Gossip: Poulin honored, Cupids Arrow and William Asher and Bryan Knowlton updates – Foster’s Daily Democrat

By Jeanné McCartin

Poulin recognized for body of work

Susan Poulin, writer and performer, was inducted into Maine’s Franco-American Hall of Fame this month.

“It means a lot to me, such an honor. There were 11 inductees,” Poulin, creator of the character Ida LeClair, says. “It honored my body of work, my promotion of the Franco-American cultural identity … I always self identify as Franco-American and certainly Ida is Franco-American.”

Poulin was nominated by Maine Senator Mark Lawrence and Representative Michele Meyer.

“It is truly an honor. … As a solo artist you don’t get much recognition. It was a big deal for me having done this for 30 years, to be recognized in a larger way.”

As for her ongoing work, Poulin has something in the works, “but nothing I can talk about – not just yet.”

You can catch Poulin on the Seacoast this summer, performing “The Best of Ida,” with ACT ONE.

‘Cupid’s Arrow’ to premier at ACT ONE

ACT ONE will kick off its season with the New Hampshire premier of “Cupid’s Arrow,” written by Michael Tobin, a longtime Seacoast resident, now founding Artistic Director of Footlights Theater, Falmouth, Maine.

The piece first premiered under another name at Tobin’s company. This latest version has gone through a rewrite, with the assistance of ACT ONE’s Artistic Director Stephanie Nugent, a longtime friend.

“(Initially) he needed something really fast and … he didn’t have the time to go back and look at it and rewrite it before putting it on stage; he’s the producer, director, and an actor in addition to a playwright,” she says. “Something I’ve discovered is I’m a story catcher, it’s like a midwife. When I read it, I said ‘You’ve really got something here. Would you like to take a closer look at it?’ And he said ‘yes.'”

Nugent made suggestions, then Tobin reworked it. “It just needed a tuck and a tweak,” Nugent said.

“He’s really happy and I’m just thrilled with these characters he’s created,” she says. “It’s a story worth telling and it’s what I’m always looking for.”

Tobin will perform the piece at ACT ONE, along with Gretchen Woods (June 7, 8 and 9).

ACT ONE’s season will also present “Judgment Day” featuring two, one-act originals “The Haber Conundrum” by David Kaye and “A Walk With Marlene” by Roland Goodbody (Sept. 6-7 and 13-14). Both men individually performed originals at ACT ONE in the past “How I Brought Peace To The Middle East” and “Roland Goodbody In A Pair Of His Own Shorts” respectfully.

Serendipitously, the two works “have a unifying link!” and neither realized it, Nugent says. “Both have to do with Nazis and Germany. It’s amazing how they fit together.”

Also in this year’s lineup: Neil Simon’s “I Ought To Be In Pictures,” and Susan Poulin’s “The Best of Ida!” The season will also present Ed Gerhard in concert and “True Tales Live Onstage” Visit ACT ONE. “And that’s it for us,” she says. “We’re still alive.”

‘Yes to Love!’ debuts June 7

Musician and musical director William Asher’s “Yes to Love!” is a lot of firsts: his first solo concert and cabaret, and the first time singing formally in a community he’s worked in for two decades. It also happens to be an autobiographical program. It will be presented at the Rochester Performance & Arts Center on June 7. Visit rochesteroperahouse.com.  

Asher is an award-winning musician who has worked as a music director and keyboardist for regional theaters and national tours, and as a studio musician for TV and radio.

“The show has been in the works for a year, actively. There’s been a lot of stuff going on in my life, the past four of five years,” he says. “I have a new partner Christopher, and a new life. I had surgery, lost 110 pounds, and felt like it was time to tell a story.”

The life change was a sharp one. He has only the best to say about his earlier life, and all those in it; there was a lot of love – still is. “It was not a mistake; I wouldn’t trade anything about that,” he says.

But, while true to cultural norms of the time, he wasn’t true to himself. “I’m gay. I’ve always been gay. … So, all the time in the back of my head I would think, ‘If something were to happen tomorrow and I had to find a new love, it would be a man.'”

So, Asher, middle-aged, decided it was time to live his whole truth as a gay man, and in doing so found another type of love.

“It’s scary,'” he says. “It’s like jumping off a cliff; ‘What is going to happen?'”

Asher will tell his story in monologues, and song; the tunes include original and pop, rather than musical fare (worth noting as he’s primarily known as a theater musical director).

“This story is the journey, especially Act I. Act II kind of brings us to the present, and ‘What do we do now that it’s a new day,'” he says. “We all have the opportunity to put positive energy out into the world.”

Asher hired Alexious Dascoulias to direct the show, and pull it together.

“She’s gone through the script with me, to make sure it’s relatable to others. It’s about overcoming whatever our personal hardships are, our tragedies. It’s a story of determination, strength and finally the willingness to experience joy; so it should be something everyone can relate to.”

He is joined on stage by drummer Tommy O’Malley and guitarist Andy Buslovich “to make it more interesting and beef up the sound and energy.”

“It’s also going to be technically special with lighting from High Output,” he says. “We’re really doing it up this time around.”

Bryan Knowlton back home

Actor and choreographer, and one of Portsmouth’s favorite sons, Bryan Knowlton is home for a spell.  “I’m back, for a whole month this time,” he announces.

Knowlton has been living between New York City and London for about a year now. He and his husband Brett Hemmerling moved to central London when Hemmerling was transferred there, “and it’s amazing.” But work brings him home frequently.

This trip he’s directing and choreographing “West Side Story” for Seacoast Repertory Theatre.

“As of right now, I”m two months there and two months back here. It’s a lot of traveling,” he says.

Post the Rep show, he has a gig at the Cortland Rep, in Cortland, New York, and the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire. He’ll return to London for a month, then it’s back stateside to choreograph “Cabaret” at the Sierra Repertory, in San Francisco.

Just before returning to the states, Knowlton received news he was awarded the Kennedy Center American College Theater Award For Choreography for his work for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at Montclair State University. “I didn’t even know it happened!” he says. “Didn’t even know it was a thing!”

Knowlton and his husband have five-year visas for living in England. He’s currently in talks about working there during their stay. “But right now my focus is working in the States.”

“It’s a lot of travel, true. Every time I think about it I have an anxiety attack,” he says laughing “But, I’m blessed, so blessed to be working.”

Jeanné McCartin keeps her eyes and ears open for gossip at [email protected].

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