By Dakota DoyleThe history of Scarborough High School’s performing arts dates back over 80 years, from senior dramas, to musicals, and interpretations of Shakespeare. It is clear that the importance of the arts stays as a true piece of the community and a route of creativity for students.
Plays and Senior Dramas
On November 3, 1940, Scarborough High School’s senior class performed It’s Papa Who Plays, a three-act comedy. This performance is the first record of Scarborough High School students and the performing arts. Throughout the 1940s there are continued records of performances like A Singing School of Long Ago in 1944.
Into the 1950s and 1960s, senior classes and students put on a range of senior dramas, plays, and one-act performances. In November 1953, the senior class presented Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. Then in May 1954, students performed three one-act plays at the Town Hall: Her Fatal Beauty, A Happy Ending, and A Platitudinous Pose.
Oak Hill Players
Even though Scarborough High School has a long history of the performing arts from plays to musicals, the creation of a permanent theatre group, the Oak Hill Players, appears to span back to 1978, with the production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. After this, students also participated in plays like their 1981 performance of Bye Bye Birdie and a 1985 production of Grease.
In March 1986, Scarborough High School students participated and performed in a musical production of Annie. Within the program are ads for local businesses like Big 20 Bowling and a list of the cast including the Redmond family’s golden retriever, Spice, who played the role of Sandy. Continuing into the 1990s, productions include a 1993 performance of Hello Dolly, 42nd Street in 1995, and Little Shop of Horrors in 1996.
One-Act Plays
As seen before the Oak Hill Players, Scarborough students have a long history of performing one-act plays, most often referred to as “One Acts”, where students across the region––and state––have the opportunity to represent their school and compete annually. Evidence of this spans back to the 1960s. In 1961, Scarborough students won the State One-Act Play Contest at Bowdoin College for another production of Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. The next year, they competed against Westbrook, Falmouth, and Deering with the play The Fisherman.
The Winslow Homer Center for the Performing Arts
With musicals, one-act plays, and senior dramas performed in the school gym, or the town hall, students participating in the performing arts needed a place of their own. In 1989, the school applied for funding for a new fine arts facility. In March 1990, Scarborough High School’s Winslow Homer Center for the Performing Arts officially opened. Named as an ode to one of Scarborough’s most well-known creatives, the auditorium holds up to 730 people and is still home to the school’s musical theatre group. It also holds the competitive One Act play in early March.
Now Playing
Today, Scarborough continues to have a strong connection to the performing arts. Whether it’s the Oak Hill Players, One Acts, or Shakespeare in the Park, students bring live theatre to the community. In the past, the Oak Hill Players have brought back musicals like 42nd Street and Little Shop of Horrors. In 2025, they performed The Wizard of Oz.
Along with musicals, the One Acts have performed Frankenstein, a student written play titled Almond Blossoms, and Shakespeare in the Park, an annual performance at Memorial Park over Memorial Day weekend. This year will be A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Hope to see you there!
Many thanks to Dakota Doyle for researching and writing this piece. Dakota is a Scarborough High School student with a strong interest in both English and history; the former she hopes to study in college.
Photo: The Oak Hill Players in 1986 from the program for Annie. Cast members (in alphabetical order): Brigitte Bridgham, Megan Burke, Ashleah Cecil, Katie Chestnut, Kim Cook, Elliott Cushing, Heather Cyr, Ryan Delaware, Nicky Despres, Shannon Despres, Terri Desrosiers, Paula Desrochers, Ann Dobriko, Joe Donahue, Lisa Dolloff, Curt Ebersold, Kathi Ferreira, Debbie Gowen, Karli Grant, Tom Horton, Lisa Joaquin, Renee Laber, Debbie Larrabee, Adam Laux, Diane Lawrence, Gary Lorfano, Kathy Marquis, Erin McGovern, Meredith McGinnis, Erin McIntyre, Michael Miller, Mike Miller, Holly Moore, Sarah Morneau, Pat O’Reilly, Nat Peirce, Tom Pierce, Jeremy Pulsifer, Tara Roy, Jennifer Sanders, Jennifer Shearer, Jennifer Smaha, Tammy Shepard, Elizabeth Story, Tracy Taton, Heidi Temm, John Bilodeau, Denise Turner, Kathi Webber, JoEllen Weeks, Bria White, Peter Wood, and Liz Word. Photo by Scarborough High School, accessed through the Maine State Library’s Digital Maine Repository.
