Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Donates $5,000 to New London Barn Playhouse for Tuition Assistance for Need-Based Arts Education Participants


New London, New Hampshire (March 9, 2023) - Bar Harbor Bank & Trust has donated $5,000 to New London Barn Playhouse to provide tuition assistance to youth from low- and moderate-income families who want to participate in the organization’s Arts Education programs. The New London Barn Playhouse is the oldest continuously operating summer theater in New Hampshire and offers arts education programming designed to teach confidence, creativity, and team building to young people.

“The New London Barn Playhouse delivers diverse and exceptional programming that excites and inspires hundreds of young people in our community,” said Katherine Paine, Branch Relationship Manager at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “We are proud to partner with the New London Barn Playhouse to make their arts education accessible to all, and we are excited to see all the participants shine during the 2023 season.”

During the summer season, the New London Barn Playhouse’s Education Department has two main branches: the Junior Intern Company/Children’s Theater Series and Spring Intensive/Summer Camps. The Junior Intern Company is a group of locally-based young people aged 12-17 who are responsible for the production and performance of the Children’s Theater Series. The theater camps are designed to introduce children aged 6-11 to various theatrical talents including acting, musical theater, technical theater, playwriting, improvisation, and dance.

In 2022, the theater expanded to offer year-round educational programming for students of all ages. The New London Barn Playhouse’s new Fleming Center is a hub for theatrical classes, performances, and guest artists throughout the school year. School-year programs include touring productions for young audiences, shows featuring youth artists, and classes that teach puppetry, video creation, playwriting, and more. Both summer and school-year programs at the New London Barn Playhouse are tuition-based, and the Bank’s donation will be used to offset the cost of tuition for need-based families.

"I am proud to work at an organization that welcomes every student, regardless of financial need,” said Sage Tokach, Director of Education at the New London Barn Playhouse. “Theatre has the power to build confidence, celebrate self-expression, and bring people together, and we believe those benefits should be available and accessible to everyone. Bar Harbor's donation helps us make that vision possible."

Learn more about New London Barn Playhouse at www.nlbarn.org.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating over 50 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3.6 billion in assets. As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiary Bar Harbor Wealth Management. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit www.barharbor.bank or call 888-853-7100. Member FDIC.

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BHBT presents a donation to New London Barn PlayhouseFrom left to right: Sage Tokach, Director of Education at New London Barn Playhouse; Keith Coughlin, Executive Artistic Director at New London Barn Playhouse; Elliott Hale, AVP Community Banking Relationship Manager at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Maggie Ford, President of the New London Barn Playhouse’s Board of Directors; and Jody Cooper, Director of Development at New London Barn Playhouse.