The Celebration Barn Ensemble — Kavi Montanaro, Kelly Nesbitt, Amanda Huotari and Ian Bannon — will present “Thumbs Up” on Thursday, July 12, at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts in Lovell. The play follows 20-year-old aspiring writer Lexi up the Maine coast as she hitchhikes to Canada.
LOVELL — “Thumbs Up,” the new Celebration Barn touring drama featuring four actors, 44 characters and one imaginary gnome, will be presented Thursday, July 12, at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts.
The play follows 20-year-old aspiring writer Lexi up the Maine coast as she hitchhikes to Canada. Along the way, she falls in with a wild mix of characters as she chases down her ever-elusive vision quest.
Portland Performing Arts Director Kara Larson described the show as “a comic love letter … innovative, intensely funny and uniquely Maine.”
The show was written and is performed by the Celebration Ensemble, a collaboration between Amanda Huotari, Ian Bannon, Kavi Montanaro and Kelly Nesbitt. With backgrounds in music, photography, puppetry and improvisation, the foursome works collaboratively, telling stories through movement, sound and visual imagery.
Huotari, executive director of Celebration Barn Theater, has trained in acting, physical theater and Italian comedy. Bannon is director of education for Figures of Speech Theatre in Freeport andtours Figures of Speech’s one-man puppet show, “Jester King of Java.” Montanaro, son of Celebration Barn founder Tony Montanaro, has grown up with the tradition of physical theater and wields an eclectic artistic combination of music, writing, photography and videography. Nesbitt, an occupational therapist and Portland-based performing artist, plays her original music around Portland and has performed in the International Women’s Clown Festival in Andorra.
Director Fritz Grobe, a circus performer, has won five gold medals at the International Jugglers Festival. He has directed, performed with and developed acts for several national and international touring shows. Since 2006, he has been half of EepyBird, best known for its viral videos featuring the explosive combination of Coke and Mentos.
“Thumbs Up” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at the Brick Church on Christian Hill Road. Tickets, at the door, will be $10 for adults/$5 for children 12 and under. For more information, call 925-1500 or visit www.lovellbrickchurch.org.
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- Tim Greenway photo The Celebration Barn Ensemble — Kavi Montanaro, Kelly Nesbitt, Amanda Huotari and Ian Bannon — will present “Thumbs Up” on Thursday, July 12, at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts in Lovell. The play follows 20-year-old aspiring writer Lexi up the Maine coast as she hitchhikes to Canada.
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