Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for White River Valley Herald
For more than a decade, Rochester-based nonprofit Bald Mountain Theater has produced everything from scary Christmas stories (Krampusnacht) to a new take on an old Greek story.
Founder Ethan Bowen calls the company a “story theater.” It performs original works, solo short stories, piano stories, and adapted fairy tales.
“Nobody else does story theater like we do,” Bowen said.
The company started out as a New England children’s touring theater. For two summers in the early 2000s, the company toured towns and even entertained the idea of adding a circus. But touring turned out to be a lot of work.
“I could feel that I wanted to do something that was a little closer to home and based here,” Bowen said.
Bald Mountain Theater now rehearses and performs at Spice Studio, which is owned by Bowen. Originally meant for car storage, Bowen bought the building with the idea of making it into a theater, but not knowing exactly how.
Bowen later renovated the building to be Bald Mountain Theater’s home, as well as a vibrant space free to the public for community discussions and rehearsals.
Bald Mountain performances usually have a script, but they feel free to improvise off that blueprint. Bowen describes their aesthetic as hard work with no set direction, which allows for the creative mind to stretch its legs.
“Like kids, playing,” Bowen said.
Their most popular show is “Krampusnacht,” a European winter tradition featuring a horned demon that frightens naughty children. Christmas can be overly cheerful, and Krampusnacht tells scary, eerie stories underscored by music and lit by fire light that reflect the darker side of holidays.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bald Mountain Theater produced the play “Aristotle’s King” last month. The play was co-written by Middlebury Associate Professor of Theater, Dana Yeaton, and former student Colston Merrell.
The play differed from Bald Mountain’s usual freeform style. Its carefully researched script examines the historical relationship between Greek philosopher Aristotle and his student, the future conqueror Alexander the Great.
“This is unusual because we don’t do plays. Or if we do, we adapt them from a story,” Bowen said.
Bowen took on the role of Aristotle and worked alongside actor and former Middlebury College student Madison Middleton, who performed as Alexander the Great.
“My casting is a surprising one, I don’t think people are expecting a non-binary actor to come out when you expect Alexander the Great,” Middleton said.
Yeaton, the co-playwright, director and longtime board member of Bald Mountain said casting a non-binary actor as Alexander felt like a dangerous and important choice to make.
His decision fits the Bald Mountain way; creative choices based on talent, rather than what is expected.
“As the political world has gotten a little harsher, it’s more and more important to me that this is an oasis of creativity,” Bowen said.
Next, Bald Mountain Theater plans to perform some of their familiar classics. “Full Frontal Fairytales” featuring short and original stories is scheduled for April 4 – 6. The folktale series “There Once Was” is scheduled for the last week of July. Bald Mountain also plans to put on a solo reading of “Kiss Me Again Stranger” written by Daphne du Maurier June 6 – 8.