A theater company recently launched in Tilton will begin its summer season this week.
One Light Theatre is the brainchild of Jason Roy – the co-executive director and artistic director – and David Sheehy – the other co-executive director and program manager.
The pair met while Roy, a New Hampshire native and a graduate of Franklin High School, was directing a show at Winnisquam High School.
“We realized we collaborated very well together,” Roy said.
The duo wanted to bring high-quality contemporary theater to central New Hampshire. So they set out to start the nonprofit, set up a board and now have six professional actors who will perform four mainstage shows this summer. They will also hold a children’s theater summer camp.
“Our goal is to increase the ability for the youth to participate in the arts – the performing arts particularly,” Roy said.
The first show is Big Fish the Musical, a touching tale of father and son. It opens Friday.
As Edward (Owen Thomas) grapples with his own mortality as he battles cancer, his son Will (Jack Harding) is readying himself to become a husband and father.
The musical shows Edward’s young adventures, fancifully told with encounters of a witch, a giant, a mermaid and the love of his life, Sandra. Will seeks the truth behind his father’s storytelling. Then, he discovers a secret Edward never shared and tensions escalate trying to get to the bottom of it.
Roy said he had a personal connection to the musical.
“It’s definitely something I can relate to,” he said.
Roy said he hopes the shows trigger deep thought in their audiences.
He wants people to “leave thinking about the show and what the show means.”
The show is something of a hybrid with six professional actors portraying the core cast and community members filling out the ensemble.
Heather Hunt will play Sandra, Edward’s wife. Matthew McGinnis is a clown. and Olivia Martinson and Kay Foster will join the ensemble.
Showtimes will be Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The company’s next show – opening just a week after the first on July 7 – is a comedy.
The 39 Steps tells of the escapades of Richard Hannay (played by Thomas) after falling in with an undercover spy, who then mysteriously dies. There’s three romances, more than a hundred characters, and just a cast of four.
The comedy is based on Alfred Hitchcock films, including one of the same name, and others such as Strangers on a Train, Psycho and North by Northwest. It was turned into a farce by Patrick Barlow, exacerbated by the huge character list and small cast that necessitates quick costume changes and acting out multiple roles at once.
Hunt plays all the female roles in the show, and McGinnis and Harding play the rest of the parts.
Roy, who directed Big Fish, relinquishes the director chair for The 39 Steps to Kirstin Riegler.
Performances of The 39 Steps will run two weekends July 7 to 9 and 15 to 16. Showtimes will be Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The nonprofit theater company will take the stage in the Tilton School’s Hamilton Hall, 30 School Street, Tilton.
Tickets for all shows are $22 for adults, $20 for children, seniors and students, and a season pass is available for $70. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit onelighttheatre.org.
(Sarah Pearson can be reached at features@cmonitor.com, 369-2234 or on Twitter @SarahPearsonNH.)