May 18 Sunday

Yesterday (Saturday 17th) was a day with a to do list. Today was a filled with quick decisions and celebration. Saturday began with Footlights in the morning taught by April. Next Saturday is the last footlights class for the year. The High School troupe will perform a comedy improv show next Saturday in the Studio Theatre at 11 am. While April was teaching I was out at Sears purchasing a new dryer for the costume shop. The theatre's washer and dryer were both purchased when we moved in to the second stage building over 10 years ago. The washer died earlier this year and was replaced. The dryer lasted just a short time longer and the replacement will be delivered Tuesday. Zink performed the Saturday matinee and then we all went home. I made photo cd's of the show until midnight. April prepared for the cast party at our home.

This morning (Sunday 18th) about 11 am. Betty Wise who plays the nurse in Zink called to tell April that her sister had been rushed to the hospital in Madisonville and was in serious condition. Betty called as she was leaving Paducah. At first Betty thought she might be back in time for the 2:30 matinee today. But as Betty found out more and more about her sisters condition it became apparent that Betty would not be able to do the show today. I was at church when Betty called and April was at home getting ready for the party. There are no understudies for the shows. Usually when something like this happens April or I fill in since we know the shows so well. I was already in the show as the father so I couldn't do it. April was running a complicated sound design for the production and couldn't leave that to someone who had never had a chance to run it. Especially since she was calling cues for the lights and sound. April even thought of doing the part herself by walking from the control booth onto the stage and back to the booth (located at the right rear of the audience seating area). But that choice didn't work eitehr for a couple of the complicated scenes with sound and the nurse character.

April thought of canceling the performance since the audience only seats 60 people and we knew most of the audience today was family and friends. We would never be able to cancel something like this in our main theatre which seats 240. However to cancel your last show feels incomplete and is not really a desirable choice. That old phrase the show must go on is really true. April called me just as I was leaving church to stop and pick up some cd covers on my way home. I thought about several actors who might be able to walk in at the last minute and carry a script but none of them had seen the play and didn't know the character. I tried to think of who had been in the audience and Cindy Miller suddenly came to mind. Cindy's daughter Maria is in the show and Cindy had seen the play last weekend. I have directed Cindy in a couple of shows and worked with her in Sanders Family Christmas where she was musical director and also acted in the play. She is a talented actress and really well grounded when it comes to a crises. In the time it took me to drive from 9th and Kentucky Ave to 28th St I knew what to do. I called April and told her to call Cindy. April tried to contact her but could only get her voicemail. I was home by this point and April and I both decided to try First Presbyterian Church where Cindy and her family are members. April called the church and talked to someone who promised they would find Cindy and have her call. Cindy called April. April explained the situation and Cindy met April at the theatre at 12:45 to go over the part. Cindy would carry a script and read from the script for the characters lines. The tricky thing is that timing on the lines is critical to the show. Sometimes things are slower paced and other times the lines overlap. If you aren't familiar with how a show has developed it is easy to get lost trying to follow in the script.

Cindy and April ran through the blocking (movement) for the character and where she entered and exited from. They reviewed the scene changes that the character had to help with. When the cast members started arriving at 1 pm they were pulled in and we worked a couple of the scenes with Sydney, Marsha and Cindy. At 2 pm the house (auditorium) opened for seating and Cindy moved upstairs with the cast to continue to work on the dialogue.

At 2:30pm April called places for the actors and did the pre-show speech to the audience to thank our sponsors. April explained to the audience that Betty Wise would not be performing in the show today. Her sister was very ill and that our thoughts and prayers with with Betty and her sister. April explained that Cindy Miller who had only just gotten a script only an hour and a half ago would be performing the role.

Cindy did an outstanding job. We were all extremely proud of her for stepping in at the last moment. Betty contacted us at the end of the show and told that her sister was going in for surgery.

The cast and crew gathered at the Cochran home about an hour after the show ended and everyone ate lots of food and celebrated the successful performance run of Zink. Betty called at the end of the party to tell us that her sister had made it through the surgery and that the doctors were encouraged. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Betty and her family. Our thanks goes to Cindy Miller for being willing to step in and in true theatre style prove once again that the show will go on. As the kids enjoyed the beautiful weather running around our back yard playing hide and seek I was reminded again how close this group had become. Six weeks ago most of them were strangers. Today they were friends and an extended family. That is one of the real joys of community theatre. April and I worked in professional theatre before moving to Paducah. This was my first contact with community theatre. Like many others I didn't understand what true community theatre is. It is people from all walks of life and ages coming together to create community and create art. We don't just entertain... We change lives was never more true than today.