Miltonians Lead New Theater Group

A new commuter-theater group with strong ties to Milton is eyeing a repeat performance in the town after a successful debut last month.

Play Around, which appeared at the Milton Public Library in May, has been invited to perform at Fuller Village in the fall.

The nonprofit group was the brainchild of actress/director and former Milton High School student Anastasia O’Brien, now a resident of nearby West Quincy. Another co-founder, lifelong Milton resident Jennifer Walsh, lives near Pierce Middle School.

O’Brien, who based the group out of her home before finding some office space in Hingham, said she was thrilled to bring Play Around to the library, especially since some group members have also performed with The Milton Players.

“It was good to actually perform in Milton,” she said. “It was one of the places where we wanted to perform from the very beginning.”

The invitation to perform at Fuller came after residents of the senior facility saw and enjoyed the show at the library.

And while a number of children’s shows are planned for libraries in Boston, this summer, she said the seniors at Fuller will love Play Around’s performance of “An Evening of Neil Simon.” The material, which was performed at the Milton Library, includes scenes from “London Suite” and the female version of “The Odd Couple.”

Lisa Ramsay, program director at Fuller, is looking forward to the group’s performance.

“I don’t have a date yet but I’m very excited to have Play Around perform here in the fall,” she said. “A lot of the best things I do are resident-recommended.”

Play Around differs from other theater groups because it doesn’t merely
perform at the same venue two or three times a year; it travels to nontraditional spaces such as libraries, schools, hospitals and retirement homes.

“That way, people who might not ordinarily see live theater have a chance to do so,” said O’Brien, who serves as artistic director. “We bring it to them for free.”

O’Brien came up with the idea to form the group about three years ago and was inspired, in part, by the memory of a theater performance she attended a few days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

“[The show] completely distracted me from those events,” she said. “Sometimes we need to be distracted from our real worlds and I think live theater does that pretty successfully. I think that’s why people go.”

It took about a year’s worth of planning before the group was able to stage a performance. In addition to last month’s show in Milton, Play Around has appeared at libraries in Hingham, Dorchester, Weymouth and Quincy.

“The response from the audiences has been extremely positive,” said O’Brien. “People have really enjoyed it; they’ve made it a point to say so after the shows and I’ve received personal e-mails telling me the same. The program directors at the libraries also have received very positive feedback.”

She hopes to continue to grow the membership of Play Around, which accepts newcomers regardless of their experience levels.

“We’re always recruiting,” she said. “Actors, directors, producers, makeup artists, whoever. It’s a great place to start, or to build your résumé.”

Walsh agreed, saying she likes the flexibility of the theater group, which allows someone to fill in for another actor who can’t attend a specific performance.

“And it’s a different experience from other groups because we get to travel to other places,” she said. “In Milton, there were people in the audience who came just to see me. It was kind of cool.”

Visit www.playaroundma.com for more information.

(J. Michael Whalen is a co-founder of Play Around.)