BUCKFIELD — Ethan Wright vividly remembers the first professional play he saw.

The music and theater teacher at Buckfield Junior/Senior High School was 12 years old and was visiting his sister in England, who was a student at Regents College.

That play, “Hay Fever,” was written by Noel Coward, and has stuck with Wright his whole life. In fact, it is a major reason he pursued music and theater as a career.

For the first time in Buckfield, and for Wright, that play will be performed by the Nezinscot Valley Community Theater.

Students, alumni and a couple of residents will perform the play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday nights and 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

The three-act comedy stars Collin Miclon, an alumnus of Buckfield High School, who will soon begin studies at the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts; Hannah Perry, also an alumna and a senior in the theatrical program at the University of Southern Maine; Lizzy Perry, a junior who plans to study theater and music when she graduates; community members Rossie Kyllonen and Dennis Twitchell, and four others.

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The play takes place in the small English town of Cookham in the 1920s.

“I think this is perfect for summer theater,” Wright said.

Admission is $10, with proceeds used to license copyrights for future plays and other items needed for productions. During intermission, a concession stand will offer baked goods and chilled water.

“It’s so much fun (to direct plays),” Wright said. “I have to be creative and either direct or be on stage. A lot of my former students are studying acting. I hope the community comes out to support local theater.”

Plans for the school’s fall play and spring musical are also underway. In autumn, a production of the British farce written by Ray Cooney, “It Runs in the Family,” will be performed, and in the spring, the annual musical will be “Annie Get Your Gun.”


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