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Cathy Sherrill |
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The Opera House, Boothbay Harbor
Interview by Will Gottlieb
Coastal Journal staff
 How did you come to work here at the Opera House?
I came to the Opera House in 2006, to help with a million-dollar fundraising effort. And I came on to help raise money with Kate Schrock—Kate was here doing programming. I was raising money, Kate's a musician…
Well do I know!
…and she spent most of that year here and then returned to the noble world of music, leaving the administrative side of the Opera House wide open. And the board asked me to stay on, so I've been here since November 2006.
What did you do before that?
Oh my gosh! Well, I'm old, so I've done a lot of things. For a long time, I raised money, I was in development for mostly academic institutions—Smith College, Deerfield Academy, the education association down in Wood's Hole. But what I first did when I came out of school was—well, in college, I did shows. I wasn't onstage; I did exactly what I do here. I even worked with some of the same agents I work with 30 years ago. So I did entertainment, and thought that's what I wanted to do in life, and ended up in New York. I worked with Jim Henson and The Muppets, Reading Rainbow, and did some fun stuff. But I decided a long time ago that New York City didn't have all that I needed, and so I left and came back to New England, and mostly lived in Massachusetts. I moved here 10 years ago. I've done some research for Wood's Hole along the way, volunteer at the Lobster Conservancy, do baby lobster work…
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Ed Knapp, Kurt Spiridakis |
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Maine Maritime Museum, Bath
Interview by Will Gottlieb
Coastal Journal staff
 How long have you been a volunteer here at the museum?
Ed: I started in 2000 when I retired.
And what have you been doing?
Ed: Basically building boats and working on learning boatbuilding skills, to the best of my ability.
And do you teach those skills?
Ed: Well, you learn by doing. It's not a school.
Kurt: You do help out other volunteers sometimes.
Ed: Oh, absolutely, yes. In fact, it's generally a group effort, building any of these boats. It's not one person.
And what did you do before you came here?
Ed: I was a sales engineer for electrical companies for all of my career. I have an engineering degree from Cornell and an MBA from Case Western.
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Eliza Tilbor |
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Dancer, Bowdoinham
 Did you go to high school in Bowdoinham?
I went to Hyde, in Bath.
A lot of people are hiding in Bath. Why do you think I'm there?
I like it. It's a good school.
Yeah. So I understand you're headed for a school in New York City, right?
I'm going to Broadway Dance Center. What I'm doing is an intern program, which means that I'll be taking dance classes, working at the studio, and doing lots of seminars and auditions, and getting to know the choreographers.
How did this all come about?
My decision to apply for this semester was sort of sudden. But I've always wanted to be on Broadway. Before, it was a little-girl dream, and people would say, ³Oh, that's cute.² But years later, I still wanted it. And I wasn't satisfied with school, I know that dance is what I want to do, so I decided to just go for it. And I applied very last-minute, got all my stuff together, and got accepted!
I understand it's pretty hard to get in there, that they're very selective.
Yes.
Like, how selective?
There are 30 interns altogether, and people are applying from all around the country ‹ there are also international programs, dancers everywhere who want to go. And there's a lot that you need for your application process. There's essays that you have to write, and you have to send in a dance audition tape.
Well, you went through it, you did it, you got it. Tami [Palmiter, owner of Full Circle Dance Studio in Brunswick] says this is impressive and significant in a professional sense.
Yeah
This will look great on your resume!
It definitely will. I mean, I've done almost all my dancing here. I started taking classes at firstŠthis was the first place that let me teach as a student teacher for a while, helping Tami. And then Tami let me have my own group. I tried out other studios, but the Full Circle Dance Studio has the family aspect ‹ it's very comfortable, but challenging. It was a good place for me to be.
So what are you going to do at the Broadway Dance Center, anyway? What are you going to pursue? What genre or style of dancing are you interested in?
Well, we have to pick a concentration, and I'm going to do hip-hop, because that's what I'm in love with. But it's also mandatory to take all other classes, as in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, we're required to take 12 classes a week, and some of those classes meet more than once. And we're more than welcome to take many more, but that's a full schedule.
That's a really full schedule. Good luck! Now, you've always wanted to be there on Broadway, but I've been told that you haven't always been exactly thrilled with the whole dance thing, that you didn't come to this willingly.
No, I didn't. But I always liked dancing around in my living room, and so my mom signed me up for classes. And the first day I hated it, because it was hard and I didn't get anything, and it seemed like everyone was already friends. I told my mom I wasn't going back, but she said, ³Well, I already paid for the sessions, and you have to go.
So the first few times I was sort of dragged there, and I didn't like it, because it was hard. But hard is what you need. And after a while I got over myself and my shyness, sense then I've been having a lot of fun.
Cool.
Yes.
Well, congratulations!
Thank you very much. |
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