Coming soon to Pier One Theatre

Pier One Theatre hosts a variety of upcoming activities and events.

For the next several months, Homer’s community-supported live and local theater company, Pier One Theatre, hosts several activities and events. These include community choir, readings of Shakespeare’s sonnets, an art and performance collaboration with Homer Council on the Arts, a reading group for actors and playwrights and an awards night to honor longtime theater contributors.

Founded in the early 1970s, the theater is now in its 53rd season.

“Since its inception, Pier One has been offering quality community theater performances, youth theater instruction, orchestral and choral performances and community collaborations incorporating the performing arts,” said Jennifer Norton, Pier One’s executive director. “We believe the practice of creating, performing and experiencing stories together has an incredible impact on our community, bringing us together to discuss ideas and share emotions.”

New Plays Aloud

A reading group for actors and playwrights, New Plays Aloud is facilitated by longtime Pier One contributor, Kate Rich. The group meets monthly on the last day of the month and readings include short works, long works, newly published works and works in progress.

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“Kate has a strong commitment to bringing new plays to the Pier One Stage and cultivating the work of new playwrights,” Norton said. “She has been attending the Valdez Theatre Conference for many years, has presented a series of reading performances called ‘Highlights from the Last Frontier Theatre Conference,’ led local Drama Slams and encouraged local playwriting.”

According to Norton, New Plays Aloud began several years ago as an outlet for playwrights to hear their words spoken aloud, a critical step in the playwriting process and for actors and directors to get exposed to worthy plays which might become full productions. Rich selects plays through The New Play Exchange by connecting with fellow playwrights or through the Valdez Theater Conference. These monthly readings usually host about five to 15 readers and observers and often feature a long work or a selection of shorter works.

Free and open to the public, the location varies and can be found online at pieronetheatre.org or by calling 907-226-2287. Upcoming readings include “Wholesome” by Georgia Affonso, where recent retiree Sally offers her spare room to a 22-year-old lodger, but their unlikely friendship may disrupt more than Sally’s daily crosswords, and “The Adventure of Uta, the Wandering Uterus” by Tom Morana, in which a frustrated uterus goes on a walkabout in search of fulfillment. Both readings will take place on Friday, Jan. 31 from 6-8 p.m. at Red Bird Kitchen, located at 1130 Ocean Drive, Suite C, across from the Homer Farmer’s Market.

Awards Night

On Feb. 11, Pier One Theatre hosts a special Awards Night to honor the contributions of longtime theater contributors, including Linda Ellsworth, Spencer Ellsworth, David Webster, Annie Whitney and Kate Rich.

Everyone is invited to attend the celebration that takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at Red Bird Kitchen. Free to attend with the option to purchase appetizers and dinner, dinner reservations must be made by Feb. 3 by calling 907-226-2287.

“Pier One has a loose and informal relationship with awards,” Norton said. “In the old days, there was an annual end of season party that included all the participants from the theater season. Each year a performer was awarded the “Pink Floyd,” usually for an outstanding comedic performance.”

“Floyd” was a plastic pink flamingo mounted on a little stand, according to Norton, and whoever took Floyd home had to add “a little something” to the sculpture and then hand it off the next year to a new recipient. However, this practice fell into disuse around 2000 and Pier One has only begun presenting awards again recently.

“In late 2022, as we approached our 50th season, the board chose to honor eight individuals for Lifetime Achievement. Celebrating eight contributors was a lot, but we realized then that there are many more individuals whose outstanding contributions should be recognized,” Norton said. “For now, we are excited to keep moving down our list of contributors and celebrating their accomplishments. Each and every one is well woven into the fabric of Pier One Theatre.”

Shakespearean Sonnet a Day

Through the month of February, the Mud Bay Bards of Pier One Theatre, in collaboration with KBBI AM 890, present a Shakespearean Sonnet a Day. Twenty-eight sonnets prerecorded by theater and community members will be played on KBBI twice daily all month long, airing Monday through Friday at 7:29 a.m. and 5:18 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 8:18 a.m. and 4:18 p.m.

The Mud Bay Bards is the Shakespeare branch of Pier One Theatre. Created in early 2020, the Bards seek to produce and sponsor high quality performances of the works of William Shakespeare, including supporting broader community programs with programming niches that give voice to Shakespeare’s words.

“In 2021, while live performances were still few and far between, we had several collaborations with KBBI creating radio theater, including the first airing of “A Sonnet a Day in February,” Norton said. “Community response to these sonnets was wonderfully positive. We have not yet recorded all 144 of the sonnets yet, but we have captured many voices over the last four years.”

Women in Science

In February, Pier One and HCOA partner to celebrate Women in Science and honor the contributions women have made in all fields of scientific study. While HCOA hosts an exhibit of work by community members who responded to an open call for art, Pier One Theatre actors have been busy rehearsing two plays by playwright Lauren Gunderson, “Silent Sky” and “The Half-Life of Marie Curie.”

“The two plays selected for our Women in Science collaboration feature real historical figures from the early 1900s,” Norton said. “Lauren Gunderson beautifully weaves their stories together with suffragist struggles of the age, as well as struggles for women which continue today, such as the challenge of obtaining respect from male colleagues and balancing personal and home life with scientific research.”

Norton described “Silent Sky” — “When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love.”

Pier One actors performing in “Silent Sky” include Jenna Gerrety, Regi Johanos, Carolyn Norton, Curtis Jackson and Deb Rowzee.

Norton described “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” — “In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a ‘foreign’ Jewish temptress and a homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England.”

The two women’s roles are played by Kathy Brennan and Christine Kulcheski.

Both plays take place at HCOA. “Silent Sky” plays Feb. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” plays Feb. 28 and March 1 at 7 p.m. Community members are invited to stay after the “Half-Life” shows for a brief conversation by local women in science. Show tickets are available online and in person at HCOA. Tickets and more information are available at homerart.org, 907-235-4288 and in person at HCOA, Monday to Saturday, 1-5 p.m., 355 W Pioneer Avenue, Suite 100.

Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus

The spring semester of Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus returns with weekly classes through April and a concert scheduled in late April, a collaboration with the Homer High School Concert Choir directed by Kyle Schneider, with 60-80 community singers participating annually.

The Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus has been an ad-hoc project at Pier One for many years, according to Norton. Large scale choral and orchestral works in collaboration with Homer High School began under the direction of Mark Robinson while he was artistic director of the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra and choir director at Homer High School, and continues under the direction of current HHS choir director Kyle Schneider with projects managed by Laura Norton.

This collaboration has included notable works such as Handel’s “Messiah,” the Mozart Requiem and Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” as well as the inspirational collection of songs for the Concert for Peace in 2019. Performances have taken place locally and in Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Flanders Field and New York City. Singers in the adult community chorus include first-time singers, graduates of the HHS program, experienced singers who have moved to Homer over the years, and more.

“Sometimes we have collaborated with choir directors from the central Peninsula to expand the opportunity for participation,” Norton said. “There is something quite magical about singing with a large group of people. I have found choral singing to be one of the most amazing experiences that lets you surrender yourself to become part of an incredible whole.”

Rehearsals began Jan. 15 and continue Wednesdays, 7-9 p.m. at the Homer High School choir room. Dates include Feb. 5, 19, 26, March 5, 12, 26 and April 2, 9, 16 and 23. New and returning members are invited.

For more information on the Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus, including how to participate, email laura@pieronetheatre.org.

Learn more about Pier One Theatre and their lineup of activities and events online at pieronetheatre.org, by calling 907-226-2287, or stop by the office, 332 E Pioneer Avenue, #2, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Members of Pier One Theatre’s Mud Bay Bards prepare to record some of Shakespeare’s love sonnets on Jan. 21, 2025, at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska, that will be played on KBBI’s production of “Shakespeare Sonnet A Day,” throughout February. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Members of Pier One Theatre’s Mud Bay Bards prepare to record some of Shakespeare’s love sonnets on Jan. 21, 2025, at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska, that will be played on KBBI’s production of “Shakespeare Sonnet A Day,” throughout February. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Playwright Kate Rich, pictured here at Bunnell Street Arts Center in 2019 presenting highlights from the Valdez Theatre Conference, is one of several individuals who will receive an award from Pier One Theatre on Feb. 11, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Christina Whiting

Playwright Kate Rich, pictured here at Bunnell Street Arts Center in 2019 presenting highlights from the Valdez Theatre Conference, is one of several individuals who will receive an award from Pier One Theatre on Feb. 11, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Christina Whiting