Borderline Players
Community – Our purpose is to create opportunities for the community to participate in high quality productions both on stage and behind the scenes as well as celebrate the talent, commitment and achievement of volunteers.
Performance – Our goal is to provide entertainment and inspire the audience by producing memorable performances.
Education – Our role is to enhance development of people in the arts by providing a variety of educational experiences in all aspects of theatre.
Colonial Theatre
Envisioning an enlightened and enriched community. Through relevant arts and cultural programming we nurture the heritage, prosperity and aspirations of the communities we serve.
Located in the heart of The White Mountains in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, the historic Colonial Theatre is one of the oldest continuously operated movie theaters in the country. When The Colonial opened its doors in 1915, the era of the Grand Hotels was in full swing and Bethlehem was a premier destination resort. Because of its sophisticated clientele The Colonial quickly became a venue for studios to test market their films. With its rich history The Colonial remains one of the remaining links to the era of the Grand Hotels as well as a significant chapter in the history of the film industry.
Now, after a series of renovations and improvements, the 300-seat Colonial offers state-of-the-art digital projection and surround sound for independent and world cinema, hosts Grammy award-winning performing artists, family entertainment, and community events from May through October—all without losing the intimate charm of a vintage summer theater.
The Colonial Theatre is on NH Registry of Historic Places and was named “Best Vintage Movie Theatre” by Yankee Magazine.
Court Street Arts
Mission Statement: Court Street Arts at Alumni Hall is where art and community come together. It is a place to spark the imagination, build community and enrich the lives of people throughout the region.
Alumni Hall has a rich and diverse history. In the 19th century it served as the Grafton County Courthouse and in the 20th century, served as the auditorium and gymnasium for the Haverhill Academy. After the closing of the Academy, Alumni Hall remained empty until members of the Haverhill community came together to preserve and revitalized the building. In May of 2005, Alumni Hall underwent another transformation, this time as a cultural center and destination on the Connecticut River Byway.
Today Court Street Arts at Alumni Hall is a place where art, culture and community come together. It is dedicated to fostering and making accessible the fine and performing arts. Programs in the visual arts, music, dance, and theater that feature both regional and nationally- recognized artists are held year-round.
Great North Woods Committee for the Arts
Presenting the communities of the Great North Woods with opportunities to participate and experience the musical, cultural and performing arts.
From the start, the GNWCA has emerged using local venues that invite individuals to partake and to enjoy the offerings of local and regional talents.
With the early creation of the Winter Warmers concert series and our popular annual TubaChristmas concert, the GNWCA has become a valued part of our community. The talents of many musicians, local, regional and international, have been showcased since the founding of the GNWCA in 2005.
It is the hard work and the vision of its founders and current board that provided the nucleus for the wide variety of performers we have been able to bring to the North Country.
What began as a “seed” concept at the North Country Summit held in May 2003, the GNWCA has now grown roots and continues to thrive thanks to its all-volunteer board of directors and the ever-growing interest of the community. Through associations with other performing arts venues around New England and Canada, the GNWCA has been able to bring world-class entertainment to our associated venues styles ranging from classical and bluegrass to Celtic, folk, jazz and World Music. Our headliners have included such top-draw performers as April Verch, J.P. Cormier, Richard Wood, the Sultans of String, Camerata New England, the Ladies of the Canyon and more. Our audiences for our concerts have come from across a wide radius of northern New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Quebec and have been a key part of helping Colebrook gain its new identity as a new arts center.
We are fortunate to be developing a regional audience who share our love of the arts and look to the future with us. It is in broadening our efforts and reaching out to performers for their support that guides us to holding true to the founders of this organization’s mission that we will grow and flourish to provide a wide range of performing arts opportunities to the community.
Northeast Kingdom Classical Series
In 1989, Judith Rankin and Leslie Gensburg founded the Northeast Kingdom Classical Series when they became aware that many people in the community had a real interest in classical music. At that time, concerts of this sort were rare to nonexistent in northern Vermont. The new Series quickly filled that void, with audiences steadily growing over the years.
The very first concert was a solo recital by pianist Michael Arnowitt of Montpelier. Other early performers included the baroque musicians of the Benefit Street Chamber Players, the Craftsbury Chamber Players, and a very young pianist, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, now an internationally recognized conductor.
Early on, Leslie and Judy ran the Series under the umbrella of Catamount Arts, but the Classical Series became an independent nonprofit in 2000. It continues to be an all-volunteer-run organization. Judy recently retired from the Board after 32 years. We are exceedingly grateful for her invaluable enthusiasm, dedication, and work on behalf of the Series from day one.
At first the concerts were held at various venues; however, the South Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, with its outstanding acoustics and just-right size for chamber music, became our permanent home. The building is now part of the St. Johnsbury Academy campus.
It is our pleasure to continue to present these concerts that give so much enjoyment and that lift our spirits through the winter season.
St. Kieran Community Center for the Arts
Our Mission: To advance the arts and humanities in the Androscoggin Valley area by fostering the growth and development of individual artists and cultural organizations through its programs and services; presenting a broad range of cultural, educational and artistic programs while preserving the St. Kieran historic building for future generations.
The Upstage Players
A Mission for Excellence – In early 2015, the board of Upstage adopted a new mission focused on bringing a unique experience to the community.
Focus on Excellence – The new mission of the Upstage Players was created with one broad, but important, thought in mind. We want to work with community members to provide our local communities with a cultural and entertaining experience. We aim to do this by raising the stakes and our standards to produce the most professional quality productions that a community theatre is able to. We believe this approach will set us apart from other local venues and provide our friends and families with many wonderful nights to remember.
Opportunities for Fun – At Upstage Players, we are excited to work with people of all ages and with varied levels of experience. We want to provide opportunities for people who are interested in theatre arts to have a great time creating or working on a project and hopefully learn new skills in the process. People who have always been excited about theatre, but may not have had the opportunity, can work alongside others that have acted, directed, built, costumed etc both professionally and at the amateur level for many years. We intend to treat the process like we are running a professional theatre, from scheduling, to rehearsal structure, to expectations. We hope that this will provide a unique stepping stone for NH talent to explore theatre in a different way: excited to work, excited to learn, and excited to explore.
Audience Support – Our audiences have been so wonderful, supportive, and receptive to the work we have been doing and, lately in particular, we’ve been so delighted to see them grow in size. We will soon have opportunities for our theatre patrons to become supporters of our seasons and programs. We want to continually provide high quality programming to Northern New Hampshire and community support will help us to grow in strength, size, and quality. Help us achieve our goal of producing culturally stimulating and highly entertaining programs for years to come.