Performance of Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn at HSCC

On Saturday, March 28, at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 29, at 2:00 p.m., Carin Torp and Mary Armstrong will perform a one-act play by Lorees Yerby, Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn. The performance is in conjunction with the feature exhibit, Actors on the Early American Stage: 1790 - World War I, which is on display at the Historical Society until April 4.

Save Me a Place at the Forest Lawn is a small but perceptive slice of the lives of two old women, Clara and Gertrude, as they lunch at a cafeteria and face the uncertain interval of life still remaining. Tired, lonely, and weary, they meet daily to discuss their grandchildren, to recall their early life, and to contemplate death, which lurks outside the cafeteria. Yet theirs is a resignation touched with wisdom and humor, and a friendship that has provided comfort in their later years.

Both Torp and Armstrong have performed locally. Carin Torp's most recent performance was in the Keene Lion's Club production of Carousel. When not on stage, she works in a private therapy practice and is currently the interim choir director at the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church. Mary Armstrong has performed with many theater, opera, and musical groups, most recently in Branch River Theatre's production of Dancing at Lughnasa! She is a creative arts therapist at the Brattleboro Retreat and dance/movement therapist in local retirement homes.

The performances of Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn is free, with donations encouraged. There will be a talkback after each performance

The Actors on the Early American Stage exhibit explores the history of the early American theatre through playbills, posters, letters, photographs, and a variety of other artifacts that document the lives and careers of such actors as Fanny Kemble, the Booth family, Lotta Crabtree, Swanzey's Denman Thompson, and James O'Neill and Maude Adams, both of whom performed in Keene. Exhibit sponsors include Ariel Printing, Creative Encounters, Carin Torp Healing Arts PLLC, and the Keene Sentinel.

The Historical Society of Cheshire County, located at 246 Main Street in Keene, is open to the public on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. For further information, contact the Historical Society at 352-1895 or view its website at www.hsccnh.org.