AFFORDABLE 7 DAY ARTIST RESIDENCIES

Our SUMMER BROCHURE is finished!

To promote our first official summer season, we are offering 7 DAY ARTIST RESIDENCIES for only $350 per week (plus 8% State of Maine Lodging Tax). It's a deal that simply cannot be beat for a quality place to live and work during Maine's high season. Space is limited. Apply early!

Click here to read more about the summer at EUREKA.

Michael Menes, Owner

What Is Your Passion?

We had fun making a little commercial in the studio recently.  There is also a full edit of this large ball juggling number on Vimeo here.

Video Work

This spring we're getting into shooting and editing videos of performance pieces for artists' marketing and publicity.  Below are moments from Leland Faulkner's project involving capturing his hand shadows.  Click here to see the finished edit.  

A frame from Leland Faulkner's Hand Shadow Act.

Editing promotional video.

Setting up a jib arm for a smooth shot.

Improv Sessions

A good laugh during a recent improv.

The solitude of the Maine woods is such a perfect place to explore all sorts of strange and wonderful impulses!  Some of us veteran stage performers from around New England have been meeting at Eureka every now and then just to clear the cobwebs from our synapses.  We employ theater games and improv work.  Improv is a wonderful way to reconnect, dissolve blocks, discover new characters, invent graphics, inspire new material, and discover what works.  It's very good for the heart and is a sure way to get to know one another (and ourselves) with amazing speed and depth.  Each session is unique depending on the makeup of the group.  We try to get between six and eight players each session bringing in at least one or two new faces from out of state.  We experiment with many different improv exercises from various teachers.  It's not only laughs that we are after, but a full range of expression.  It's a real work out!  But quite a lot of fun!  I'm hoping that improvisation will be somewhat of a cornerstone of the work going on here at Eureka.

Photo:  Randy Judkins (left) sharing a moment with Jack Golden (right) during a recent Sunday Improv.

Upholstering The Main Studio

We've been spending this intense winter indoors getting things ready for spring and summer at Eureka. We are doing a big push to finish upholstering the main studio.  It looks wonderful!  By using fabric there is no drywall dust, mud or mess... The walls have been covered with batting and fitted with over 75 yards of beautiful material. We used custom snap buttons to hold the fabric to the walls along with wood trim. The acoustics are wonderful and even with sub-zero weather outside, the studio is really cozy.

We are now taking reservations for residencies and short stays this summer.  7 Day Residencies begin the week of July 6, 2014.  Residencies are for individuals, couples, or small groups interested in focused studio time.  Develop a creative project, rehearse, train, video work, or spend time with a director.  Residencies are very flexible.

We will also offer Bread-and-Breakfast style accommodations when our guest rooms are not booked for creative residencies.  Visit our website for more info:  (www.eurekaretreat.com/-retreats.html)

The Very First Post of a New Blog!

Circus Friends From Montreal

I had a fantastic time this summer up in Maine in July and August working to get "Eureka" up and running.  In August, I got together with circus friends, yoga teachers, directors, touring artists, photographers, video makers, and many other friends and artists who stopped by to check out the finished space.  As expected, the weather in Northern New England was unbelievably nice.  We had some amazing sessions, parties, feasts, and awesome adventures around Maine.

Now I'm back on tour for a couple of months in Europe but have time to work on the marketing to get ready for next year.  A web site is definitely the first step...  (www.eurekaretreat.com)  I really want to get the word out there about this wonderful project in the backwoods of Maine that I've been working on for the past 13 years!

Yes, it's called "The Eureka Retreat."

So... yes, I have finally decided on a name for the retreat.  So far, feedback has been great.  It was difficult to find a good available domain name that also worked as a title for the space.  I hope the new branding creates something which is not too narrow and yet draws interesting people and projects to the facility.

The new website is a bit of a skeleton right now, but I'm working every day on getting more pages up and don't mind feedback.

-Michael Menes, Owner
The Eureka Retreat