We have been working on several projects this week. We began the week with a construction project to cut a doorway through a wall in the studio theatre. In some ways the project was easier than we thought. When we started to cut through what we thought was a brick wall we found that it was a concrete block wall. We had purchased large angle irons or lintels to put into the brick wall to support the door frame and the wall opening. However after beginning the project we found that many years ago someone had put a very large metal beam between the concrete blocks and the bricks over a large section of the wall at the height of our proposed door. So we didn't need the lintels we had purchased. To get the metal door and frame in was a three day project. Jim is finishing up today with doing the drywall around the new door frame and adding loose insulation around that frame to complete the project.
Meanwhile across the street in the main theatre volunteers Aaron Spoden, Ann and Phil Counts, and Betty Wise have been putting a fresh coat of paint on all the dressing rooms, restroom, and green room (actors lounge) We painted over the green walls in the green room. We originally thought painting the green room green would help actors understand what it was. Unfortunately the color green that was picked was dark and it always felt dark in the room. The new "green" room is now white and bright. (Every theatre generally has a "green" room or place where the actors wait before coming on stage.)
April has already started teaching classes. She did her first couple of workshops this week with Kindergarten classes. Alexis is getting the last of the season tickets worked out. She is working on the final changes and mostly waiting to hear from those last couple of people who have not renewed their tickets yet. They may have verbally said they wanted to renew but we haven't received their payment yet so we can't process the tickets. What I don't think people understand is that our system is set up in a way that doesn't allow us to process a ticket order until payment in received. Even for fundraiser events where we check out tickets to board members to sell, there has to be a payment entered before the tickets can be printed. It is a safety auditing feature to protect the theatre against fraud and duplicate tickets being printed.
Today I'm working on getting the final report to the Kentucky Arts Council for the fiscal year that just ended June 30. We ended last year with a deficit. Our contributed income did not meet our budgeted goal. As a result we had to use our surplus from the previous year to pay bills to finish last season. This is not an unusual occurrence for most theatres. We are blessed with the fact that MHT does not have any debt. Operating a non-profit volunteer theatre organization is not for the faint of heart. Just ask any board or staff member of any arts organization in town.
We have Wedding of the Year (murder mystery) rehearsal from 5:30 - 7pm and My Way rehearsal from 7pm- 9pm tonight.
On Tuesday, Al McKeown approached me from St. Mary's school and asked if I would help write a special 45 minute production to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the founding of St. Mary's. The event will happen on the third weekend of Sept. on the same night that we have a My Way performance. I agreed to look over the materials and offer some assistance. Many of MHT's performers are past graduates of St. Mary's. I wrote a script for one of the Oak Grove Cemetery productions several years ago and enjoyed it a great deal. I've written 7 plays that have had performances or workshop performances.
I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into. Patt Lynch at My Way rehearsal that night found out that I was directing two shows at the same time and I told him about the St. Mary project. Patt, said that the theatre needs to buy me a t-shirt that says "Just say no" on it. It is hard for me not to want to help out other groups in need when I have the ability. I just received a voice mail from Jennie Albritton who is the new Paducah Middle School drama teacher. She was calling asking for help with her fall production which performs the week we open High School Musical. I told her I would come by and help her with some of the light and sound equipment at the school. When we performed our Disney Cinderella Kid's drama camp at Clark Elementary school this past June with Jim Keeney's help, he and I leveled their stage drapes, sewed up the holes in the drapes and helped fix the drapery hardware that was broken. A great deal of the drapes we fixed were pieces we weren't even using for our performance. We just saw a need and responded.
In many ways I have always fought the label of Market House Theatre being a community theatre because for so many it has the connotation of being "bad" amateur theatre. But as I think about what we do, we really are a community organization that has always offered a hand to schools, churches and other groups in town to help them when they needed help. Maybe that's why I have such a hard time saying no. We are totally involved in the community outside of what happens on the Market House Stage. So often I hear board members and community people say "I had no idea MHT did so much!".
It took me a long time to work out the phrase that I try to put on every piece of marketing the theatre does. We don't just entertain... We change lives! That is ultimately what MHT is all about.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday July 26
Today was the final performance of The Tortoise and the Hare Lunch Box theatre. The cast did a great job and the theatre sold 547 tickets out of a possible 600 available for the show or 91% capacity. On Friday evening the 2nd Annual Paducah Poetry Jam took place in the main theatre. MHT provided the theatre so that poets could perform their work. About 100 people were in attendance. Last year most of the poets read their work for the audience. This year most of the poets had their pieces memorized and it created a much better show. The poetry jam is styled more towards spoken word poetry than a poetry recital. MHT provides a space as part of our mission to encourage lots of different performers and voices in the community to create an artistic experience on the MHT stage. A committee of people outside MHT worked hard to put the show together. Since the first poetry jam, four groups have formed and now hold open mic nights and performances have developed in Paducah and Murray. People interested can look on myspace for links to the Paducah Writers Group and the other groups in the area.
Tonight the theatre is rented for the Colgate Country showdown. This is a national competition for country music performing artists. Withers Broadcasting has contracted MHT to provide a space for the competition.
We are working on getting several fundraising events up and running. MHT will be offering a My Way After Hours party the first and second Friday evenings of the run after the performance. A martini tasting party and light munchies along with the cast of My Way will get together with party attendees. The tickets cost $15 a piece and can be purchased from the MHT box office starting Aug. 7.
April attended the wedding tonight of former MHT actress and stage manager Meghan Ryan who was married to Tyler Holland at Grace Episcopal Church. Several members of the bridal party were former MHT performers including Rachel Gutfreund, Hillary Ford, Jacob York and Brent Morrison. Many of the group met while performing at MHT before going off to college. April said Meghan looked beautiful in her wedding dress and it was a wonderful wedding and reception.
Next weekend another wedding involving MHT take place. Travis Hensel who grew up performing on the MHT stage and Emily Chapman who started performing in high school at MHT and just recently played the comic girlfriend, Erma, in Anything Goes, will be married. Both have performed in numerous MHT shows and both are attending college in Mississippi this fall. We will miss both of them and wish them all the best. The following weekend Kacey Reynolds will be married. Kacey performed in several MHT productions along with the Story Theatre tour. It is a wonderful joy for both April and I to watch as the kids we knew have become accomplished adults and start families of their own. They have certainly been a big part of the MHT family as they grew up!
Tonight the theatre is rented for the Colgate Country showdown. This is a national competition for country music performing artists. Withers Broadcasting has contracted MHT to provide a space for the competition.
We are working on getting several fundraising events up and running. MHT will be offering a My Way After Hours party the first and second Friday evenings of the run after the performance. A martini tasting party and light munchies along with the cast of My Way will get together with party attendees. The tickets cost $15 a piece and can be purchased from the MHT box office starting Aug. 7.
April attended the wedding tonight of former MHT actress and stage manager Meghan Ryan who was married to Tyler Holland at Grace Episcopal Church. Several members of the bridal party were former MHT performers including Rachel Gutfreund, Hillary Ford, Jacob York and Brent Morrison. Many of the group met while performing at MHT before going off to college. April said Meghan looked beautiful in her wedding dress and it was a wonderful wedding and reception.
Next weekend another wedding involving MHT take place. Travis Hensel who grew up performing on the MHT stage and Emily Chapman who started performing in high school at MHT and just recently played the comic girlfriend, Erma, in Anything Goes, will be married. Both have performed in numerous MHT shows and both are attending college in Mississippi this fall. We will miss both of them and wish them all the best. The following weekend Kacey Reynolds will be married. Kacey performed in several MHT productions along with the Story Theatre tour. It is a wonderful joy for both April and I to watch as the kids we knew have become accomplished adults and start families of their own. They have certainly been a big part of the MHT family as they grew up!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday July 23
We had the technical rehearsal on Sunday afternoon for the Lunchbox and everything went smoothly. MHT Vice President Heather Dorr (who also is the mother of the Hare -Mary Kathryn) bought pizza for the cast to enjoy after the rehearsal.
Monday morning the show opened and everything went great. By the end of the week the cast will have performed 12 shows. Chris Simpson, Mary Kathryn Dorr, Maria Miller, and Jamie Hagood are all doing an outstanding job. Through a mix up by the summer festival organizers they omitted the Lunch box listing on their website and in their press releases to the Paducah Sun. Monday morning was spent tracking down the problem and getting everything corrected. Since our ticket income is split with the caterer we have very little money to advertise the show. We depend heavily on being listed in the Paducah Sun daily events guide and the Summer Festival Website. When it wasn't there, our box office for the show was really struggling. This run has sold out the last 4-5 years that we have run during the summer festival. Tickets are still available for this week at the present time.
Monday & Tuesday night I participated along with 4 other judges for the Paducah Poetry Jam judging. The poets stood before the judges in the Studio theatre and performed their poetry. Many were participating for their first time and were very nervous. You could see their hands shaking as they read their poetry. I think I can speak for all the judges when I say that we were all pulling for them to succeed! We heard several wonderful poets. It promises to be a great event Friday night in the main theatre. MHT is acting as a host for the event and the poetry jam group has worked hard to pull this off. Tickets for the jam are $5 at the door.
Yesterday the fundraising committee met and worked on the details for the August 23 murder mystery event at the Civic Center. It is the "Wedding of the Year" subtitled "the Wedding from hell". Not only does everything go wrong at the wedding but their is a murder too! The committee spent time thinking of all the "bad" wedding things that we could do in decorating, etc... Every cliche was thought of. It should be lots of fun as well. MHT board members will receive their tickets to sell tonight at the board meeting and tickets are on sale through the box office now. Teams for the mystery are tables of 8 and tickets are $25.
We are rushing to get out new brochure done. The artwork and copy are in the final stages before going to press. This is always a project that is behind schedule due to so many special events that we try to wait to add before it goes to press.
Jim Keeney has been working hard on the back restroom areas. He is renovating the actors restroom backstage and really giving it a clean up. Aaron Spoden has been coming in as well to add a fresh coat of paint to the dressing room and actor areas.
Next Monday Dave Keele a contractor will come in and start work on creating a door front he scene shop into the studio theatre close to the front of the studio theatre. This will help us cut down on the entrances and exits that actors have to make by running out through the lobby doors onto the sidewalk and in through the scene shop to enter on the opposite side of the studio stage. Although it is certainly interesting for pedestrians on the side walk to watch as the actor go in and out of the studio and shop for a performance it also lets in all the sound and causes traffic jams with audience members who need to use the restrooms at the same time as actors entering and exiting.
Monday morning the show opened and everything went great. By the end of the week the cast will have performed 12 shows. Chris Simpson, Mary Kathryn Dorr, Maria Miller, and Jamie Hagood are all doing an outstanding job. Through a mix up by the summer festival organizers they omitted the Lunch box listing on their website and in their press releases to the Paducah Sun. Monday morning was spent tracking down the problem and getting everything corrected. Since our ticket income is split with the caterer we have very little money to advertise the show. We depend heavily on being listed in the Paducah Sun daily events guide and the Summer Festival Website. When it wasn't there, our box office for the show was really struggling. This run has sold out the last 4-5 years that we have run during the summer festival. Tickets are still available for this week at the present time.
Monday & Tuesday night I participated along with 4 other judges for the Paducah Poetry Jam judging. The poets stood before the judges in the Studio theatre and performed their poetry. Many were participating for their first time and were very nervous. You could see their hands shaking as they read their poetry. I think I can speak for all the judges when I say that we were all pulling for them to succeed! We heard several wonderful poets. It promises to be a great event Friday night in the main theatre. MHT is acting as a host for the event and the poetry jam group has worked hard to pull this off. Tickets for the jam are $5 at the door.
Yesterday the fundraising committee met and worked on the details for the August 23 murder mystery event at the Civic Center. It is the "Wedding of the Year" subtitled "the Wedding from hell". Not only does everything go wrong at the wedding but their is a murder too! The committee spent time thinking of all the "bad" wedding things that we could do in decorating, etc... Every cliche was thought of. It should be lots of fun as well. MHT board members will receive their tickets to sell tonight at the board meeting and tickets are on sale through the box office now. Teams for the mystery are tables of 8 and tickets are $25.
We are rushing to get out new brochure done. The artwork and copy are in the final stages before going to press. This is always a project that is behind schedule due to so many special events that we try to wait to add before it goes to press.
Jim Keeney has been working hard on the back restroom areas. He is renovating the actors restroom backstage and really giving it a clean up. Aaron Spoden has been coming in as well to add a fresh coat of paint to the dressing room and actor areas.
Next Monday Dave Keele a contractor will come in and start work on creating a door front he scene shop into the studio theatre close to the front of the studio theatre. This will help us cut down on the entrances and exits that actors have to make by running out through the lobby doors onto the sidewalk and in through the scene shop to enter on the opposite side of the studio stage. Although it is certainly interesting for pedestrians on the side walk to watch as the actor go in and out of the studio and shop for a performance it also lets in all the sound and causes traffic jams with audience members who need to use the restrooms at the same time as actors entering and exiting.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday July 19
The Fund Run for Charities went off without a hitch this morning. The race started a few minutes after 8 pm due to a large number of registrants just before race time. The characters Grandpa Tortoise (Chris Simpson), Henrietta Hare (Mary Kathryn Dorr), The Fox Action News Reporter (Maria Miller), and Mayor Wolf (Jamie Hagood) all registered and ran with the pack in the 5K run to raise endowment money for local charities including Market House Theatre. The theatre raised over $4,500 in donations and received a match of almost $3,700 which went into our endowment account. MHT's current endowment stands at about $84,000 with the latest deposit.
This past week a committee of the board met to discuss donations to the theatre. We have been trying to work through how we currently record donations to the theatre. We have several different campaigns going on at the same time. Our membership campaign in the past has been a once a year drive in January for renewals and new members. Because people may give 2-3 times during the year in addition to their annual membership donation it is sometimes difficult to categorize what level membership a donor is. Over the course of the past couple of years more and more donors have asked not to be given any tangible personal benefits for membership so that they could receive the full tax deductibility for their donations. Because of this we have moved to trying to give donors information about benefits their donation accomplishes for the theatre. For example we spent over $4,000 for costumes for Anything Goes for 20 performers. That averages $200 per performer for costumes. So a $200-$250 donation will costume one actor for a musical. The committee has decided to have a new donor drive this fall and again next spring. Current donors will receive a renewal notice on the anniversary of their major contribution date. Hopefully this will allow us to increase the number of donors and to help current donors renew at a convenient time each year.
Sunday at 5:30 pm is the technical rehearsal/dress for The Tortoise and the Hare lunchbox theatre show. The first performance will be Monday morning at 11 am.
This week has lots going on at the theatre. Sunday mornings for the next couple of months MHT has rented our studio theatre to a new church which has been formed in Paducah. Monday -Saturday 11 am & 1 pm Lunchbox shows in the studio. Monday and Tuesday evening in the main stage rehearsals for MY Way. In the studio judging for the Paducah Poetry Jam. Monday evening in the classroom will be the improv class. Wednesday is a board meeting in the corner building. Thursday is dress rehearsal for the Poetry Jam in the main theatre. Friday evening is the Paducah Poetry. Saturday will be the Colgate Country Showdown in the Main Theatre.
I will post photos from the fundrun on Sunday.
This past week a committee of the board met to discuss donations to the theatre. We have been trying to work through how we currently record donations to the theatre. We have several different campaigns going on at the same time. Our membership campaign in the past has been a once a year drive in January for renewals and new members. Because people may give 2-3 times during the year in addition to their annual membership donation it is sometimes difficult to categorize what level membership a donor is. Over the course of the past couple of years more and more donors have asked not to be given any tangible personal benefits for membership so that they could receive the full tax deductibility for their donations. Because of this we have moved to trying to give donors information about benefits their donation accomplishes for the theatre. For example we spent over $4,000 for costumes for Anything Goes for 20 performers. That averages $200 per performer for costumes. So a $200-$250 donation will costume one actor for a musical. The committee has decided to have a new donor drive this fall and again next spring. Current donors will receive a renewal notice on the anniversary of their major contribution date. Hopefully this will allow us to increase the number of donors and to help current donors renew at a convenient time each year.
Sunday at 5:30 pm is the technical rehearsal/dress for The Tortoise and the Hare lunchbox theatre show. The first performance will be Monday morning at 11 am.
This week has lots going on at the theatre. Sunday mornings for the next couple of months MHT has rented our studio theatre to a new church which has been formed in Paducah. Monday -Saturday 11 am & 1 pm Lunchbox shows in the studio. Monday and Tuesday evening in the main stage rehearsals for MY Way. In the studio judging for the Paducah Poetry Jam. Monday evening in the classroom will be the improv class. Wednesday is a board meeting in the corner building. Thursday is dress rehearsal for the Poetry Jam in the main theatre. Friday evening is the Paducah Poetry. Saturday will be the Colgate Country Showdown in the Main Theatre.
I will post photos from the fundrun on Sunday.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday July 17
I've only been back in the office two days and already I'm covered over again. Saturday is the Fund Run for Charities at Noble Park, Sunday is the technical rehearsal for Lunch box theatre. The show opens Monday morning at 11 am. Yesterday I went to the rehearsal and took publicity photos and last night worked out one for the top of our website pages. The show is really cute and will be lots of fun. The murder mystery casting was worked out yesterday so rehearsals could begin for the fundraiser which performs August 23. The mystery will be called The Wedding of the Year. The subtitle is the Wedding from Hell where everything goes wrong and somebody ends up dead with the audience trying to solve the mystery. We are still working out the details of tickets in the box office and tickets will go on sale next Tuesday for the mystery. There is a mountain of press and publicity to get out for the murder mystery and other upcoming events.
My Way rehearsed Tuesday and Wednesday and we are working out the rehearsal schedule. David Jernigan, Cheri Paxton, Fowler Black, and Victoria Parrish are having a lots of fun with the Sinatra music. Some songs they know well and others they don't know at all. Cheri is a big Sinatra fan and wins the prize for knowing the most songs. She will sing it along with Pat Lynch on the piano so the other actors have some idea of what the song sounds like. Lots of laughs were had last night.
The membership development committee met Tuesday night and we set up some changes in the way we conduct our fund drives. Because of the many ways people donate to the market house theatre it is sometimes confusing as to what is membership donations and what is a non membership donation. We are changing to calling everyone donors which will help consolidate and simplify the process. We will do a new donor drive in fall and the spring each year.
The back restroom for the dressing rooms is going through a renovation. We have put in a new sink and new wall and paint treatments. We are trying to make the back restroom fresh and bright. In the past it has turned into a janitor closet as well as restroom. Aaron Spoden has been coming in to paint.
Jim is on vacation this week so today I will go to the warehouse to get more trees for the Lunch box show and paint the floor green. I also have to do lights and sound for the show. I'm still working on the photo discs for Cinderella which will be available next Tuesday.
My Way rehearsed Tuesday and Wednesday and we are working out the rehearsal schedule. David Jernigan, Cheri Paxton, Fowler Black, and Victoria Parrish are having a lots of fun with the Sinatra music. Some songs they know well and others they don't know at all. Cheri is a big Sinatra fan and wins the prize for knowing the most songs. She will sing it along with Pat Lynch on the piano so the other actors have some idea of what the song sounds like. Lots of laughs were had last night.
The membership development committee met Tuesday night and we set up some changes in the way we conduct our fund drives. Because of the many ways people donate to the market house theatre it is sometimes confusing as to what is membership donations and what is a non membership donation. We are changing to calling everyone donors which will help consolidate and simplify the process. We will do a new donor drive in fall and the spring each year.
The back restroom for the dressing rooms is going through a renovation. We have put in a new sink and new wall and paint treatments. We are trying to make the back restroom fresh and bright. In the past it has turned into a janitor closet as well as restroom. Aaron Spoden has been coming in to paint.
Jim is on vacation this week so today I will go to the warehouse to get more trees for the Lunch box show and paint the floor green. I also have to do lights and sound for the show. I'm still working on the photo discs for Cinderella which will be available next Tuesday.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Late Monday July 14
I did not have internet access the final two days in NY or Wisconsin so I'm posting this note that I wrote on the final night in NYC.
Saturday July 12, 2008
It is the final night in NYC and it has been a terrific 4 days. On Friday we went to a workshop at the Roundabout Theatre Company. We spent about 2 ½ hours at the theatre talking with staff about development issues, fundraising, marketing, and educational programming. We also were treated to a tour of the theatre. Roundabout is the largest non-profit theatre in the country with an annual budget of over $45 million. They have 5 separate theatres from a 50 seat black box to their 750 seat American Airlines Theatre. From the tour it was amazing to see a theatre that was so intimate that only had 14 rows of seats on the main floor and 7 rows of seats in the balcony. The back row is even closer than the back row of the Market House Theatre. They have a 40’ proscenium width and a 25’ tall proscenium opening. Their stage is 30’ deep. The theatre is truly intimate enough to a do a 2 person play or a big musical and the seating is so great that you feel like you are in a small theatre even when there is no one in it. They just closed the play Les Dangerous Liaison’s. Friday night we went to see the musical Spring Awakening at the Eugene O Neal Theatre. It also is a very small theatre. We had seats in the second row center of the balcony. The seats were so close between rows that I couldn’t fit my knees in the row unless I angled them slightly into the curves of the seats in front of me. April and I didn’t know if we were going to be able to make it through the show because our legs were so tight and cramped after walking all day. We made it through and the show was outstanding. The lighting, direction, choreography, and scenic design were wonderful. The actors did a wonderful performance and the music was sensational. Don’t look for it on the Market House Theatre stage anytime soon due to the brief nudity and language.
Saturday morning I went to the Show stopper dance workshop and had a wonderful experience. We were treated just like Broadway dancers who were there to learn a song and a routine. The two teachers were outstanding Broadway musical and dance veterans. The musical accompanist started out by giving some statistics. For 10 musical dance roles in a Broadway show they will see about 2,000 women and 1,000 men audition for the parts. You are expected to walk in and sight-sing a new piece of music. That means you have to know how to sing the song note for note just looking at the music without someone playing it for you. There is no learning process outside of the audition. They expect everyone to do everything at performance level from the very beginning. From learning the steps to singing the songs. We learned the song Me and My Baby from the Broadway show Chicago. The musical director played a phrase of the song and sang it to us and we sang it back immediately. Then we moved on to the next phrase. We learned two verses of the song that didn’t repeat in 30 minutes and learned to sing it with expression and dynamics. We were expected to remember everything we had just learned as we were turned over to the choreographer who taught us the dance number for the entire song in 1 hour. The song was probably 2 minutes long in total and every 8 beats of the song there was a new section of dance that was totally different from the other sections. Nothing repeated itself. I never worked so hard in my life. At the end of the workshop they expected us to sing and dance at performance level. It truly was a workshop I won’t soon forget. I was one of about 20 people who did the workshop. I was also one of the four oldest people who did it. My finished product was nothing that would have ever gotten me a callback for any show on Broadway. I learned some great things from both the musical director and the choreographer. His first rule was smile. No matter what is going on in your head smile. You may be working incredibly hard to sing the lyrics and remember what part of the dance routine you are doing but you must smile at all times. Many performers only remember to have energy when they are singing or dancing. Then their face goes totally blank. April and I ride performers about this constantly. In addition audiences want to see the character think. Acting is about discovering something as you do it. The joy of the audience is seeing that thought and discovery process take place. A great deal of discovery happens during what the musical director called “the silences” in the music. The parts that don’t have words written. He told a story of a young man who auditioned with a Sondheim piece that had 32 measures of music in between the lyrics. The man cut the musical section out of the piece and jumped to the next lyrics. In the play South Pacific at the Lincoln Center right now the end of one of the songs has a huge instrumental section after the singing. It is during this non singing non dialogue section that the characters fall in love.
The second rule he gave us was silence. No one talks while they are working. The choreographer would work with half of our group on one side of the stage to teach a dance step and then say “Okay now the other side of the stage do the same movement and reverse which foot you start with.” Then she would move on to the next section. If you were talking you would miss something.
The third rule was to be larger than life. People don’t pay money to see life size people. Actors have to become larger than life. Their emotions and their character need to be able to fill a stage and have the audience want to look at what they are doing.
Finally actors should never just mark something in rehearsal. That means to only put a small effort into the choreography or singing. The idea of waiting until an audience is there to “give it all you got” is totally wrong. You have to build on what happens each time you rehearse something so that it gets better and better. If you aren’t willing to put everything on the line in an audition or a rehearsal there are a couple of thousand other people who are willing. And the directors will weed you out very early in the process.
After the workshop I met back up with April whose knees couldn’t take the dancing after our 3 days of walking and we took the subway to Soho and spent a couple of hours- walking and looking at all of the artists who had their work out on the sidewalks. The artwork was terrific and really affordably priced! Soho was a wonderful place to look at architecture, artwork, and little restaurants and boutiques spilling out onto the sidewalks everywhere.
Saturday night April and I went to see The Little Mermaid. Former Market House Theatre actor Jason Snow was in the company of the show. Unfortunately we don’t think Jason was performing the night we saw the show. It has been over 12 years since I’ve seen Jason and he is a swing dancer which means he fills in for everyone when someone is understudying. He was the understudy for a couple of characters but we saw the leads the night of the show. It was a great spectacle show with lots of special effects. The performers did a great job. April and I both are proud for Jason and his hard work to get where he has. Jason always was a terrific talent!
Monday July 14
I left New York flying out of La Guardia airport at 11:30 am Sunday morning exhausted but with creative ideas and thoughts about many of the shows this season already “dancing” in my head.
I’m just putting the final touches on this post from home at 10:30 Monday night after driving back to Paducah from Wisconsin. Tomorrow is a committee meeting on membership at 5:30 and rehearsal at 7 pm for MY WAY. April has Tortoise and the Hare rehearsal in the afternoon.
Saturday July 12, 2008
It is the final night in NYC and it has been a terrific 4 days. On Friday we went to a workshop at the Roundabout Theatre Company. We spent about 2 ½ hours at the theatre talking with staff about development issues, fundraising, marketing, and educational programming. We also were treated to a tour of the theatre. Roundabout is the largest non-profit theatre in the country with an annual budget of over $45 million. They have 5 separate theatres from a 50 seat black box to their 750 seat American Airlines Theatre. From the tour it was amazing to see a theatre that was so intimate that only had 14 rows of seats on the main floor and 7 rows of seats in the balcony. The back row is even closer than the back row of the Market House Theatre. They have a 40’ proscenium width and a 25’ tall proscenium opening. Their stage is 30’ deep. The theatre is truly intimate enough to a do a 2 person play or a big musical and the seating is so great that you feel like you are in a small theatre even when there is no one in it. They just closed the play Les Dangerous Liaison’s. Friday night we went to see the musical Spring Awakening at the Eugene O Neal Theatre. It also is a very small theatre. We had seats in the second row center of the balcony. The seats were so close between rows that I couldn’t fit my knees in the row unless I angled them slightly into the curves of the seats in front of me. April and I didn’t know if we were going to be able to make it through the show because our legs were so tight and cramped after walking all day. We made it through and the show was outstanding. The lighting, direction, choreography, and scenic design were wonderful. The actors did a wonderful performance and the music was sensational. Don’t look for it on the Market House Theatre stage anytime soon due to the brief nudity and language.
Saturday morning I went to the Show stopper dance workshop and had a wonderful experience. We were treated just like Broadway dancers who were there to learn a song and a routine. The two teachers were outstanding Broadway musical and dance veterans. The musical accompanist started out by giving some statistics. For 10 musical dance roles in a Broadway show they will see about 2,000 women and 1,000 men audition for the parts. You are expected to walk in and sight-sing a new piece of music. That means you have to know how to sing the song note for note just looking at the music without someone playing it for you. There is no learning process outside of the audition. They expect everyone to do everything at performance level from the very beginning. From learning the steps to singing the songs. We learned the song Me and My Baby from the Broadway show Chicago. The musical director played a phrase of the song and sang it to us and we sang it back immediately. Then we moved on to the next phrase. We learned two verses of the song that didn’t repeat in 30 minutes and learned to sing it with expression and dynamics. We were expected to remember everything we had just learned as we were turned over to the choreographer who taught us the dance number for the entire song in 1 hour. The song was probably 2 minutes long in total and every 8 beats of the song there was a new section of dance that was totally different from the other sections. Nothing repeated itself. I never worked so hard in my life. At the end of the workshop they expected us to sing and dance at performance level. It truly was a workshop I won’t soon forget. I was one of about 20 people who did the workshop. I was also one of the four oldest people who did it. My finished product was nothing that would have ever gotten me a callback for any show on Broadway. I learned some great things from both the musical director and the choreographer. His first rule was smile. No matter what is going on in your head smile. You may be working incredibly hard to sing the lyrics and remember what part of the dance routine you are doing but you must smile at all times. Many performers only remember to have energy when they are singing or dancing. Then their face goes totally blank. April and I ride performers about this constantly. In addition audiences want to see the character think. Acting is about discovering something as you do it. The joy of the audience is seeing that thought and discovery process take place. A great deal of discovery happens during what the musical director called “the silences” in the music. The parts that don’t have words written. He told a story of a young man who auditioned with a Sondheim piece that had 32 measures of music in between the lyrics. The man cut the musical section out of the piece and jumped to the next lyrics. In the play South Pacific at the Lincoln Center right now the end of one of the songs has a huge instrumental section after the singing. It is during this non singing non dialogue section that the characters fall in love.
The second rule he gave us was silence. No one talks while they are working. The choreographer would work with half of our group on one side of the stage to teach a dance step and then say “Okay now the other side of the stage do the same movement and reverse which foot you start with.” Then she would move on to the next section. If you were talking you would miss something.
The third rule was to be larger than life. People don’t pay money to see life size people. Actors have to become larger than life. Their emotions and their character need to be able to fill a stage and have the audience want to look at what they are doing.
Finally actors should never just mark something in rehearsal. That means to only put a small effort into the choreography or singing. The idea of waiting until an audience is there to “give it all you got” is totally wrong. You have to build on what happens each time you rehearse something so that it gets better and better. If you aren’t willing to put everything on the line in an audition or a rehearsal there are a couple of thousand other people who are willing. And the directors will weed you out very early in the process.
After the workshop I met back up with April whose knees couldn’t take the dancing after our 3 days of walking and we took the subway to Soho and spent a couple of hours- walking and looking at all of the artists who had their work out on the sidewalks. The artwork was terrific and really affordably priced! Soho was a wonderful place to look at architecture, artwork, and little restaurants and boutiques spilling out onto the sidewalks everywhere.
Saturday night April and I went to see The Little Mermaid. Former Market House Theatre actor Jason Snow was in the company of the show. Unfortunately we don’t think Jason was performing the night we saw the show. It has been over 12 years since I’ve seen Jason and he is a swing dancer which means he fills in for everyone when someone is understudying. He was the understudy for a couple of characters but we saw the leads the night of the show. It was a great spectacle show with lots of special effects. The performers did a great job. April and I both are proud for Jason and his hard work to get where he has. Jason always was a terrific talent!
Monday July 14
I left New York flying out of La Guardia airport at 11:30 am Sunday morning exhausted but with creative ideas and thoughts about many of the shows this season already “dancing” in my head.
I’m just putting the final touches on this post from home at 10:30 Monday night after driving back to Paducah from Wisconsin. Tomorrow is a committee meeting on membership at 5:30 and rehearsal at 7 pm for MY WAY. April has Tortoise and the Hare rehearsal in the afternoon.
July 14, 2008
Marsha Cash writing for Michael
Well didn't get my usher video finished. It's not even started. Adam was here and helped me with set all the scenes. Now all we have to do is get a camera. The camera we had doesn't have a mic input so the sound wasn't going to work. Now he is trying to borrow a better camera. Boy I thought making movies was easy. It's just like putting on a show at the theatre a lot of WORK. Michael and April are still gone. They should be back soon. Well I guess I need to get back to work.
Well didn't get my usher video finished. It's not even started. Adam was here and helped me with set all the scenes. Now all we have to do is get a camera. The camera we had doesn't have a mic input so the sound wasn't going to work. Now he is trying to borrow a better camera. Boy I thought making movies was easy. It's just like putting on a show at the theatre a lot of WORK. Michael and April are still gone. They should be back soon. Well I guess I need to get back to work.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thur sday July 10
Wow lots has happened today. April and I took a subway 101 tour from John Viars of Des Moines Civic Theatre. John leads anywhere from 4-12 NYC Broadway tours per year with people from Des Moines. He acts as their tour guide. We learned how to navigate the different lines and headed uptown to Central Park. We left the group at Columbus Circle and walked through a large part of Central park and took lots of photos. We came across baseball games of the Broadway show league with Several of the big shows competing against each other. Then we walked from 72nd Street to 50 Street along 5th Avenue. We learned the difference between short blocks and long blocks. Long blocks go from East to West. Short blocks are North to South. We walked past all the signature stores like Tiffany's. Past St. Patrick's Cathedral and then over to Rockefeller Center. Stood outside the Today show studios and then headed back to the convention site. We then made it back to the vendor booths set up by AACT. We talked with people from Dramatists, Samuel French, Music Theatre International, Dramatic Publishing, Choice Ticketing, and several others. We purchased scripts and signed up for emails about new shows available. Then we headed back to the hotel to flop for about an hour before we went to the reception honoring Steven Schwartz. I thought it was yesterday but it was today. He talked for about an hour and was honored with the first AACT for his achievements. We heard him talk about Godspell, Pippin, and several other shows he has written. His most recent success is the show Wicked. He had several great stories about how shows were written and how he started out. He is a very funny person and tells great stories. Some of his more interesting talks were about writing shows. He spoke about the fact that sometimes songs are written for actors for the show that is being created. It took 5 years to get Wicked created and opened. During that time he wrote and re-wrote some of the songs over 5 times. A classic story he told about creating Pippin and didn't have anyone character named The Leading Player until this guy auditioned that had been in Bob Fosse's show in the chorus. His name was Ben Vereen. The part of the leading player was created for Ben Vereen and his abilities. Just as in wicked some of the songs for Christian Chenworth were created for her because of her vocal skills.
Once again it shows that even truly gifted talents don't start out with something fully formed. Things are written and re-written and reworked and it is a long process that doesn't come easy for anyone.
April and I then went to see Young Frankenstein tonight at the Hilton Theatre. The show is a funny musical comedy with lots of great special effects and the actress Megan Mullally plays Frankenstein's fiancee with great comedic talent.
After the show there was a talk back with the actors and stage manager. There are over 500 lighting cues in the show and it takes over 90 people to make the performance happen each time. The cast had some great acting tips and comments. One of the tips by the actor who played both the Inspector Kemp and the hermit was by a director who once told him not to concentrate so much on stage but to pay attention. Good acting is paying attention to what is happening in the scene and what the other actors are doing. Megan Mulllally who has no formal theatre training but has always done theatre talked about the best training is to just do as much acting, singing and dancing as you can. No matter if it is high school, community, college, or professional theatre. There is no substitute for doing it.
The stage manager who has been working for over 20 years gave the advice that if you decide you want to be a Broadway musical stage manager or a Broadway actor you will probably fail. But if you decide that you will be an actor or stage manager who will go anywhere and work on whatever job is offered that you will probably be able to make a living at it if you are willing to sacrifice to follow those jobs.
Oh by the way- Young Frankenstein cost $15 million dollars to open on Broadway and took over a year of rehearsals and pre Broadway shows to become what it is today. The cast talked about learning so many different lyrics and choreography for the opening number that it became mind numbing. They would rehearse during the day, do a preview performance in the evening and then rehearse with changes again the next day. Sometimes new lyrics or dancesteps for both.
It's after midnight and time to call it a day.
Once again it shows that even truly gifted talents don't start out with something fully formed. Things are written and re-written and reworked and it is a long process that doesn't come easy for anyone.
April and I then went to see Young Frankenstein tonight at the Hilton Theatre. The show is a funny musical comedy with lots of great special effects and the actress Megan Mullally plays Frankenstein's fiancee with great comedic talent.
After the show there was a talk back with the actors and stage manager. There are over 500 lighting cues in the show and it takes over 90 people to make the performance happen each time. The cast had some great acting tips and comments. One of the tips by the actor who played both the Inspector Kemp and the hermit was by a director who once told him not to concentrate so much on stage but to pay attention. Good acting is paying attention to what is happening in the scene and what the other actors are doing. Megan Mulllally who has no formal theatre training but has always done theatre talked about the best training is to just do as much acting, singing and dancing as you can. No matter if it is high school, community, college, or professional theatre. There is no substitute for doing it.
The stage manager who has been working for over 20 years gave the advice that if you decide you want to be a Broadway musical stage manager or a Broadway actor you will probably fail. But if you decide that you will be an actor or stage manager who will go anywhere and work on whatever job is offered that you will probably be able to make a living at it if you are willing to sacrifice to follow those jobs.
Oh by the way- Young Frankenstein cost $15 million dollars to open on Broadway and took over a year of rehearsals and pre Broadway shows to become what it is today. The cast talked about learning so many different lyrics and choreography for the opening number that it became mind numbing. They would rehearse during the day, do a preview performance in the evening and then rehearse with changes again the next day. Sometimes new lyrics or dancesteps for both.
It's after midnight and time to call it a day.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Wednesday July 9
Marsha is still blogging as a guest blogger at the theatre this week but I thought I would add my observations from Broadway. This is my first trip ever to NYC and Broadway. The thing I found amazing as we walked around this afternoon was the number of people walking in Times Square. We went into the Toys R Us shop with the 3 story Ferris wheel inside the store and the 4 story M&M store. As we walked the 4-5 blocks from our hotel we saw at least a dozen different theatres in that 4-5 blocks. Mamma Mia is 1/2 a block from our hotel and one of the cast members was out front signing autographs and having his photo taken. We walked past the Legally Blonde theatre in our hunt for food. We found the theatre where we will see Young Frankenstein tomorrow night, saw the Spring Awakening Theatre and the Little Mermaid Theatre all within 2 blocks. This afternoon there was a reception for Steven Schwartz and the AACT conference which we just missed. As I checked in I heard a familiar voice and it was Carol Ries from Topeka Civic Theatre and as we walked to the elevator say John Viars of Des Moines Civic Theatre come in the lobby. We will go back to pick up our conference registration tonight and meet at 10:30 tonight for hospitality get together for AACT.
I've enjoyed reading Marsha's blogs and look forward to reading more of them before I get back.
I've enjoyed reading Marsha's blogs and look forward to reading more of them before I get back.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
July 8, 2008 2nd entry
Guess what? I just found out one of our remarkable volunteers at the Market House Theatre is on Paducah iList. Pam is this weeks "date of the week" . Pam talks about how much fun she had being in the show "Anything Goes". We love sharing her talent with Paducah. Pam has so many talents. She helped with Lower Town in the Buzzard Brothers booth and she ushers for many of the shows. She is so giving of her time.
July 8, 2008
Well I am still here. Marsha Cash writing another blog. I am happy to report Alexis is back and doing well. She had a great trip and visited her family and friends. I am just thankful there is noise coming from the box office. I was getting lonely. The box office will be open for business today at 12:00 p.m. I am sure there are lots of patrons wanting to buy tickets to lunch box theatre. The kids will love it! It's "The True Story of the Tortoise and the Hare". The show runs through Summer Festival. Well I finally got my office clean and now I am ready to do some work. It's amazing how your outlook on live changes with a clean surrounding. I hope to get started on some projects I have put off for awhile. Jim is still cleaning the shop area. Luckly he has Aaron Spoden still helping him with some of the lifting and toting. Aaron is a great help. I can't wait to see what the day brings.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
July 3, 2008
Marsha Cash again. Yesterday was a very productive day. I caught up on some paper work, Jim did some clearing of the shop, and Janice could almost see her sewing table. Today is going to be quiet. Jim, Janice and I are all getting ready for the nice long weekend. I hope to clear my dest completely by the end of the day and Jim has some good help (Aaron Spoden) to finish his projects in the shop. I hope Michael, April and Jade are having fun at Grandma's house. Alexis should be back in the box office Tuesday. She is visiting her mother this week in Ohio. She has been looking forward to this trip for quite awhile. I hope she and her family are doing well and enjoying each other. Well back to the grind. I will be back July 8. Happy Holiday!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Alone in the office - Marsha Cash
Hello everyone! I am the guest blogger for the next couple days or weeks I am not sure. Michael was brave enough to give me access to the blog. Anyway here goes. Nothing is happening in the office. The staff (Michael, April and Alexis) are out of the offices this week.
I am all alone and doing fine. The down time for the offices leaves me time for some spring cleaning. My office needs it badly. I hope to get it done by today. I think the dust in my office is beginning to form itself into a dust bunny. Make note to myself get carrots. I can't believe how quite it is in the offices. I can actually hear myself breath. I guess that proves I am still alive.
I am also working on some projects I hope to accomplish soon. One project is an usher video. The video will have several points and tips on ushering. I am also working on a volunteer handbook. The handbook should give out helpful information for all the volunteers. These small projects have been an on going process for over a year. I hope to finish both projects soon.
Jim is doing some yearly maintenance around all the building that he has had to put off for awhile. Janice is digging out from the summer workshop Cinderella.
I am all alone and doing fine. The down time for the offices leaves me time for some spring cleaning. My office needs it badly. I hope to get it done by today. I think the dust in my office is beginning to form itself into a dust bunny. Make note to myself get carrots. I can't believe how quite it is in the offices. I can actually hear myself breath. I guess that proves I am still alive.
I am also working on some projects I hope to accomplish soon. One project is an usher video. The video will have several points and tips on ushering. I am also working on a volunteer handbook. The handbook should give out helpful information for all the volunteers. These small projects have been an on going process for over a year. I hope to finish both projects soon.
Jim is doing some yearly maintenance around all the building that he has had to put off for awhile. Janice is digging out from the summer workshop Cinderella.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Tuesday July 1
I just finished uploading a video look back at last season which can be viewed on the home page. Also an encore look at Anything Goes including photos from the set strike and the cast party on the bulletin board page. The box office will be closed Tuesday July 1-4 and reopen Tuesday July 8. Alexis Davis is on vacation this week visiting her family in Ohio. April and I will heading off to see our families in Wisconsin and then attending the National Community Theatre Conference in NYC for 4 days. We will see Young Frankenstein, Spring Awakening, and the Little Mermaid as well as attending workshops. One workshop has 20 of us working with Broadway choreographer to create a musical number that each participant must sing and dance in. (I'll bet some of you would love to watch the roles reversed on April and I as we have to go onstage and sing and dance!) This will be my first trip to NYC and Broadway. To say we are excited would be an understatement!
The set was struck and the cast partied on Sunday to celebrate the completion of Anything Goes. The board met Saturday morning and did preliminary planning on several exciting events for the upcoming season.
Watch this space for a guest blogger while we kick up our heels in NYC.
The set was struck and the cast partied on Sunday to celebrate the completion of Anything Goes. The board met Saturday morning and did preliminary planning on several exciting events for the upcoming season.
Watch this space for a guest blogger while we kick up our heels in NYC.
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