ANNOUNCING DOWN EAST SPEAKS 2025
Featuring Bailey Bowden, Lisa DePasqual, Alison Eaton, Abby Hafey, and Robert Shetterly.
Deer Isle, Maine — ISLE Theater Company announces the highly-anticipated return of its popular storytelling event Down East Speaks to the stage of the Reach Performing Arts Center on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 7:00PM.
This year’s featured storytellers include fisheries activist Bailey Bowden of Penobscot; aerospace engineer Lisa DePasqual of Brooklin; night nurse Alison Eaton of Stonington; homesteader Abby Hafey of Isle au Haut; and visual artist Robert Shetterly of Brooksville, best known for his portrait series Americans Who Tell the Truth. Each storyteller will share a personal, true story inspired by the theme “Astonished.”
Following the stories, the evening will continue with a town hall-style conversation between the storytellers and the audience, led by journalist Alicia Anstead of Castine. A reception with light refreshments will conclude the evening.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.isletheater.org. A number of free tickets are available through a grant from the Maine Humanities Council to those for whom cost is a barrier and can be requested by emailing info@isletheater.org. Early purchase is strongly encouraged because of past sellouts.
Down East Speaks is an intergenerational storytelling event that brings together community members from towns across Maine to share personal, true stories connected by a common theme. Directed by Alicia Anstead and Marvin Merritt IV, the event fosters empathy by illuminating the diverse experiences of Maine’s communities.
“Down East Speaks is about the courage it takes to tell our truest stories — and the transformation that happens when we listen,” said Anstead. “This year’s storytellers bring worlds of experience that will astonish, challenge and ultimately connect us in surprising ways.”
Alicia Anstead is a writer, editor, producer and educator based in Castine. A former arts reporter for the Bangor Daily News, she teaches narrative journalism at Harvard University Extension School and has been a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University.
Marvin Merritt IV, a Deer Isle native, is the founding Artistic and Executive Director of ISLE Theater Company. A graduate of Harvard University, he has trained internationally at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow, and the Moscow Art Theatre School.
“Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful ways of building community. At a time when division often dominates our life, Down East Speaks reminds us that we all share the need to be heard and to belong,” added Merritt.
Assets
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ISLE Theater Company presents Down East Speaks 2025 at the Reach Performing Arts Center in Deer Isle on Friday, May 9, at 7:00PM. Graphic by ISLE Theater Company.
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Marvin Merritt IV, the founding Artistic and Executive Director of ISLE, and Alicia Anstead, a journalist based in Castine, direct Down East Speaks annually. Photo by Jack Sullivan.
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Ann Pollard-Ranco, a writer and cultural consultant of the Penobscot Nation, shares her story with the audience at Down East Speaks 2023. Photo by Jack Sullivan.
About ISLE Theater Company
ISLE Theater Company bridges communities through storytelling. Founded in 2020 by Anna Fitzgerald and Marvin Merritt IV, ISLE is a performing arts organization dedicated to creating professional, community-driven work in unique spaces that connect audiences with new places, people, and perspectives. Based out of the Shakespeare School in Deer Isle, ISLE fosters deeper community engagement and cultural exchange through innovative programming.
In 2025, ISLE Theater Company celebrates its fifth-anniversary season. For more information, visit www.isletheater.org.
About Maine Humanities Council
The Maine Humanities Council, a statewide non-profit organization, uses books, poetry, and big ideas to bring people together to discuss issues of importance and create positive change in Maine communities. Their programs and grants encourage critical thinking and conversations across social, economic, and cultural boundaries. The Maine Humanities Council is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and is the home of Maine’s Center for the Book through the Library of Congress.
For more information, visit www.mainehumanities.org.
Contact Details
Marvin Merritt IV
Artistic & Executive Director
marvin@isletheater.org
