So if you arrive at a community kitchen or are staying at one of the cabins and you seem to be missing your favorite tea cup, don't worry, it is still somewhere here On Olive Street. It's just having a visit and being a part of a new adventure in another residence's cabinet.
This very often happens with furniture too, as you might notice.
Simply without the cabinets, of course
Other than a sprint I took up the small hill to Hayden Street when someone called to say the roof of the Tower House was on fire - it wasn't, but a tree branch had fallen and ignited itself on the powerlines by the neighbor's, and from the individual's perspective it looked as if flames were coming from the TH roof - the strong winds and continuing rain made me think it best to stay sheltered and not venture too far in the dark of night.
The sun risen and the rain ceased, the brook has now returned to the confines of its path, though still quite high; and the banks indeed quite reshaped.
On this morning's walk I found the heavy metal bridge frame at the Gardeners Cottage bent and twisted, and looking like it fought it's hardest against the water, ice, and tree branches the brook had accumulated along it's way.
.JPG)
Another actor comes to join our project, coming to stay in the tip top of the tower... in the Tower House!
You may have wistnessed his evil villian side in last season's Bullshoot McCrummond and this year Jason Iannone will be adding his flair to characters seen in The Drowsy Chaperone which runs July 7th - 16th, Kong's Night Out August 4th - 19th, and Great Expectations September 1st - 10th
This comming week marks new beginnings, with three new theater guests moving into the Tower House.
Colton Bagley is returning to the costume shop to lend his talent, and will also be found waiting tables at the Lakewood Inn Restaurant.
August Thornton returns to our stage - you may remember him from Mid-Summer and Living on Love in 2021 - and can be seen in The Girl on the Train playing June 9th - 18th, and Great Expectations which runs September 1st - 10th. He will be one of your waiters at the Inn as well.
Travis Harden is making his debut on the Lakewood Theater stage, in The Girl on the Train.
Tucker Atwood & Autumn Stupica are going to be staying in the Perkins House again this season. Autumn will be making her Lakewood debut in Critic's Choice which runs June 23rd - July 2nd, and will also be in Anything to Declare September 15th - 24th. . Tucker can be seen in The Drowsy Chaperone July 7th - 16th, and Anything to Declare.
Arriving later this season, MJ Clifford & Willow-the-cat will be my very honored guests at the Sugar Tree Cottage again, with MJ performing in Halfway There July 21st - July 30th while Willow keeps an eye on the cottage and soaks up some sun: and then returning for Great Expectations.
Already here on Olive Street of course is Jakob Sutton. Jakob will be in the opening production of the year Drinking Habits May 26th - June 4th, an ensemble member in both of the musicals - The Drowsy Chaperone July 7th - 16th & Dirty Rotten Scoundrels August 18th - 27th - and in the closing production of the year Anything to Declare September 15th - 24th.
Looking forward to the 2022 Season!
*The theater building itself may be hidden from view in the photo by the porch screen door frame in this photo, but it is surely there, standing fast. One of the benefits of being at the cottage through the late autumn to early springtime is the view during and following abscission, through the time of budding.
Though just for a brief stay, rumor has it that one more Lakewood Theater actor can now be added to our list of "slept here" plaques to be put up in our guest houses here on Olive Street...
Welcome Art Meneses, the titular charector in Scapino*, currently playing at Lakewood. Art appeared on the Lakewood stage in the late 1990's and then returned in 2018 for roles in Incorruptible, and The Legend of Georgia McBride. He's been back on stage at Lakewood every year since! This season he could also be seen in Drinking Alone, and made his directorial debut with Mid Summer.
The Lakewood season will close following Who's in Bed with the Butler? which runs from September 9th to September 19th; but as my vision goes for making Olive Street a place for actors, artists, and their families, I am pretty proud that we've been able to have as our guests this season, four of the finest.
We hope all our legendary Lakewood folk that spent time with us this year will stay with us again next, and beyond; especially after we get the community space at the Tower House all jazzed up for you!
*Tucker Atwood and Jakob Sutton also have roles in this production you may recall. Read more about Scapino in the previous post my favorite Lakewood Theater actor on Olive Street
Need a little extra TLC? Give me a heads up and I'll have a pot of tea ready for you at the Sugar Tree cottage to enjoy beside the brook
Camp, cottage, cabin, house... it can get confusing what to call these spaces we have here on Olive Street, even when there's an architect's dictionary right in front of me. So if while talking of them sometimes the nomenclature changes, it's just because I mean to say "come and sit down, have a cup of tea, here is shelter and comfort, you are welcome here"
The mission statement goes like this: to gently support the historic Lakewood Theater & its people along with local artists & the community; and to be an ongoing self-sustaining project.
So how is that done? The hope is that by giving folks the space to create, that they will give back. The goal is that there will be no rent, but through personal revenue generated by individual artists [actual art, gigs, and/or lessons] things such as electric bills, taxes, insurance, and water association fees will be paid. Through individuals donating their time and skill, gardens will be tended, buildings will be painted, grass will be mowed. [and all residences will have things like beautiful pottery, wooden tables, stunning paintings... all by local artists and a few friendly bees]
It has been put before me that I may be a little too optimistic, and I should also look into crowdfunding
Related to the bees part of the project, there will now be a little donations jar at the Tower House. Vistors using the artists space, the kitchen, shower, or collecting from the community garden may choose to leave donations in the jar on the shelf in the kitchen. This money may be used by our bees if desired, just simply leave the store receipt in the jar so that the donations can be recorded. If there are any monies there at the end of season, they will go towards next season’s expenses! Cash is lovely, but if leaving a check, please remember to make it out to Dawnella Sutton* and I promise not to take off to the Bahamas with the money.
*The On Olive Street Project is a self-titled phrase, not a registered not-for-profit at this time.
What the place needs is a giant porch/sunroom across the front facing the brook. And a kitchen remodel. And skylights upstairs.
These are the things I think about to occupy my mind some times. Other times it's moving furniture around. Also in my mind.
That piano we were gifted a few weeks ago has now found it's home here...instead of in the Dance Hall at the Tower House as planned. Pianos, you see, are very heavy and the logistics of moving one into particular spaces may make for changes in plans. Just go with the flow.
It's been suggested that we get official, so I've been doing lots and lots of reading and research, looking at how others have accomplished similar goals without going broke when they are first getting started! Though we relate to statements in both categories, it looks like eventually if we do any paperwork, we will do the paperwork to operate as a not-for-profit. But for now, until others find their way to us and get involved, we are funding this ourselves. So please see my little "peddler links" in the righthand sidebar if you want to contribute even a tiny amount by making a related purchase. And the tea room at the Sugar Tree does accept tips!
In case you are wondering what the differences are between the two, there are four main bullet points:
Some minor and major improvements had been made on the first floor of the Tower House for my son's summer stay (a bit of painting, finishing of walls, and indeed a whole new bathroom) but next year we will really see design take shape.
The dining room will become a small bedroom. A wall between the kitchen and living room will be taken down to give the whole area a more open space. New, less steep stairs will lead to a second floor landing, where we'll place bookcases and a couple of futons. And we'll put in a spiral staircase to the tower and the bedroom there. Or should the tower be a studio space? Community space? We'll see.
Most definitely electricity will be installed in the Dance Hall, and gardens planted throughout the grounds.
Something I have known since I was a kid (my father was a house painter) is that a simple coat of paint can make big changes! No more yellow kitchen cabinets at the Tower House, but beautiful white that really makes the room look bigger! (and cleaner)
I can't give you better information about the house than what was written by Colin W. Sargent as "Wild Olive" and subtitled "Lakewood Theater Colony: a secret history" in the November 2018 issue of Portland Monthly Below are some edited excerpts. Please read the entire article at:
https://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2018/10/wild-olive/
If Lakewood Theater colony is the bathtub-gin martini, this rustic Victorian bungalow is the olive. If you love theater, parties, and lakeside living, [the house at] 4 Olive Street [will] get your heart pumping.
The 1,192-square-foot mini-resort [ ] features a three-story Italianate tower, [and] views of Lake Wesserunsett. Also conveying is a legend best told over cocktails.
Eric Pierce [ ] sensed magic the moment he stepped inside[.] he contacted Jenny Oby, author of Lakewood Theatre (Arcadia Publishing, 2017), about the structure also known as “The Dance Hall.”
“The Theater is on the north side of Hayden Brook,” she says.[ ] Olive Street was named for Olive Hayden.
“[ ] at the back of the house, you’ll see what looks like old stagecoach doors facing the lake [ ] You’d have had to drive your horse or car around back to use them. Just above those three doors is just this gigantic open room. [ ] If you look closer, “the separate double-wide entry stairs and door that faces the courtyard instead of the road” compound the mystery. If not for a limited-access speakeasy, what else could this possibly have been for?
Which brings us to a sexy little stream that separates this house from the Lakewood Theater Colony. [ ] Lakewood Theater Colony manager “Herbert Swett was determined to make and keep his theater and surroundings attractive to highbrow clientele in order to attract the best actors and actresses of the time, and to attract the most affluent visitors as well. The Dance Hall is a five-minute walk from the theater, and you have to cross a stream. Local legend has it that on the theater side of the stream, the theater had lots of rules for the actors and staff and housed them in gender separated housing. If you crossed the stream you were no longer under Swett’s ‘jurisdiction’ or the rules of the theater. There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of thirsty and bored actors, actresses, and patrons crossed that stream on a very regular basis to drink, to party, and get a little wild [ ].”
[ ] there’s a chance Humphrey Bogart dared to cross this stream—to stay at this bungalow possibly. [ ]. “During the course of the 1934 season, Mary Philips, then wife of Humphrey Bogart, had spent the early portion of the season at Lakewood while Bogart finished his run in The Petrified Forest. When Bogart arrived he went to Herbert Swett to request a private cottage for himself and his wife, but Swett, in all seriousness, suggested that Miss Philips stay in the cottage she had been sharing with Katherine Kidder, another member of the players, and that Bogart could move in with Sanford Cummings and Keenan Wynn, a suggestion which led Bogart to seek another landlord the next day.”
Though Bogart didn’t have much use for the tame side of life, we don’t have a drop of Prohibition proof that he and Mary actually relocated or partied at 4 Olive. It’s just wild conjecture about Wild Olive. To suggest otherwise would be crossing a different stream. Over there is the stuff that dreams are made of.
