PARIS — The Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association (OHMPAA) will hold auditions for “Papermaker,” a play by Monica Wood, on Monday and Tuesday, April 15 and 16, at the Deering Memorial Community Center, 39 Main St., South Paris.
Based on Wood’s novel “Ernie’s Ark,” “Papermaker” takes place during the third month of a bitter paper mill strike in a small Maine town. While awaiting a ruling that will result in either a win for the strikers or a win for management, a struggling union family grapples with everyday life: illness, the unexplained need to create art, and a son trying to feed his young family. Meanwhile, the mill’s NYC-based CEO is dragged on a weekend getaway by his 26-year-old daughter, who has chosen this time to address her father’s failings.
Through a series of events, the two families collide, testing their own notions about family and loyalty in this humor-laced drama. The characters in “Papermaker” are real, humanly flawed and beautiful.
“This is a Maine play with Maine people that shares the joys and challenges during the emotional upheaval of a mill strike,” director Julie Middleton said. “Whether you have lived in Maine your whole life or are just visiting, there is humanity in this story that resonates. I’m thrilled that we can bring this play to Norway.”
Performances will be June 20 to 30 at the Norway Grange, 15 Whitman St., Norway.
For more information about auditions, email Julie Middleton at jmpmid@gmail.com; contact producer Terry Cole at 207-461-1183 or tbcole@gmail.com; or visit the show page at www.ohmpaa.org.
From left is OHMPAA’s “Papermaker” production team: director Julie Middleton, producer Terry Cole and producer Jenny Adams.
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