RUMFORD — The Rumford Public Library’s Children’s Theater program will perform a production of “Treasure Island” at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at Mountain Valley Middle School, said Susie Puiia, writer and director.

Puiia said that the performances will be free and open to the public, and a donation will be set up to help raise money for next year’s Children’s Theater production.

The play is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story of young Jim Hawkins, who sets sail in search of buried treasure on Skeleton Island.

Susie Puiia, who wrote the script for the upcoming show and directed it, said that the Children’s Theater has had a long history in the Rumford area and has grown and evolved over the years.

She said it started in November 1977, after June Plummer, the children’s librarian in Rumford at the time, came up with the idea to start a children’s theater.

“The program opened with a production of ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas,’” Puiia explained. “Prior to this date, there were small productions and various arts-related events.”

Puiia said that resident Connie Venskus served as the program’s original director during its early years and was an adult supervisor for “a few student directors over the years.”

Other key names involved in the early years of Rumford Children’s Theater program include Keith Grassette, who currently directs shows for Rumford’s 49 Franklin Reception Hall, but served as a student director for the children’s theater program in the 1980s; and Nancy Demings, a director and playwright who helped move the productions from the basement of the Rumford Library to the Mountain Valley Middle School stage.

Puiia said that she became involved with the Children’s Theater program “15 years ago, when my daughter was 5 years old.”

“She was quite big into theater, and I was sort of the mom who came and hung out while they rehearsed and performed,” Puiia said. “At the time, Nancy was the director of the program. About five years ago, she retired, and she approached me about taking over. I almost didn’t do it, but she ended up talking me into it.”

Prior to directing for the Rumford Library Children’s Theater, Puiia said that she had some experience in the world of theater, whether it was writing sketches for “Friday Night Live,” a live sketch show in the vein of the popular NBC sketch show, “Saturday Night Live,” or watching other directors put on their own productions throughout the years.

“I already had the skills down to tell a story with dialogue,” Puiia said. “I just needed to figure out how to stretch it out to 40 minutes.”

The idea for Puiia to write her own adaptation of “Treasure Island” came from witnessing an over-abundance of productions featuring “Disney adaptations, prince and princess stories and fairytale stuff.”

“I thought it was about time for a pirate story,” Puiia said. “It’s hard to find scripts that are inexpensive, so I thought I’d write my own.”

She held auditions for the play at the end of May, and over the past two months, she and the rest of the cast, made up of children ages 5 to 15, rehearsed the lines and constantly practiced to prepare themselves for the July 30 performances.

“I’m very happy with it,” Puiia said. “It’s a very lively production. A lot of the story is told through the actions. There’s a lot of sword fights and a lot of songs, and it gives the kids a little more of a challenge.”

Puiia said that for a long time, the Rumford Library Children’s Theater was the “only program for young kids to perform in the area.”

“Now, there’s one at the Greater Rumford Community Center, and Keith Grassette does one at 49 Franklin,” Puiia said. “In a way, the one we do at the Rumford Library is like theater camp on stage. The kids get a chance to grow over the years with each production. We put some of the smaller kids in easy roles, where all they have to do is say, ‘Aye aye, Captain,’ or sing some songs. By the time they get to be 9 or 10, they’ll be ready to take on bigger roles.

“One of the big differences between the program now and the program then is that the Children’s Theater used to have more productions in a year,” Puiia continued. “Right now, we do one a year, on the last Thursday of July. Also, more women used to sew our costumes, which meant the costumes were generally handmade. These days, a thrift store, some hot glue and duct tape are used to create most of our costumes.”

Puiia added that the art students in the Full STEAM Ahead program, run by Western Foothills Kids Association director Barbara Radmore, has helped create “most of the set pieces and props” for the “Treasure Island” production, and that “some of the older students in the program have helped me this week with tech and stage stuff.”

The Teaberry Arts Council, a local arts organization of which Puiia is a member, will hold a “treasure chest raffle” during the performances, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Theater program. The chest was made by Teaberry Arts Council members, Puiia added.

Puiia said that the reason she continues to write and direct for the Children’s Theater and work actively with the Teaberry Arts Council is because she’s “seen the impact this program has on children.”

“Many of them return year after year, and they get to learn theater terms and concepts, like character development, blocking, projection, enunciation, reacting, posture and vocal techniques,” Puiia said. “It’s fun to watch them grow.”

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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