Festival brings stage veterans, novices together

In “As You Like It,” Shakespeare wrote the famous line: “All the world’s a stage.”

During the Northern Writes New Play Festival, all the world’s on stage. Local celebrities, average Joes and Joannes and a host of Penobscot Theatre Company community actors are a part of this groundbreaking event, which runs through Friday at the Bangor Opera House.

The dramatic smorgasbord – 22 new plays in 15 days – already has drawn national attention from the likes of American Theatre Magazine, whose editors highlighted Northern Writes in the May/June “Festival Watch” feature.

“Bangor becoming a place of development for new American theater is absolutely happening,” said Scott R.C. Levy, producing artistic director at PTC.

Tonight’s performance has an international twist – it’s part of “365 Days/365 Plays,” an ongoing project in which theaters throughout the world stage readings short and long from Suzan-Lori Parks’ play cycle.

The idea appealed to first-time “actress” Tanya Pereira, the co-chairwoman of Fusion:Bangor. She’ll share the stage with Levy, Fusion co-chairman Chris Winstead, PTC favorite A.J. Mooney and marketing guru Elizabeth Sutherland.

“It’s going to be really fun – it’s very off the cuff. I mean, we’re reading the play for the first time at 5 p.m. and then we go on stage at 7,” Pereira said.

On Friday, Mike & Mike of Kiss 94.5 fame will play deans of a private Catholic school in “Moral and Political Lessons on Wyoming.” Rather than act from memory, the performers will read from scripts on a bare-bones, set-free stage.

“All of the plays have had performers in them who are based locally,” Levy said. “It’s always a challenge whether you’re experienced or not, but the reason why this is a great format is that there’s no memorizing of the script. That immediately takes some of the pressure off.”

Tonight’s performance is free, and all others are $5. For more information or a full lineup of plays, visit www.penobscottheatre.org.