Kudos to Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre on their first Shakespeare in the Park production in Memorial Park.
It was a massive undertaking, and it was nice to see Memorial Park’s gazebo utilized as a stage for numerous nights and give us as a community another way to appreciate art. It was a stage and setting that brought many people near front and center to the action in the play at numerous moments of the production, with actors using the aisles and areas around spectators for entrances and to drive home that this was happening in a literal forest setting. The added ambience of cicadas and yes, even far off trains, only added to the show. The partnership with Morning Glory Foods made this not only a show, but a wonderful theatre experience that draws on other partners in the community.
The performances wouldn’t have happened without the extraordinary work of many people. One key player was Jon Stoner, who built the stage.
The decision to work with MVLCT on this project was easy, Stoner said, noting the producers willing to help with a lot of the work were already there.
“It’s been very humbling to see that the town I grew up in has continued to find a special place for the arts and entertainment,” Stoner said.
“As a young kid and adult, I acted in various MVLCT productions, which were some of the highlights of my youth,” Stoner said. “Because of the dedication MVLCT shows for providing theater to our community and my personal history with them, it made it a very easy decision to team up.”
Team work extended to the City of Mount Vernon, its parks and recreation department and the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission. All helped make a temporary stage a reality.
“Because this Gazebo is a historical landmark, we can not put a single hole, screw, staple, on that Gazebo, so essentially we had to build a self-supporting floating deck,” Stoner said.
Stoner said that he and MVLCT board member Dan Campagna have had this vision for three years since Campagna has returned to the community.
“He has often asked if I could come back for the summer to help with this,” Stoner said. “I was skeptical at first. I knew we could do it, but I wasn’t so sure the community would be interested in something like this.
“Boy, was I pleasantly proven wrong! I was overjoyed and somewhat shocked by the amount of donations we received from the community. So many community members have stopped to chat while we have been building the set and the feedback has always been so positive.”
Stoner said he needed to thank his family for allowing him to pursue this show, as it has meant a lot of time away from his family over the weeks around set construction not being available, and had to thank his dad for building the entire deck while he was working his day job.
The outdoor stage opens up shows for the future for Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre moving forward, and we all benefit from that, and we have to commend all those who helped make this a reality for the community theatre and saw the benefits of not just the show this September, but in future years. This couldn’t be done without this community’s help and support.