The revitalized Lanyard Theatre Company’s acting co-directors are Elizabeth Lardie and Joseph Barbarino. (Courtesy of Lanyard Theater)
After remaining dark for two years, the company will present a staged reading of Kevin O’Leary’s “Lascaux,” a story seasoned with intrigue, primal ambition and a dark brand of magic-realism, on April 20 in Bath and April 21 in Portland.
his original artwork by Portland-based artist Neill Ewing-Wegmann will serve as both show art for the staged reading of “Lascaux” in April and as a reward for the top donor of the fundraising campaign Lanyard Theatre Company is currently running. (Courtesy of Lanyard Theater)
O’Leary, the company founder, stepped down as director in 2009.
“Presenting the latest effort from the company’s founder seemed a wonderful way to re-emerge on the scene,” new acting co-directors Joseph Barbarino and Elizabeth Lardie said in a company press release.
To help fund its revitalization, Lanyard Theatre Company launched a fundraising campaign via online host Kickstarter, with a fundraising goal of $1,800.
“The funds will ensure we can offer due compensation for everyone’s efforts,” the press release states. “We very much value artists’ time, skills and efforts. The company has always operated on a modest budget, but it also has always paid its casts and creative teams.”
Those who support Lanyard via the Kickstarter campaign can receive perks according to the level of donation, including acknowledgment in the production program of “Lascaux;” a chance to sit in on a rehearsal; and a signed, limited-edition print of “The Cry of the Manbird,” Morse High School graduate Neill Ewing-Wegmann’s original artwork inspired by “Lascaux.”
In accordance with Kickstarter rules, the fundraising goal of a project must be met or surpassed by the end of the campaign period for the entity to receive any of the pledged funding. Lanyard’s fundraising campaign will conclude on April 2.
Founded in September 2005, the outfit blossomed out of a playwriting intensive called the Trigorin Project, which placed high school writers and actors (initially all from Morse High School) with professional mentors from Maine and New York. Due to community interest in the work of the mentors, Lanyard productions became semi-annual editions to the local arts and culture line-up.
Long term, Barbarino, of New York, and Lardie, a Bath native, hope to see the Trigorin half of the company become a steady fixture in the area school system again, produce at least two world premieres a season, and open up submissions beyond the original writers’ collective to local playwrights.
“The Lanyard members are excited to be active once again, and look forward to performing in and celebrating the greater Bath community,” the release states.
Lanyard’s Kickstarter campaign is online at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/67688541/lanyards-re-launch-a-staged-reading-of-lascaux.
For information, Lanyard can be reached via Facebook or by emailing lanyardtheatreco@gmail.com.
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