This year we hope you’ll join us for an outdoor picnic celebration at the Maine Outdoor Wellness Center. Reserve a spot at the center, bring a picnic, enjoy the theatrical performance and roast up some s’mores.
Join Michael and Oren as they present an original performance of stories, songs, masks and puppets in a joyful and moving celebration of Roy Varney and the rural life that shaped him.
When: Saturday July 3, 5:30 – 9:00 PM
Where: The Maine Outdoor Wellness Center
- 5:00 p.m. – Arrive, settle in, and listen to music
- 5:30 p.m. – Welcome remarks and updates from the MOWC board members
- 6:00 p.m. – Performance by Michael Cooper (The Masked Marvel) and Oren Stevens.
Space is limited due to covid-19 restrictions, but we will have a safe distance between reserved groups. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!
** We are monitoring Covid-19 updates and will make updates to the event and notify attendees if anything changes.
MICHAEL COOPER BIO
Michael Cooper is an eye-popping visual artist and virtuoso mime who has been dazzling audiences for over forty years. His performances combine breathtaking handcrafted masks, original stories of courage and wonder, and a physical repertoire that ranges from the madcap to the sublime. Taking up to three hundred hours to produce a single paper or wooden mask, Michael has elevated this most ancient of theater crafts to the level of fine art. In addition, his ability as a wordsmith enables him to reel in the most discerning of crowds with the nuance of a poet, the joy and timing of a first-rate comedian, and the twists and intrigue of a master storyteller. The result is “moving sculpture”.
Michael graduated from Goddard College with a degree in Peace Studies, a unique major that continues to fuel his dedication to creating wholesome, uplifting entertainment that appeals to his audience’s sense of humanity. He then went on to complete six years of theater training with the two greatest mime teachers of the twentieth century, Etienne Decroux of Paris, France and Tony Montanaro of Paris, Maine. Since then he has crisscrossed the world, presenting his art to over 9000 audiences in such varied places as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Hong Kong International Children’s Festival, The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, the Dublin Theater Festival, Great Woods, the Eugene O’Neill Theater, Bass Performance Hall, and Symphony Space on Broadway.
Oren Stevens Bio
Oren Stevens is a performer, storyteller, and instigator of community artwork living in New Gloucester and working with the youth in Lewiston.