Old World Theatre resumes adventures at Belcourt with 'Robin Hood'

As the character behind Olde Worlde Theatre, Stein has created periodic Saturday morning gatherings at the historic Belcourt Theatre over the past seven years, telling traditional stories more from group input than formal script. That's not to say they aren't rehearsed. It's just that actors may be friends, teachers, parents, mimes, dancers, children — or any combination of those. Each is encouraged to come, grow, share and above all, have fun.

"On a good day," he says, "it's a timeless event. Colorful. Memorable."

Stein — who opens his 2010 season with Robin Hood in January — remembers his own first such experience while visiting Denmark as a teen. A theater company was performing on the streets of Copenhagen, and it so turned his head he was never the same.

"Out of nowhere, this troupe just showed up and blew a trumpet, and kids just gathered. They did a version of Rapunzel, and even though I didn't speak Danish, it was magic. It was about creating this sense of enchantment. I was so taken by what they were able to do in just 20 minutes that it put me on this path."
Passion catches on

He had already been on stage by then, but the experience propelled him to learn mime, perform clown shows and hone his storytelling craft. As such, while one of his five children was at the Linden Waldorf School, he offered to put on Jack and the Beanstalk for the students. The giant needed a wife, so his real spouse Lisa jumped in.

"I was thinking I'd never do it again," she says. "But I'm like a preacher's wife. I see this man who has a mission of doing what he loves, but sharing it with others is a lot of work. So I'm just there for him. A utility player. A tree. A prop master. Anything."

She was far from alone in being drawn in by Stein's passion. Four of their children have participated in various ways, in addition to those children's classmates, and those classmates' parents. Shows have included the likes of Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, with Stein deciding which show to do based on "instincts, cool ideas and who in the pool of folks is available."

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