PaintBox Theatre

Welcome Friends and Fans,

    PaintBox Theatre is on its way back. Covid has proven to be a huge challenge for us. Most especially because our audience is made up primarily of young folks. The company and I are asking for your support so that, in this coming year, we are able get "back on the boards" as theatre folk say.

    During our hiatus we were able to put on a Zoom Santa Event starring Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves. It wasn't a play really, more an event. 

    This fall we created a piece called "Shenanigans" and premiered it outdoors at the Green River Festival. We'll be reviving it for Northampton's First Night.

    Looking forward we are determined to stage a full summer season even if it means we would be outdoors. We'll be ready. 

    Now, your support will not only get us back on our feet. Please make a donation. It will make it possible to create theatrical productions with tickets priced at what it costs to go to the movies. Season's Greetings! 

Thank You, 

Tom McCabe, Artistic Director

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    For those who have yet to experience a PaintBox show, our primary focus is literacy.

    A production begins with a traditional tale or a story from a current picture book. Tom McCabe, Artistic Director considers the story as a modern child might see it ever asking the question: Is the story fair? We then begin to shape our retelling of the story.

    What happens on stage appears to be no different than children engaging in unstructured play. 

Our set is simple: a wall with two doors, a window and, above the stage, a 12' wide projection screen.

        Children are encouraged to take the story home and "play" the play. We are told this happens often.

Audience Participation

    Everything in PaintBox is based on audience participation. As a way to encourage both participation and literacy, we project messages up on the screen throughout the show. The audience is told that if a message is in yellow, they are to all read the message out loud. If the message is in red, they are to do whatever the message instructs them to do.

    Actors always engage directly with the audience asking advice regarding the story and having the entire audience play parts.Whenever possible we draft audience members to play parts as well. Sometimes the entire audience plays a part. 

    Often the resolution of the story includes the input of the audience. It is unlike anything you may have ever seen.

Children's Art

    Every production features paintings and drawings done my members of our audience. Instead of complex scenery or overly elegant costumes, we create a list of all of the characters, the props, and the settings from our upcoming production and offer the list to our email list of families. Children can pick one of the images and draw or paint it. These images are projected on the screen throughout the show and include the name and age of the artist. We have a gallery in the lobby of all of the pictures featured in the current production and we encourage children to stand by their art work and talk about their process as artists.     

    This answers the oft asked question: Why are you named PaintBox Theatre.