Maine artists to discuss results from COVID-related workshops

Two Maine music therapists and a Maine-based theater producer and director will present the results of their pandemic-related workshops on April 16 and April 23 as part of the Jack Pine Project, a community arts project organized by the Maine Folklife Center, Maine Studies Program and Hutchinson Center at the University of Maine.

Both of the talks, offered  at 7 p.m. via Zoom, are free and open to the public. For more information and to register, visit the Jack Pine Project website or email folklife@maine.edu.

The first talk on April 16 will feature music therapists Carla Tanguay and Kate Beever, who conducted separate workshops that taught nonmusicians how to express their thoughts and feelings about the COVID-19 pandemic through songs. Both will present the songs created during their workshops and talk about the process involved, as well as what their students said about the project.

Tanguay recruited participants through the Beth Wright Cancer Center in Ellsworth to highlight the experiences of people already facing a life-threatening illness, and explore how COVID-19 was impacting their lives. The song they created, “So This Is COVID,” adapted a traditional folk tune to talk about their individual and shared experiences of the past year. Tanguay also will discuss how songwriting can be used with people who don’t consider themselves musicians to build community, discover strengths and overcome fear.

Beever worked with individuals who had recently lost their jobs or experienced other financial impacts as a result of COVID-19. Her students focused their songs on the pandemic’s effects on their personal and family lives, and on “normal” rituals such as Christmas that were anything but normal last year. Beever also will talk about her hopeful song, “Look Up,” inspired by a dream of her late grandfather, a Portland-area musician.

On April 23, playwright, director and producer Stephen Legawiec will talk about his workshop, “Scenes from a Darkened Stage.” Legawiec worked with 10 Maine actors who wrote and performed monologues based on their COVID-19 experiences. Tinged with regret and loss as well as humor and hope, the monologues, several of which will be presented during the talk, explore the many ways Maine’s vibrant theater community was impacted by the pandemic.