Hi all,

We'd love to invite everyone in LibraryLand to join us for a special  
event on Wednesday, April 12 at 6:00pm! Rice Public Library presents  
the world premiere of the 1912 play, ?The Clerks of Kittery,? as a  
staged reading. Arthur W. Sanborn?s comedy will be performed by a cast  
of over a dozen, drawing from seasoned actors, community members, and  
library patrons. Director Jeff Cabral of McArthur Public Library in  
Biddeford will be among the cast!

Don Goettler, a local actor and producer known for ?A Curious Incident  
of the Dog in the Night-Time? at the Hackmatack Playhouse, ?A Thousand  
Clowns? at The Players? Ring, and for his Seacoast Spotlight Award for  
Best Actor as LBJ in ?All the Way,? directs the 111-year-old play.  
David Graf, a Kittery guitarist who performs as part of the trio  
Seasmoke, will provide musical accompaniment, setting the scene with  
music from the turn of the last century.

Rice Public Library director Lee Perkins found ?The Clerks of Kittery?  
about eight years ago. ?A Rice Library patron requested  
Kittery-related research in the Library of Congress [archives] and I  
came across the 1912 play,? Perkins said. After searching for further  
records, she has been unable to find any mention of previous  
productions. Though little is known of Arthur W. Sanborn, himself,  
this is not his only published play. In 1904, Sanborn wrote a shorter  
work called ?Young America in the Hands of His Friends: A Political  
Drama,? starring Young America, Mr. Monopoly, and Miss Empire, among  
other personified ideas. Leaving allegory behind in 1912 as he wrote  
?Clerks of Kittery,? no one in the cast is even named after actual  
Kittery personalities, which is arguably for the best, as many  
characters are given unflattering treatment.

Written at a time of great change in and around Portsmouth Harbor, the  
fictitious characters look both back to the past?and the Civil War  
memories of a one or two among the cast?and into the future, as a  
number of young characters jockey for a secure future in love and  
honor. At the center of it all are two whirlwind relationships: one  
between the seedy but charming Captain Titus and the stern and  
protective Lucretia, and another between Lucretia?s witty niece,  
Luella, and a lovestruck shipyard clerk named Franklin Hale. Watching  
the every move of these four characters are their friends and  
neighbors, some who are bored, some who are nosy, and one or two who  
are trying to manipulate the whole story.

Will Captain Titus? true origins be revealed? Will Luella smooth-talk  
her way to a bright future? Will anyone get seasick as they cross the  
Piscataqua by boat over and over? Find out on April 12, at the first  
and only performance of ?The Clerks of Kittery.?

Please note: this is NOT a virtual event and space is limited in our  
Community Room. As of this afternoon, there are 80 seats left. You can  
register to attend here:  
https://ricepl.librarycalendar.com/event/clerks-kittery-staged-play-reading

Cheers,
Asher Littlefield
(he, him, his)
Library Assistant
Rice Public Library
8 Wentworth Street
Kittery, ME 03904
(207) 439-1553, ext. 1