SPRINGFIELD – Pegasus Playhouse on Main Street is an excellent find for people of all ages interested in a theater in our backyard.
“We are up-and-coming, but our audiences grow by the day,” says the founder and artistic director, Scott Frazier-Maskiell, full of enthusiasm.
Frazier-Maskiell started the theater in 2018 before eventually settling into its current location three years ago in a building that used to be A3’s science annex at 402 Main St. The playhouse hosts theater summer camps for elementary, middle, and high school-age youth, which ends with the finale of a play for the public. The playhouse also provides classes and produces plays for adults.

This local theater is putting on well-known productions like “Arsenic and Old Lace,” showing until Feb. 2, as well as original productions like “Romeo and Glurpsnurb,” a parody of “Romeo and Juliet” set in outer space, which will debut in May. Also upcoming is an interactive musical comedy called “The Trail to Oregon,” based on the computer game popular in the 1980s-2000s, to debut in June. The Developing Young Audiences programming includes 30-minute musical productions, including “Cinderella” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” this season.

Frazier-Maskiell has performed in theatre since second grade. He is trained in dance, improv, and acting.
He worked in regional theaters in New York and, in 1990, discovered a love for teaching. He then started writing shows for kids, taught in a few places, went on national tours, and did “a little bit of Broadway.”
He met his wife, Erin, started a family, moved to Oregon, and became involved in the theater community.
But he found that there were systems in place in theater that didn’t work for him.
“There is a big focus on the performance versus acting,” he said. “When there is a cast of 50 young people, they won’t get attention or the focus of someone wanting to be part of the theater community.”
Frazier-Maskiell wanted to change that, providing more one-on-one attention with a smaller cast. He said many standard productions might utilize 40 kids and wanted shows with half the number.

Pegasus Playhouse performers from top left: Kim Dunn in “Young Frankenstein.”
“We focus on the individual artist, whether 8 or 80,” he said. “Our motto is ‘theater for everyone.’ Shows for young people, shows for adults, and shows for kids and adults.”
Erin can attest to the benefits of theater.
“As an art therapist, I have seen firsthand the power of telling a story, your own or one that connects us to our humanity,” Erin said. “Theater is another such transformative portal that allows us to participate or witness this power, often with the added pleasure of song or dance.”
Erin is a licensed professional counselor and owner/director of Alive Holistic Counseling, a group practice in Eugene.

Scott, Erin, and their three children are involved in the theater. Last year, their whole family performed in Willy Wonka together,” a first for all the family to be in the same play.
Sarina Dorie is the arts writer for The Chronicle.