On the Verge  is a new Vermont theater company that will be dedicated to bringing the culture of theater, and the drama of literature to high school students. The company's repertoire will come from the reading curriculum of local schools, and productions will feature a post-performance Question and Answer session for students studying the material.
 

DOWNLOADS:

PUBLICITY PACKET (PDF Format)

Letter to High Schools** (Word Format)
Letter from the Director (Word Format)

LINKS:

Back to Home Page
Cast Members
Director's Resume'
Josh and Jeremy's First project in 1995

* Performances have been underwritten
   by Johnson State College.

**Special Discounts to School Groups are available.
    Matinees will include a Q&A with the Cast and Crew.
    Contact Jeremy Fraize at: (802) 253-6861

MORE ABOUT OUR CAST

 

A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR:
(This letter is being included in a packet being sent to schools)

Dear Friends,

I am really excited to be directing John Steinbeck’s  “Of Mice and Men” for the inauguration of On the Verge Theater. I truly believe that every child can succeed, and every child can learn academics through something they enjoy. For many students, that something is the Arts. I first worked professionally with fellow “On the Vergers,” Jeremy Fraize and Bob Martin in 1995 when I directed “The Lion in Winter” for the Stowe Theater Guild. Now we have come together again because we believe that literature and history can be brought to life through theater… and so can a child’s desire to learn.

I graduated from Johnson State College in 1996 with a degree in theater. Since then, I’ve been working in the film industry as a producer, director, writer, and actor. I joined the Screen Actors Guild in 2002 with my television appearance in Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke (Joe Lando, Bruce Boxleitner, Michele Greene). I’ve also worked on several other films including, Frozen Impact (Ted McGinley, Linda Purl), and Lightning: Fire From the Sky (John Schneider, Stacy Keach, Chase Masterson)

My two great loves are performing and teaching. While living in New York, I was fortunate enough to teach “literacy through drama” to inner-city school children through the STARRR Program (Substitute Teachers for the Arts and Three R’s). I currently teach Living Skills and a therapeutic acting class for the Baird Center in Burlington. So I am really excited and anxious to hold a question and answer period for the students after the performance. True knowledge comes from the discussion of ideas.

Drama is a wonderful tool that can help students embrace culture, history, English, and their own self-worth. We hope that “Of Mice and Men” is the first step toward a long tradition of bringing professional artists and that education to the children of Vermont. Thank you, and we hope to see you at the theater.

                                                                      Joshua J. Masters