Findhorn Foundation Community performing arts pioneer Ed Maxcy, stage name Alexis, not only wrote, produced and directed the community’s first full-length musical The Genial Muse in 1971, but embodied the very essence of that Muse every hour of his community life.

With dramatic flair, the one-time Broadway actor got his big break in the same play as Dustin Hoffman but shunned fame, fortune and the bright lights for the Inner Light he stumbled upon at a caravan park in Northern Scotland one day in early 1970.

Many initiates of the fledging Findhorn Performing Arts are still alive and very much kicking, as far we know at the time of writing – November 2025. These characters include Milenko Matanovic, Kathi Lightstone Matanovic, Lark Batteau, Ian Campbell, Katherine Collis, Craig Gibsone, Anniese Worth Giuntini, Freya Secrest, Jim Bronson, Julie Spangler and David Spangler. Gone but impossible to forget are Ed Maxcy himself, Michael Worth, Kristin Lightstone, Mary Hilton and Gillian Lubach. Even Peter Caddy gamely had an occasional cameo on the stage of The Lollipop Shop’s makeshift theatre; a building next to the Phoenix Shop which currently houses La Boheme, a pizzeria.

Oh, the stories everyone could tell … and please, please do if you’re reading this.

Carly Newfeld