Legendary Players back with third show 0
Maddy Sailor is part of the cast for Breaking Bancroft- the Legendary Players Production. Photo by Tracy Musclow
Tracy Musclow has always been creative but she didn't have the confidence to turn her creativity into programming until she met Pat Lavoy at the Bancroft Public Library.
Lavoy says she met Musclow at kids' group at the library.
Musclow came with her son and Lavoy said she liked Musclow's creative spirit. The two women enjoyed working together and more and more Musclow took on a leadership role in the group.
Ideas were shared and programming expanded.
"She encouraged me and complimented me," Musclow says of Lavoy's support. "That's when I really felt like sharing some of the ideas I had."
What Musclow started sharing was her idea for a theatre production and after some discussion the Legendary Players were created. The theatre troupe was made of youth that had started spending time at the library and Musclow said it just seemed like the right thing to do.
In 2010 they performed "Becoming Bancroft" and then in 2011 the show "Bing Bang Bancroft's Booming" hit the stage. With one more production in her, Musclow says former Bancroft Library CEO Kim McMunn stepped in to offer some help.
"We are working with youth and these kids need things to do so Kim McMunn submitted a grant application through the Celebrate Youth Movement," Musclow explains. "When we got the money it meant we could carry on."
And now the Legendary Players are ready to release their third production, "Breaking Bancroft- a Small Town Haunting."
"This is great," Musclow says. "We didn't want to stop working with the youth and this play has been so great to put together."
The play is about a girl who moves into an old house in Bancroft that just happens to be filled with ghosts from the past.
History is something that Musclow has touched on in her previous productions and she does it for a couple of reasons.
She says she loves the stories of all the characters that built the town from nothing but she also feels a connection to her own past, when she grew-up in a Bancroft that was full of things to do. There were many adventures to be had in the Bancroft of Musclow's youth.
"It's like being in a cage," Musclow says about the plot of the play. "There's no source of entertainment and this girl moves into a really old house and she finds a diary and then the diary plays live on stage."
Musclow says the play and the programming she runs with local youth is about bringing back what she misses from her youth one weekend at a time.
And as for the name Legendary Players, Musclow smiles as she explains where that comes from.
"These kids are legendary," she says. "They work so hard and I hope they will never be forgotten. They put everything into this and they just work so hard."
The process from idea to stage has taken almost a year and with the show set to hit the stage on June 15 Musclow says everyone is a bit nervous.
"I have poured everything into this play," Musclow says. "I do the hair and the make-up and we made more then 20 costumes."
And the costumes are stunning. Musclow and Lavoy have set-up an album of photos for the interview and the hair is stunning and the costumes are Goth infused with sci-fi.
Each costume has been crafted by Musclow and she is proud of her work.
"My mom was a seamstress," she explains. "I always thought following a pattern was such a waste of time. I just like to grab a piece of fabric and just cut into it."
Musclow describes the look of the production as "Toddlers and Tiaras meets Miami Ink."
Neither Musclow nor Lavoy will give away any plot twists or secrets of the production.
"I hate holding back but we want people to show-up," Musclow laughs and Lavoy nods. These two are a solid team.
And although this is the third production of the trilogy the sixteen youth who have been working with Musclow and Lavoy will no doubt be hoping for some more creative ideas from their two mentors.
The show "Breaking Bancroft a Small Town Haunting" will be performed on June 15 at 7pm at York River Public School. Admission is free and both Lavoy and Muclow say this is a family-friendly show.

Bancroft