Reception Scheduled For Mask & Wigs Director

The Mask & Wig Players of C.H. Booth Library will present Simply Shakespeare on Sunday, May 22, at 3 pm, in the meeting room of the library, directed by Martha Bishop. The theme of the play is that while language may change, people stay the same. The cast members will also perform some short plays they have created, using Shakespeare’s language in a modern context. 

A special reception following the performance will honor Mrs Bishop, longtime director of Mask & Wig Players, who is retiring this spring. Mrs Bishop is the “theater guru” of the library, according to Booth Library Young Adult librarian Margaret Brown.

“She started up the teen drama group Mask & Wig Players in 2007, when there was a clamoring for more theater and improv for young adults in grades 6 and up. [Since] that time, the group has performed two, and sometimes three shows each year for friends and families. Some of today’s brilliant young Newtown student actors and actresses are alumni of this creative group,” said Ms Brown.

Mrs Bishop is the retired library/media center director of Bethel Middle School. She has long been active in local theater groups in the various places she has lived.

“She has imbued the young people with the importance of every single part. Many times she has stressed this point by saying, ‘If you are the spear-holding sentry, you want to be the best spear-holding sentry that you can be. The author put in that character for an important reason, and it’s your creativity that brings him to life,’” Ms Brown said.

Mrs Bishop has also performed stories for C.H. Booth Library’s Young Adult Council and the Teen Summer Reading Kickoff.  She is the thrust behind the annual Tellabration Festival held at the library each November, and has helped bring in many memorable professional storytellers for the event. 

She is the winner of several awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Brookfield’s production of Marvin’s Room, second place in a Tall Tales Contest in Tennessee, and a final round participant in the Toastmaster’s Tall Tales Contest. As a teacher in  Montgomery County, Md., she and her classes participated in the Folger Shakespeare Theatre’s Spring Festival that was open to all the schools in the greater Washington, D.C., area

She is experienced in writing, acting, directing, stage management, as a props mistress, costumer, set designer and builder, and has worked in lighting and sound. Mrs Bishop served on the board of directors for Ridgefield Theater Barn for several years.

“I really will miss the friendships and the interaction with the young people who participated in Mask & Wig. They all are talented and very creative and I wish them well,” said Mrs Bishop.

“We are pleased to honor Martha Bishop for her dramatic contributions to the Newtown and library community,” Ms Brown said.

The reception is open to any who have taken part of any of her plays, or been in the audiences.

For more information, contact Margaret Brown at C.H. Booth Library, 203-426-4533.