March 30

It has been a day to kick back a little and recover from the long week that just ended. To say that the Follies was a success was an understatement. The figures last night look like the Charity League raised over $45,000 for the Easter Seals Center. The performance was terrific. The audience all left the theatre smiling and very complimentary. What was very important for me was that the cast had a great time. At the cast party following the performance everyone was still pumped with adrenaline from the show. I hope that some of the charity league women will come audition at the Market House. There was a lot of talent on stage for the Follies and it was a an real honor to be trusted by the Charity League to be asked to direct the show. Follies Chair Leann Stilley and I talked about our first conversation over 2 years ago when the League asked me to find a show and direct it. I presented 3 shows for consideration and Have a Nice Day was one of those. It's hard to believe that it is now over. A huge thank you goes to everyone who was involved with the show and especially to Valerie Pollard, Lori Devine and Mary Jane McGuire for their hard work and help.

Tomorrow at 9 am we go back to Tilghman to strike all of the equipment and scenery. Auditions for Anything Goes are at 7 pm Monday night in the main theatre. Saturday morning we confirmed that the turntable was a go for Tuesdays with Morrie. I taped out the set design for Zink and that is in rehearsals every day at 5 pm. Story Theatre production of 3 kittens goes on tour to area schools 2 weeks from tomorrow as well. It will be another race to complete everything that we have going on.

Tonight I'm sketching out different scenic arrangements for Tuesdays with Morrie. Alexis has emailed many of the current season ticket holders to announce the start of our 45th Season ticket campaign. Within the month of April I will settle on directors for the main stage shows and some of the studio shows for next year. It is also a busy time for the board of directors. Budget meetings have to happen and nominations for a new board for next year as well. As we enter the last quarter of our fiscal year the theatre has exceeded our box office income goals for the year. However donations to the theatre are down from last season. It may be the economy that is having this effect. We have already seen some of our sponsors pulling back just a little from the previous years. Ticket sales become more important with each passing year. Currently the theatre operates with about 65% of our income coming from ticket sales, rentals, program ads and other earned sources. 35% of our income comes from membership, special donations and grants. April will be an increased concentration on fundraising as well.