At first, the sign annoyed him.
Chris Newcomb was in New Orleans, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city in 2005, when he started seeing handwritten signs on telephone poles that said, “Think you might be wrong.”
“Something about it annoyed me, like somebody was telling me I was wrong,” said Newcomb, 70, of Gorham. “But I realized after a while, they were asking me to think about it, think about what I might be wrong about. It made me think about how we go about our routines and don’t always pay attention to things. It woke me up to that.”
A longtime storyteller, Newcomb has decided to use the idea of those New Orleans signs as the theme of his new one-man play, “Think You Might Be Wrong,” at Footlights Theatre in Falmouth. Newcomb will tell stories inspired by his personal history – he’s been a teacher, a cult member and a metal sculptor, among other things – and informed by his observations of daily life. The show is a co-production between Snowlion Repertory Company and ARTernatives.
“It’s not important what happens to us in life, it’s what we do with what happens and who we become as a result,” Newcomb said.
During his 85-minute show, Newcomb will talk about his time in high school and about whether some of things people do in high school are courageous or crazy, depending on your point of view. He’ll talk about his long career teaching creative problem-solving and other skills to academically gifted kids, and about how at times he felt his thirst for creativity might bring him “over the edge.”
He’ll also talk being bullied in his childhood, when his family seemed to move every year and he was always the new kid. He dropped out of college in the early ’70s and joined The Way International, a non-denominational Christian ministry that Newcomb, and others, refer to as a cult. He was involved for more than a decade.
“It was like being thrown in a time warp. We didn’t watch the same movies and TV shows as everyone, we had our own world,” said Newcomb. “There was a lot of turmoil and people were looking for answers. The Way had answers. Abortion? Here’s the answer. War? Here’s the answer.”
Storyteller Chris Newcomb of Gorham, standing among metal sculptures he’s made, stars in “Think You Might Be Wrong” at Footlights Theatre in Falmouth March 2-6. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Since then, Newcomb has been searching for his own answers, or as in this show, his own questions that might lead to new thinking and new ideas. Much of his career as a storyteller is based on the concept of thinking for oneself, and thinking about things in new and different ways.
His show contains musings on everyday happenings, like searching for one’s wallet or keys endlessly when they are in plain sight. Or standing in the middle of a room and not thinking, not knowing exactly what you’re doing there.
Newcomb grew up all over the East Coast, including in Vermont and Massachusetts. He came to Portland in the early 1990s and had a long career as a teacher of academically gifted students, most recently at schools in Raymond. He retired in 2020.
He’s been a storyteller most of the time he’s been in Maine as well, performing around the state. During the past decade or so, he’s been posting short videos of stories, snippets, questions and thoughts on his You Tube channel, “Thanks for Thinking.” One is about the power of asking questions, about kids in a class trying to answer the question, “How much does the sky weigh?” and that leading to a whole lot of other questions and topics, including mass and density and weight.
Storyteller and metal artist Chris Newcomb stands next to one of his many alien sculptures in his garage/workshop in Gorham. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Newcomb is also an accomplished artist, making steel sculptures for people’s home and gardens, including brightly colored “aliens” and ghosts and other figures. He sells them through his website, chrisnewcombart.com, and has some displayed in public places around Portland. Two of his pieces are displayed on Lucas Street, off Brighton Avenue, near an entrance to Capisic Pond Park. Three are on a walking path near Croquet Lane, off Auburn Street in the North Deering neighborhood.
Like his stories, Newcomb’s sculptures can’t help but make people think. And to him, that’s important.
“I just want to wake people up, get them to think,” said Newcomb.
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