THEATRE
Some of our Past Productions!
EdgeWild Players
In 1992, the Blandin Foundation appropriated money to start the community non-profit that would become The Edge of the Wilderness Community Center (EWCC). Patricia Feld was asked to join an ad hoc group that would later select the EWCC Board of Directors. It was during those formative years of the group that she thought developing a community theatre group would be an asset to the community.
In 1996, Patty decided to produce A Thurber Carnival in conjunction with the Winter Lovers' Festival. About thirty adults and children participated, and they toured the show from the old Bigfork School Library stage to the Bigfork, Marcell, and Effie Town Halls.
From that beginning, the loosely organized group has produced plays under Patty's direction, becoming a new group of Players with each production. (New directors are encouraged to come forward!) People from all walks of life come together to work and grow together as they make a quality event for the rest of the community to enjoy.
The group has been extremely fortunate to have the services of local painters, writers, carpenters, lighting and sound specialists, singers, instrumentalists, conductors, computer professionals, seamstresses, tailors, cooks, prop makers and gatherers, photographers, graphic designers, ushers, house managers, and actors of all ages.
The proceeds from all the early plays went into a general fund from which the next play was produced and into the construction account for the Edge Center for the Arts. It was through the production and touring of the community plays and through the events brought into the community from outside the area that the Edge communities had an opportunity to learn how an art center would benefit the education, culture, and economy of the area. That building was completed in 2005 and gets used more and more each year.
Since the EdgeWild Players is already a committee of the EWCC, none of the "regulars" in the Players have expressed any interest in creating a formal organization with officers and meetings besides rehearsals and performances. So, when a new play is picked, a new group of EdgeWild Players forms.
Get Involved
Almost all of your skills can be used in community theatre. Cooking and baking (casts love to eat after dress rehearsals), carpentry and painting (our sets are three-dimensional and our back drops provide a BIG canvas to fill with color), sewing and gluing (costumes are made, borrowed, and sometimes glue-gunned), and the thunder sheet always needs a strong arm.
We have curtains to pull, drops to "fly," stages to mop, tickets to sell, audiences to greet, and sets to move. Love to sing or play your musical instrument? Come share that skill in one of the musicals.
Beyond the skills you may already have, the EdgeWild Players can offer you opportunities to learn new skills. Let us know if you have interests in running the sound or learning to hang or run lights. Our light and sound boards are state of the art.
Maybe you'd like to return to performing! "I acted in high school, but haven't since then," is a familiar line at EdgeWild auditions. So is, "I have never acted, but I'd really like to try it." Come and give it a try! We're nice people who encourage each other and like to be inclusive. Auditions are advertised in the Deerpath Shopper and online. Anyone interested in participating in any aspect of the EdgeWild Players work and fun is encouraged to contact us.
Past Productions
One-Act Play Festival (April 2024)
Our Town (April 2023)
Gracie’s Fowl Play (Aug 2022)
The Missing Link (Mar 2021)
Dee and Jack – World premiere (June 2019)
Three Thrillers at the Edge – The Wasp’s Nest, The Hitch-Hiker, and Sorry, Wrong Number (Apr 2019)
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (June 2018)
