Richard Sewell

PORTLAND – Richard Crittenden Sewell, poet, playwright, director and teacher, was born on Oct. 24, 1934 to Marjorie (Lee) and Edgar Sewell, two of the original founders of Haystack School of Crafts.

He grew up surrounded by people who valued beauty in both visual and spoken arts. The love of theater which would shape his life was fed at High Mowing School and Bard College. As a college student, he became the youngest to ever win the Glascock Poetry Prize and publications featuring his poetry include The Quarterly Review of Literature and The New Yorker Magazine.

His facility with language led the US Army to train him in Russian at the language school at Monterrey. While stationed in Germany he won his first directing award with a production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” for a festival created for the Seventh Army Special Services.

Stateside again, he reconnected with Bard friends to try outdoor theater in Camden, Maine. They moved their efforts to Cumston Hall, Monmouth in 1960 and 1961.

Dick taught and created theater at High Mowing School (Wilton, NH) and Coburn Classical Institute and the Oak Grove-Coburn Schools in central Maine, often writing works to highlight student strengths. He usually designed and built the sets, costumes, and props. Dick’s plays received awards and productions throughout the country. His adaptation of “Nathan the Wise” was so successful for the Pearl Theater (NYC) that it was revived. His book “In the Theater of Dionysus” observes parallels between Greek tragedy and modern U.S. military adventurism.

After his play “The Winter Crane” was produced by Robert Joyce at the University of Wisconsin, the two men combined their skills to found a professional classical rep company, The Theater at Monmouth in 1970. Dick was artistic director and actor there for over 25 seasons of “theater of language.”

In 1974, Dick was hired by Colby College to begin an official theater program and help design Strider Theater. He spent 25 years at Colby, teaching playwrighting and acting and directing 3-5 plays a year. Many of his student actors became life-long friends.

More recently, Dick acted in five films, an NBC true-crime TV series, a dozen commercials and just months ago a pod-cast role for Broken Arts Entertainment.

Dick died at home on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. He leaves behind Kim Gordon, his wife of 46 years; son, Gavin; daughter, Bronwyn (husband Nathan Barr); grandchildren Alex, Adorno and Julian; and three nephews, Sherman, Alan and Tom Sewell. He will be lovingly remembered by his first wife’s daughter, Gabrielle Islwyn.

Friends are welcome to a celebration of his life Saturday, Oct. 5 at 2:00 at the Woodfords Club, 179 Woodford St, Portland, Maine.