About Gazebo Players

Mission

To establish a nonprofit source and resource to the residents and businesses of Medfield, Massachusetts and the surrounding area for:

• community-based cultural development, entertainment and creative expression
  
• opportunity to meet and build friendships with neighbors and other members of the theater community in the area while working together on fun, interesting activities
• enhanced sense of community for all ages and types, including elderly and new residents
• chance to mount challenging and enjoyable projects in a collaborative way that require a variety of contributions and skills including:
• artistic
• organizational / project management
• administrative
• hands-on building
• interactive / people management
• financial
• marketing
• planning
• creative problem solving

• opportunities to learn and improve the above
• platform for tying in and / or publicizing business and civic organizations through partnership and / or advertisement in the Medfield area. Possible partners include:

Explorations Pre-School Program
Medfield Arts Council
Medfield Council on Aging
Medfield Employers and Merchants Organization (MEMO)
Medfield Foundation
Medfield Historical Society
Medfield Parks and Recreation Commission
Medfield Public Schools
Medfield Women's Association
New 'N Town

Education and Training

Starting with our first Summer Stage Dream in the Park production, the Gazebo Players will emphasize educational and cultural values. We have named Jean Robison as Education Director. Among other classes, Jean already teaches theater arts to children for the Medfield Parks and Recreation Commission. The tie-in activities we plan include:

• A Shakespeare audition workshop series offered through a partnership with the Medfield Parks and Recreation Commission.
• Coordination with the Medfield High School English Department to explore interest in tying together curriculum with the forthcoming Shakespeare in the Park production.
• A mandate for all directors of plays the Gazebo Players produce to mine their material as much as possible for potential educational opportunities and partnerships.
• A focus on other potential ideas and partnerships to emphasize the educational value of our projects for both children and adults.

History

What might happen if you mix together a beautiful summer's day by the Charles River, two friends who are walking a dog in the Sherborn Town Forest, a guy with a red folding chair and an Apple laptop who's sitting on King Phillip's Rock at said forest, and Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana?" Answer: the seeds of a new community theater group, the Gazebo Players of Medfield.

Charter Member Leanne Satter and her friend Beatriz "Beets" Bertrand were walking Beets' dog Bell when they came upon the surreal vision of Bob Eiland, ensconced on his red folding chair on a rocky outcropping overlooking the Charles River in Sherborn. After mutual introductions (and some good-natured ribbing), they found out Bob was working on a vision statement and production plan for "The Night of the Iguana," which Bob was about to direct at Arlington Friends of the Drama in the winter.

Leanne said she had just recently started doing theater again, for the first time since college. She and a friend, Fiona Tyndall, were about to audition for a musical review for the Franklin Performing Arts Center. Bob referred Leanne to his friend, acting coach Dossy Peabody , then told her that since he and his wife Sharlotte had moved to Medfield just a year and a half prior, he had been nursing notions of starting a theater group in the town. Leanne, who had lived in Medfield for 10 years, and Bob traded contact information, and voila! Several weeks later, on October 4, 2001, Bob and his wife Sharlotte, Leanne and a few of her friends, Fiona and Viv Tyndall, and Jean Robison, all met in Bob's and Sharlotte's family room. The Gazebo Players of Medfield were born. And initial plans were made to produce William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for free in the Gazebo Park in the summer of 2002.

Bylaws

Click here to download Microsoft Word version of Bylaws.

The Medfield Gazebo

The gazebo in Gazebo Park in Medfield's town center was erected in 1989. It was from a company in Rhode Island that makes prefabricated outdoor structures. The site where the gazebo stands is the former home of St. Edward's Catholic Church, now located on Spring Street in Medfield. In the summer, the Gazebo Park hosts weekly outdoor concerts on Thursday evenings through the efforts of the Medfield Cultural Council.