Hello friends and neighbors!

They say the early bird catches the worm. If you are an early riser, you are likely to hear a magnificent chorus of bird songs, trills, tweets and chirps, especially at this time of year. Spring is the season for migrating, establishing territory, and mating in the avian world. Bird enthusiasts are out in full force, hoping to catch a glimpse or hear a song of some unusual feathered friend passing through the area. Deborah Williams was thrilled to see a pair of greater yellowlegs last week. Dick Barker remarked on the myriad list of birds discovered on the recent walk led by Cheri Brunault of KELT at the Segerstrom Preserve. In several hours, the following were identified by sight or sound: ovenbird, black and white warbler, black-throated green warbler, palm warbler, wood thrush, Eastern phoebe, song sparrow, black-capped chickadee, savanna sparrow, tufted titmouse, American redstart, Northern parula warbler, hermit thrush, osprey, bufflehead, broad-wing hawk, yellow-rumped warbler, common yellowthroat, and American goldfinch. Two birds that might have been there but were not positively confirmed were the chipping sparrow and pine warbler. Birding is a wonderful way to enjoy and learn more about the great outdoors. Keep your eyes and ears open!

If you happen to be in Brunswick the day after Memorial Day, another incredible migration is there to be witnessed. Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) uses that day to migrate from their Elm Street location to the Pickard Theatre on Bowdoin’s campus for the summer. Recently I had the opportunity to visit with Westporter Amy Mussman, who is the costume rental Manager at MSMT. Amy, a theater graduate of Kansas State University, spent years studying light, costume, and set design before working in professional theater at both the Delaware Theater Company and the Washington National Opera. After several successful summers working as property master for MSMT, Amy was thrilled to take on her current role managing costume rentals. Amy works alongside her talented and amiable Rentals Coordinator Travis Grant and is assisted by Jonna Klaiber, who works part-time with a number of local theaters.

MSMT Rental Costumes is located in Suite 216 of Fort Andross, which Amy and Travis graciously shared with me on a tour. Currently there are approximately fifty shows which can be completely outfitted by MSMT. If your theater company wants to put on Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Legally Blonde, Peter Pan, Singing in the Rain, West Side Story, or any number of other wonderful musicals, you would do well to check with Amy. Rental packages typically range from $1,000 to $15,000 for a two week run, taking into account the size of the package, the length of the run, and even the limits of customer’s budgets. MSMT Costume Rentals works hard to help put on great shows all over the country!

The 2017 MSMT repertoire is amazing. The Main Stage performances in Brunswick include Always Patsy Cline, Guys and Dolls, Grease, Newsies, and a collaboration with Portland Stage called The All Night Strut. The Theatre for Young Audiences is comprised of MSMT summer interns, who will be presenting Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. There is also a Monday night concert series and a number of special events that will keep Pickard Theatre hopping all summer long!

MSMT is unique in that it annually provides a training ground for approximately one hundred early career professionals as interns, apprentices, and journeypersons. The intensive program has received national recognition and been featured on PBS. Competitive positions fill quickly and include administrative and technical as well as performance roles. Check out www.msmt.org to learn more about this astounding professional theater right in our back yard! My husband and I are subscribers and always walk away in awe.

Thanks to Amy and Travis for giving me a grand back stage tour of where the magic happens! If you have summer activities which you would like to highlight, contact your newshound pat-dick@midcoast.com or call 231-4049.