated to increasing awareness of and participation in the performing arts by all members of the community.

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