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Bundled and shivering, people stroll through the front door with poems in their heads, songs in their hearts and tricks up their sleeves. Cloth-covered tables fill the dimly lit hall, each topped with fresh flowers that beg the mid-winter question, “when will spring come again?” The coffee and tea flow here like the conversation, accentuated by the mixed laughter of old men and children. Anyone who says small town America is dead has never been to the Orono Arts Café (OAC).
On the first Saturday night of every month, members from surrounding communities come together at the OAC to laugh and share art in its many shapes and forms. Produced by the Orono Community Theatre on the first Saturday of the fall and winter months, the OAC is an open mic-night for performing artists of all kinds. From local artists to those from abroad, people come and share whatever talent, knack or ability they have with them.
Musicians and storytellers, actors and jugglers, some read original pieces of fiction or poetry while others may brave the stage with a few jokes or a song. At times, the limits of art are tested, as one performer demonstrated by standing on head, proving no matter what you may have to offer, everyone is welcome.
The performances are always varied, usually random and the outcome is consistently surprising.
What’s not a surprise is that the one thing that has remained a constant at this town meeting of the arts: the pie. Seen as an art form in and of itself, the OAC features pies, cakes and cookies donated by locals.
Founded eight years ago by locals Janeen Teal, Sandy Cyrus and Connie Carts, the OAC’s purpose was to be a venue for showcasing the local talent that often goes unnoticed and more often than not slips through the cracks of the average person’s day job. What sets it apart from other “open mic” venues is the use of artisans to help support and fund other local art venues by allowing different school and community groups to sponsor the Arts Café. Each group earns all the proceeds from the sale of refreshments and half the take at the door. The admission is a humble $3 for adults and $1 for students and seniors, which can easily be made back several times over by the cost of pie and coffee.
The outcome of this experiment is always the same, nothing less than completely unpredictable. On many nights, the show as a whole is more enjoyable and of better quality than those produced at the University of Maine. On other nights – well let’s just say that the only thing that could have improved the show would have been the presence of a gong and a trap door. Either way, it’s always a good time.
The next Arts Cafe will be held this Saturday night, Feb. 2 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Keith Anderson Community House, 19 Bennoch Rd. – next to the Orono Post Office. This month’s Arts Cafe sponsor is the Orono High School Sophomore Class.
