Community Theater Holding Auditions

The Barrington Community Theatre starts its 11th year on Monday, Jan. 9, with a winter session under a new director who is a very familiar face to local theater-goers.

The town-sponsored theater produces one-act plays with student actors who range in age from 8 to 18. The new director, Maurice "Reid" Eighme, has been involved with the theater company since it started in 2002 -- first as a camper, then as a play director, then as the theater director in training over the past year.

The winter session will produce eight plays with students filling more than 65 parts, according to Eighme.

The community theater also is connected this year to the Barrington-based Rhode Island Modeling Agency through former community theater director Joel Hellmann, who Eighme replaced. Hellmann works now as a theatrical agent for the agency.

Hellmann will attend the first day of auditions looking for actors to do commercial work, according to Eighme. He will be adjudicating the student shows in March as well.

Eighme also is an expert at juggling and poi -- the art of "twirling weights on strings," he said.

Eighme is full of enthusiasm for Barrington Community Theater, and said he loves watching the kids do things that they're proud of.

"It's an awesome program," said Eighme. "It gave me a place to grow as a person, and is now doing the same for these kids."

Every child can take a starring role, he said.

"We do a lot of plays, which allows a lot of kids to have lead roles," he said. "We want every kid that comes through the program to be proud of what they did."

Each student actor should come to Monday’s auditions with a 30- to 90-second monologue, Eighme said.