Opera in the Pines is gearing up for a production of “The Crucible” in Standish this weekend, and organizers agree that after two previous successful seasons the company’s out-of-the-box approach to the medium is working.
“We’ve had people buy in, and we’ve started to have repeat patrons and people who are familiar with our process and have been audience members before,” said Lauren Yokabaskas, the company’s general director. “That’s really exciting to witness.”
Yokabaskas, a native of Cape Elizabeth, together with friends and fellow Mainers Sable Strout and Aaren Rivard, formed the company in 2022. From the start, Opera in the Pines was not about the pomp and pageantry that most might associate with attending the opera.
Its first production was Gregory Frid’s “The Diary of Anne Frank,” an opera based on the famous diary Frank kept while hiding with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam in the 1940s. Rather than a sweeping epic presented in a theater, it featured a single performer on stage at the Maine Jewish Museum in Portland.
The company presented “Bar Crawl Bohème,” an English-language, modern-day version of Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” in 2023. That production was presented in several breweries and wineries, with performers moving among the tables where patrons watched.
This year, the production is larger, with 11 singers and one dancer. The concept, however, is still the same – present the piece in an immersive experience in an appropriate setting.
“The Crucible” was written as an operatic piece by Robert Ward, based on the famous play of the same name by Arthur Miller. The story is set during the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692, so the company set out to present the opera in a proper meeting house. They found their venue at The Old Red Church in Standish.
“The acoustics are great, and that’s the case with a lot of churches,” Yokabaskas said.
The landmark structure was first built in 1804, long after the witch trials had come and gone, but Yokabaskas said it still has the feel of an old-fashioned New England meeting house, which makes it perfect for the show.
“I like to have the audience feel like they’re involved and they’re a part of the story, and with this, we want them to feel like they’re the jury of the witch trials,” she said.
In the court of modern-day public opinion, the company’s productions have been a hit. Both “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Bar Crawl Bohème” were sold-out shows.
Strout, who is directing “The Crucible” this year, said the company’s nontraditional approach is drawing in nontraditional patrons. In 2023 she remembered during “Bar Crawl Bohème” shows seeing burly brewery employees coming out of the back rooms to see what was going on. She recalled that they appeared to be impressed.
“Watching these types, people like them stop, watch what we’re doing, laugh, cry, it’s why we do this,” she said.
Even those steeped in traditional opera are taking note. Rivard said during the company’s recent off-season period, he went to work with other opera singers elsewhere in the country.
“Across the board, singers were perking up, going, “Oh? What are you doing? You’re doing that?” he said.
The company is building off its success, too. This year, Yokabaskas said the company has more local sponsors, including the Portland Conservatory of Music, which offered a space for the group to rehearse. Other sponsors backing the company include the Onion Foundation, Dirigo Talent Agency and Dirigo Media. The company expects to see more support once it gains official nonprofit status.
“We’ve started to expand our sponsor base and people are starting to respond financially,” Yokabaskas said.
“The Crucible” will run for three performances, May 17-19.
