Almost 20 years ago, the Maine Humanities council supported the creation and performance of a short play by David Greenham, a director, actor, and playwright, and producing director of the Theater at Monmouth. The focus for the first "Theater of Ideas" work was the exodus of young people from Maine.

Recently, again with Council support, Greenham helped develop another "Theater of Ideas" play, which explored the diverse and divergent demands on Maine rivers. As part of the Maine Humanities Council's 30th anniversary year, Greenham has developed "Taxing Maine", a piece focused on another theme relevant to Mainers: taxes.

Using different historical characters, humor, little known facts, thought-provoking stories and current material gathered from the general public, this play will explore what taxes mean for Maine communities, the state government, the Maine landscape, and Mainers' wallets. The performance, featuring David Greenham and fellow Theater at Monmouth actor Dennis A. Price, will encourage the audience to consider how history and a range of opinions and beliefs about taxes have influenced our current taxation system.

Following each performance, the actors, in character, will engage the audience in a discussion of the ideas raised in the play. There will be no attempt to change opinions or to reach consensus; the goal is simply to encourage the audience to reflect on and share their thoughts about what they have heard and seen. As Greenham explained, "This will be a fast-paced, informational and entertaining work. The passion and intensity of the transcripts from the history of the legislature are just as heated as the discussions today."

The play and the discussion will last one hour, and is appropriate for teenagers and adults. Between May and October 2006, Taxing Maine will tour to 30 different sites across the state. For more information on the program, or to see a list of other participating venues, go to http://www.mainehumanities.org. For more information on the Dexter performance, contact the library at 924-7292.