The cast of “Waiting in the Wings” gathers this week for instruction from director and producer Tucker Atwood, far right, during a rehearsal for the play, which opens Friday at the Lakewood Theater in Madison. Photo courtesy of Tucker Atwood
MADISON — Everything in life is a learning experience, Tucker Atwood says, and so no matter the obstacles or stresses one faces, there is still a skill to be gained and a lesson to be learned.
So long as a person is willing to grow, then nothing is done in vain, he contends.
These are the early lessons Atwood said he has learned as a playwright.
Atwood, 27, is the writer, producer and director of “Waiting in the Wings,” a play that is to be performed this weekend at the storied Lakewood Theater in Madison.
Atwood has worked at the theater in a number of capacities for years, progressing from stagehand to a leading actor and eventually to directing and producing a play he wrote. Atwood attributes that growth to seeing most situations as an opportunity to learn.
“With everything that I write, whether it’s for the stage or not, I learn from it,” he said this week. “Everything I read, whether it’s for the stage or not, I learn from it. I’m learning in the play what works and what doesn’t just by seeing it come to life.”
“Waiting in the Wings” is set to open at 8 p.m. Friday, with performances also scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday.
The cast of the play “Waiting in the Wings” rehearses a scene this week. The production is set to open Friday at the Lakewood Theater in Madison. Photo courtesy of Tucker Atwood
Atwood is a homegrown talent who was born and raised in Embden, a short drive up Route 201 from the theater. He has been in Maine for much of his life, graduating in 2017 from the University of Maine at Farmington, before eventually moving to Belfast, where he now lives.
Atwood has been working in some capacity at the Lakewood Theater for more than a decade. He first joined the theater’s crew while in high school, working as a stagehand before joining a cast for a few shows the following year. Over time, he became a pillar of the theater’s tight-knit community, branching out from his initial roles in the background to leading and starring in productions as the years progressed.
His journey was molded by the Lakewood Theater’s rich history. The venue is the longest continuously running summer theater in the country, putting on at least one show every year since it first opened in 1901. An array of featured actors on Broadway and the silver screen have performed at Lakewood, including Betty White, Jeff Bridges and John Travolta.
“Broadway shows would actually come here on tour, basically,” Atwood said. “You feel the history and all the actors who have graced the stage here. But, also, there’s this new, exciting group of people who’ve been here for a few years, or newcomers that come in, and really put on some high-quality productions.”
“Waiting in the Wings” is inspired by the historic stage on which it is being performed this weekend, aiming to connect the present to the past through theater, Atwood said.
The play revolves around a cast of actors working backstage at a summer theater, much like Lakewood, who encounter the ghosts of a former actor and an usher the theater employed. The characters ruminate existentially over the concepts of mortality and friendship, while underscoring the importance of theater.
Atwood said the play explores the idea that theater is a link between actors, the production cast and audiences of the past with those of the present.
“It really dives deep into life, death and summer theater,” he said. “I’ve tried to capture this nostalgic feeling of what the theater means now and what it used to mean. The connections between the two, and the connections between the people who have acted before us and everything they have passed down.
“All of this focus and discussion on connecting the living and the dead through theater is based on truth.”
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