Young people interested in being part of a student film to be shot in Bangor in August are invited to try out for “The Mushing Mill.”

Shadow Puppets Entertainment, which Erica Morse of Bangor describes as a local “independent student film organization,” is conducting a casting call for all “interested and aspiring student actors,” ages 12 to 18.

The tryouts are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26, at Peakes Auditorium on the campus of Bangor High School on Broadway.

According to Morse, Bangor native Joshua Gass, who is attending film school at the University of Southern California, wrote the screenplay for “The Mushing Mill.”

The film is based on an original story written by Gass and John Nelson of Bangor.

It is a semi-autobiographical story about a group of young people growing up in this city during the summer of 1990.

Morse indicated that the film “follows the group of children as they split into two separate factions and battle each other for supremacy of the neighborhood.”

The film “examines the lives of children at the age where imagination begins to fade and the realities of life begin to come into focus.”

For more information about this acting opportunity, call Morse at 942-5002, e-mail shadowpuppetsent.com or checkout its web site, www.shadowpuppetsent.com.

The good word from Kay Hyatt at the University of Maine in Orono is that “there is plenty of room for everyone” who wants to attend the ninth National Youth Sports Program opening Friday, June 25, on the Orono campus.

A partnership between the U.S. government and participating universities and communities, with oversight by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the six-week camp features swimming, skill-building and educational opportunities for children ages 10-16. Canoeing is the newest activity to be added this year.

The program runs from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and includes a sports physical, breakfast snack, lunch and transportation from designated pickup points within an hour of Orono. There is a possibility, however, the service area may be expanded this year.

The camp represents a $1,000 value at no cost to the participants but, according to the federal grant requirements, the majority of campers must come from families who meet Department of Health and Human Services income guidelines.

Some spaces are available, at no cost, for young people or families who are above those income guidelines and those individuals are placed on a waiting list.

For registration information, call the UMaine NYSP office at 581-2466 or e-mail diane.legrande@umit.maine.edu.

If you have ever wondered what you should do when a growling dog approaches you as you walk down a street, maybe this will help you.

Don Hanson of Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor will talk about dog bite prevention at 3:30 p.m. Monday, May 21, in the Story Room of the Bangor Public Library.

He will be joined by kennel manager and Green Acres trainer Kate Ramsdell in helping teach children and adults a safe way to approach strange, or familiar dogs.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

People in the Hancock County area are invited to hear Lois Stack discuss “Native Plants with Landscape Potential.”

Stack is an extension ornamental horticulture specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Orono.

Sponsored by the Ellsworth Garden Club and the Extension’s Master Gardener Program, Stack will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21, at the Hancock County Cooperative Extension, 63 Boggy Brook Road in Ellsworth.

The office is located in the Ellsworth Industrial Park.

Stack’s slide presentation will show plants that are available and have potential, but are not used a lot, and she will lead an open discussion on native plants in your garden, discuss which work well and those that do not, and which plants should be used more.

Ginger Phelps, the Maine Shakespeare Festival’s resident costume designer, is preparing for four productions to be presented this summer that will require more than 100 costumes.

She has, therefore, again launched her “A Kingdom for Some Cloth” drive, seeking immediate donations of fabric and sewing supplies.

On this year’s wish list are items such as costume jewelry and sewing notions, satin, velvet, brocade and rough-weave fabric, furs and leather, and vintage costume patterns.

The donations are needed as soon as possible, and can be left from noon to 5 p.m. through the first week of June at the Penobscot Theatre box office at the Bangor Opera House, 131 Main St. in Bangor.

If you have questions about your donations, call 942-3333.

Speaking of the PTC/MSF, applications for the Summer 2001 High School Internships Program for juniors and seniors are now being accepted.

For more information about qualifications for this program, call Colleen Frashure at 947-6618.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.