Update 8/7/18 – RFA will officially debut its self-storage play Aug. 17-20 at the RFA Lakeside Theater. It’s directed by Anne Crump and produced by Zapolsky. The play has also received local sponsorship from Dead River Co. and Mark Beauregard Inc.
“Bringing a new play to the Rangeley stage is exciting and challenging,” Crump told the source. “This locally written play will definitely entertain all who come. We are also excited that it was made possible by a grant from the King Foundation.”
1/31/18 – The Stephen and Tabitha King (STK) Foundation, a philanthropic organization that provides monetary support to Maine communities, has awarded a grant to Rangeley Friends of the Arts (RFA) in Rangeley, Maine, to write and produce an original play focused on the concept of self-storage. A group of writers known as the Lakeside Playwrights is nearing completion on “Self-Storage: The Contents of Our Lives,” a dark comedy about “the human quirks and life choices that lead us to collect and store too much stuff,” according to the source. The play is expected to debut on Aug. 17 at the RFA Lakeside Theater.
“We’ve been meeting from one to two times a month, and we are 95 percent finished with the writing. There will be some rewrites, but we are planning on casting in March or April,” playwright Valerie Zapolsky told the source. “We are very excited to have the support of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.”
Though Rangeley has a “long tradition” of community theater, including musicals and plays, the self-storage-themed play will be the first original work produced by the community, the source reported.
The RFA is a nonprofit organization focused on artistic endeavors.
Well-known authors Stephen and Tabitha King are alumni of the University of Maine, where they met and have been major donors. They’ve also supported community libraries, local fire departments and public schools.
Stephen King has published more than 50 books. He received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters in 2003 and was a National Medal of Arts recipient in 2014. Tabitha King has written several novels, short stories and poetry volumes. She is also an activist. The couple splits time between residences in Florida and Maine.
Founded in 1986, the STK Foundation sponsors projects that examine the “underlying causes of social and environmental problems, as well as those that address the consequences,” according to its website. It has a “strong interest” in the arts, community services and literacy. The foundation provides about $3 million annually to local causes in Maine, Stephen King’s home state.
Sources:
Daily Bulldog, Original Play to Be Staged in Rangeley
Inside Philanthropy, Stephen and Tabitha King
Stephen King Official Website, Biography
STK Foundation, Website
Daily Bulldog, New Play in Rangeley Is Sponsored by Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation
