The Presque Isle Community Players was incorporated in July 1989 as a non-profit organization and in 2016 was granted 501(c)3 not-for-profit status. In January 2024, the board of directors chose to change the name of the organization to The County Community Players to more accurately represent the community involved. The County Community Players build on a tradition of including the community in artistic expression and the theatrical arts in Northern Maine and Western New Brunswick. We are an all volunteer organization.
Our History:
An organizational meeting of people interested in community theatre met in 1989. Those founding members were Margaret Coffin, Julie Daly, Barbara Dempsey, Barb (Frick) Ladner, Dan Ladner, Rick Landen, Cissy Libby, Jeanette Perry, Glenna Smith, and Sylvia Weinberg. The group was interested in finding alternatives to already existing theatrical performances in Presque Isle. From that meeting sprang The Presque Isle Community Players, with its focus on dinner theatre productions, as yet an untapped source for local entertainment.
The first production of The Players was in the fall of 1989, a musical revue A Celebration of Irving Berlin, was held at the Northeastland Hotel in downtown Presque Isle. In the spring of 1990, two one-act plays were performed by the group: An Episode in the Life of An Author and A Thurber Carnival.
Other early productions included: Nunsense, You Can’t Take It With You, A Tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein, Love Letters, 25 Years of the Great White Way, God’s Favorite, and Popcorn and Matinee Memories. For years, The Players performed musical tributes in the fall, and plays (usually comedies) in the spring. The group eventually graduated to producing full Broadway musicals and settled into the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s auditorium as their home theater.
As with most theaters, the COVID pandemic in 2020 stopped all productions. The Players were fortunate to have a small, dedicated group of leaders willing to push through and bring live theater back to Aroostook County with a production of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine in April 2023. Dinner theaters returned, this time in the form of murder mysteries, again hosted by the Northeastland Hotel. 2023 was also the first year of a holiday show with a live radio version of It’s a Wonderful Life.
The 35th Anniversary of the organization in 2024 saw a scholarship for students continuing their education in the theatrical arts, the establishment of supporting memberships and season tickets, and four productions: Steel Magnolias, Rabbit Hole, Ride the Cyclone (musical), and A Christmas Carol reading.
Our Future:
The County Community Players have plans for even more productions, offering opportunities for education and entertainment. We plan to hold workshops, host a one-act festival, and take productions to more communities throughout the County in 2025. Financial contributions and volunteers are always needed and much appreciated.
Our Values:
Courageous and encouraging
Collaborative
Connected to place
Responding to the interests and needs of our communities
Education (internal and external)
Inclusive
Our Board:
Meg Hegemann – President
Jessica Cameron – Vice President
Travis Burnham – Secretary
Yvette Stephens – Treasurer
Allen Morrill – Archivist
Annelise Wardwell
Sara Harvey
Danica Haskell
Parker Smith
Please note: The County Community Players are in no way affiliated with County Kids Theater Company (previously Broadway Kids).