One Light Theatre finds its audience

TILTON — A young theater group that has been occupying Tilton School’s Hamilton Hall this summer has found its combination of community and professional performances is resonating with the audiences.

“The summer’s been going incredibly well,” said One Light Theatre’s co-executive director and program manager, David Sheehy. “It’s more of a success than we expected.”

Sheehy, who has been teaching at Winnisquam Regional High School for the past two years, and will be teaching math at Tilton School this fall, teamed up with part-time Winnisquam drama teacher Jason Roy to form One Light Theatre in 2016.

“We wanted to see where it would go,” Sheehy said.

As co-executive director and artistic director, Roy, who is the administrator at Carriage House, an assisted living facility in Northfield, had done repertory theater in the past, so “We decided to give it a shot, and so far, it’s been excellent,” Sheehy said.

The theater company’s first performance this season was “Big Fish,” a musical based on Daniel Wallace’s novel, “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” and the film “Big Fish,” written by John August and directed by Tim Burton.

“That first show, the audience was actively laughing and crying,” Sheehy said.

“We pride ourselves on shows that make the audience think,” he said. “Being happy and enjoying a play is important, but we want to leave them thinking. Those are the shows Jason and I really enjoy. I love classic musicals, but ... we look for themes that make them think.”

“Big Fish” was a community production, but One Light Theatre also has hired professionals from the local area and throughout New Hampshire.

“We’ve been working off local talent this year, and that’s exciting, actually. The local people follow them.”

Other productions this summer have included “The 39 Steps” — an Alfred Hitchcock spoof —

as well as the current production, “Moon Over Buffalo,” and the final show of the season, “Next to Normal.” The group also put on a weeklong children’s workshop, culminating in a production of “Schoolhouse Rock Jr.,” with 25 participants.

“We hope to grow in the future,” Sheehy said. “We’re already talking about this fall, planning to put on ‘Seussical the Musical,’ and we’re talking about shows for next summer.”

Eventually, he said, they would like to have their own facility, but for now, “It’s all very exciting and new. But keep your ears open for more.”