Out of alienation comes the bond of theater and the fondest of memories.

Former island resident Bob Sabatini was one of the many artists who transplanted themselves on Whidbey Island in the 1970s.

“I was a painter; a lonely endeavor. But with theater, there’s no such thing as a one-man show,” Sabatini said.

So Sabatini and a bunch of “hippies,” artists and others who felt slightly marginalized in Langley formed what would become the Fools. This hodgepodge, all-ages theatrical troupe grew to become more than 100 performers who went on to create seven original shows at the fairgrounds and the Clyde Theatre in Langley.

The troupe’s last piece was performed in 1984, and the decade or so of performances produced by the Fools was immortalized with the help of filmmaker Mark Dworkin.

Dworkin, and other friends of the troupe, caught the Fools on videotape back in the day. Recently, he condensed about 14 hours of video footage into a 90-minute DVD titled “Fools Clipjoint.” The film features excerpts from the troupe’s shows, and will be shown at the Clyde at 10 p.m. Saturday, June 12 and again at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 13.

Sabatini wrote six of the seven original scripts for the shows, which were spectacles of musical talent and wild costumes presented by performers from age 2 to 80.

Sabatini recalled the first show, “Aunt Jo’s Dream,” as an incredible group effort that was well-received by local audiences.

“The whole thing was totally volunteer and the tickets were $1 for all seats for the first show,” he said.

The town was littered with artistic folks, so it wasn’t hard to gather the bodies needed to create Sabatini’s vision for a talent show of sorts, strung together to create “the dream.”

Langleyite Sue Frause, who along with husband Bob helped the troupe with publicity, remembered the spectacle of it, as did Lynn Willeford, one of the owners of the Clyde Theatre where it all happened.

“There were incredible costumes — hats that looked like the buildings in Langley, awesome sets with torch singers sliding down the tongue of a dragon, and the homegrown talents of singers and dancers of all ages,” Willeford said.

Sabatini said he needed to be something of a benevolent dictator to manage all those people at once, but then was lucky to eventually have the production skills of Marj Dente, who helped keep the ship running fairly tightly.

“I produced most of the shows, and acted in them,” Dente said. “And my husband Fred was sound director for the first one at the Clyde, having all the equipment underneath the stage at that time; a very primitive situation.”

“Word got out about us, and patrons came from far and wide,” she added.

It was a family affair for many of the players, including Jean Shaw, who performed onstage with her mother and her son during those days.

“The Fools years remain some of the most meaningful memories of my life,” Shaw said.

Shaw formed a singing group called the Carolina Parrots out of the Fools’ shows, along with Shirlee Read and Kate Wright. The group later became professional, singing at wedding parties and other gatherings.

“Here I was at the time, a prim and proper ‘school marm’ by day, and a wild and crazy performer by night! Unforgettable,” she said.

“It was a joyous endeavor,” added Denise Whitmore.

The Langley businesswoman, who played a character named Beverly Hills, said the entire period was a gift given to the lot of them by Sabatini, who shared his unique vision of community theater.

“In ‘Fools Paradise,’ every night as Michele and I sat on the art deco desk waiting to be pushed through the curtains onto the stage, Willie (one of the players) would gleefully scare the bejeezus out of me and inwardly make me scream like a little girl,” Whitmore said.

“It still makes me smile to this day. I am so proud to have been part of the Fools.”

Betsey Robertson credits her childhood experiences onstage with the Fools as being one big reason why music and theater remained an influential part of her life into adulthood.

“I had never seen such elaborate costuming, make-up and set design. There was a kids’ scene spoofing ‘Gunsmoke’ that was hilarious,” she said.

“I thought I was in a production equivalent of works on Broadway. All the Fools productions felt like that to me … and my childhood was the better for it,” Robertson said.

All the fun came to an end with the final production in 1984 of “All My Fools,” a musical soap opera.

“It had all taken off like wildfire, and we had all these extraordinary talents who became a pool for us to draw from — a great band and the steadies who were there all the way through,” Sabatini said.

“We’re lucky that Dworkin had the tapes, otherwise it would be all just memory. It was a labor of love, and people really loved the positivity of it,” Sabatini said.

“It was a real joy.”

Tickets are $5 and available by cash or check from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at Michele LaRue’s Big Sister store, at 208 First St. in Langley. Call 221-7056 for information.

Tickets will also be available at the door, if they’re not sold out.

The DVDs of “Fools Clipjoint” and the “Best of Fools Photos” will be available for sale at the show.