WEBVTT SHAYNA: PORTLAND, MAINE, LOADED WITH CREATIVE ENERGY. CONDUCIVE TO REINVENTION. AND FERTILE GROUND FOR FRESH IDEAS. JUST ASK STEVEN KORMAN, FORCED TO MIX THINGS UP AFTER BEING LAID OFF AS A TEACHER. MY WIFE WOKE UP ON DAY FIVE OF THE PINK SLIP, SHE SAID I HAVE THIS IDEA. THAT AFTERNOON WE FOUND THIS PLACE. LESS THAN THREE MONTHS LATER, WE'RE IN BUSINESS. SHAYNA: VENA'S FIZZ HOUSE OPENED IN 2012, SERVING NONALCOHOLIC MOCK-TAILS AND FIZZES. SELTZER DRINKS WITH HAND SQUEEZED JUICE IS AND HOME MADE SYRUP. BUT THEIR SECRET WEAPON? BITTERS. BITTERS MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER. VENA'S HAS HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES OF BITTERS, ALMOST ALL ARE SMALL BATCH, HAPPEN CRAFTED PRODUCTS. HE SAYS WITH SALT AND PEPPER ARE TO FOODS, BITTER ARE TO COCKTAILS. DRINKING A DRINK WITHOUT A BITTER IS DEAD, IT'S BLAND. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ADD ONE, TWO, THREE DROPS OF MY DASHES TO JUST, IT BECOMES A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. SHAYNA: FOR MY MAIDEN FIZZ, HE MIXES UP A LUMBER JACK LOVE, WITH PINE SYRUP, SPICE TONIC, SQUEEZED LEMMONS, AND BITTERS, OF COURSE. TASTES LIKE A FAN JI LEMONADE ALMOST. IT A LEMONADE THAT YOU'RE DRINKING IN A PINE FOREST. SHAYNA: WITH A LUMBER JACK. NEXT UP, A BANGLADESH EXPRESS. COCONUT PURE RE, BLOOD ORANGE CONCENTRATE, FRESH LIME AND SOMETHING CALLED A GHOST PEPPER. OH MY GOSH. THAT'S GOOD. AND THERE'S A KICK. FOR A SMALL CITY, PORTLAND SURE HAS A BIG PERSONALITY. FOOD, MUSIC, AND ART EVERYWHERE. AS FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS AND BIG STAGE, WELL, IT HAS A LITTLE OF THAT AS WELL. SOME ENCHANTED EVENING. YOU MAY SEE A RAINBOW. I TREAT THESE FIVE TO 600 CHARACTERS AS IF THEY WERE ACTUAL ACTORS. SHAYNA: THE TOY THEATER, ENTIRE MUSICALS PRESENTED IN MINIATURE FOR SELECT AUDIENCES. BUT THIS IS HARDLY KIDS PLAY. IT IS VERY CHALLENGING. NOT ONLY AM I TRYING TO SING EVERYTHING, I'M CONTROLLING THE MUSIC, I'M CONTROLLING THE LIGHTS, THE CHARACTERS, THE SETS. ♪ WHO CAN EXPLAIN IT. DOING SHOWS REQUIRING SO MUCH CONCENTRATION. SHAYNA: BUT HE ISN'T ENTIRELY ALONE. HIS MOTHER IS IN AS WELL. METICULOUSLY CONSTRUCTING THE SET IN MANY OF THE PROPS BY HAND. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE THE STAGE SET WORTHY OF THE TALENT. HE'S INVENTED THIS WAY OF PERFORMING, AND PEOPLE ENJOY IT. IT WORKS WELL. WE'RE A GOOD TEAM. SHAYNA: AUDIENCES ARE INVITED TO THE HOME THAT HE AND HIS MOTHER SHARE IN PORTLAND'S WEST END. THEY ARE TREATED TO HOME COOKED FOOD AND THEN ASKED INTO THE PARLOR FOR THE SHOW. NEWS OF THESE EVENTS TRAVELS LARGELY BY WORD OF MOUTH. AND SPACES FILL UP QUICKLY. THE WORD IS GETTING OUT, YES, IT'S EXCITING AND IT'S TERRIFYING. HONESTLY I WISH I KNEW WHERE THIS WAS GOING TO GO. SHAYNA: IN FACT, HE'S BEEN DOING TOY THEATER SINCE HE WAS A CHILD. BUT IT WAS SOMETHING HE KEPT PRIVATE. WHILE STUDYING OPERA AT THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY, HE DECIDED TO TAKE A RISK, LETTING A SELECT GROUP OF CLASSMATES INTO HIS PRIVATE WORLD. IT STILL AMAZES ME THAT I ALMOST WENT THROUGH MY YEARS OF COLLEGE TO NOT PLAY A WORD ABOUT IT, UNTIL I FELT LIKE I COULD TRUST THEM AND THEY WOULDN'T MAKE FUN OF ME. SHAYNA: INSTEAD, THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN RESOUNDINGLY POSITIVE. MANY SURPRISED AT THE EMOTIONAL POWER HE CHANNELS THROUGH THESE LITTLE FIGURES. I'VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THEY THEY JUST GET WRAPPED UP IN THE DRAMA AND THE MUSIC, AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE EVEN BEEN MOVED TO TEARS. SHAYNA: BACK OUT IN PORTLAND'S GRITTIER PRECINCTS, A WALK ALONG THE WHARF MAKES PLAIN THIS CITY'S SALT WATER SOUL. THERE ARE DIVE BARS AND BUSY FISH MARKETS. BUT IF YOU'RE A SHOPPER LIKE ME, YOU'RE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SALES. THERE'S NO TWO BAGS ALIKE BECAUSERRY SALE IS DIFFERENT. SHAYNA: SEA BAGS, MADE FROM RECYCLED SAIL BOAT SAILS. WE'VE RECYCLED OVER 500-TONS OF SAILS. THEY ARE DONATED OFTEN IN EXCHANGE FOR CUSTOM BAGS. THE BASS ARE WATER PROOF AND EXTREMELY DURABLE. MOST ARE DECORATED DECORATED WITH APPLIQUES OR PRINTS. THERE'S DEFINITELY AN ITEM YOU SEE AND IT'S LIKE THAT'S A SEA BAG, IT REALLY STANDS OUT. ANTHONY: BACK TO DAVID'S TOY THEATER, IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE ONE OF THOSE SHOWS YOU MAY NOTICE NO THE PROGRAM THAT THERE ARE UNDERSTUDIES LISTED AND THAT IS NO JOKE, HE SAYS IT DARK BACK THERE, NOW AND THEN A CHARACTER GOES MISSING. BUT THERE ARE UNDERSTUDIES THAT CAN BE BROUGHT IN. PORTLAND AND BASEBALL, A VERY GOOD TEAM. PORTLAND IS A WONDERFUL