48 hours

The gold rain curtain came in Tuesday. I took a risk that this curtain would make a bold visual statement. I did a lot of second guessing myself in ordering this curtain. Would it be too reflective, not reflective enough, should I have gone with a darker color as a compliment or go with a contrasting color to the dark drapes. Last night at rehearsal I looked at the drape under lights and it worked beautifully.

Adam Shull from the Paducah Sun interviewed me by phone Thursday about the article coming out Thursday. The article will feature the area arts groups and their upcoming seasons. The focus of his questions were about how celebrating our 45th season this year has impacted our planning. At first I had to think hard to think of an answer. As I reflected on this years shows a theme started to emerge that I hadn't really thought much about.

This season we have two of the most challenging shows we have ever produced. High School Musical and The Wizard of Oz. Beauty and the Beast had been the most expensive show MHT had ever produced before. This year we have two shows that are incredibly challenging for the theatre and yet are very familiar to most audiences. April and I constantly look at the shows we have selected and ask ourselves "how did we ever agree to do this on this tiny stage!" For dramas and comedies the theatre space can be ideal. For musicals it is always a nightmare for a director to stage large dance numbers and have everyone visible. April has cast 33 people for high school musical. Our stage is so deep and narrow and the audience sits below the stage. Which means that the further back you place actors on the stage the more blocked they are by actors at the front of the stage unless you raise them by using platforms. Our proscenium opening at the front of the stage is only 9' 6" tall. That means that any platform above 3 feet tall unless it is further towards the back of the stage starts to cut off the actors heads from the back row. It requires a great deal of creativity to stage large shows.

The other mainstage shows we selected are all new plays which have never been produced at the theatre. But the themes of the shows are familiar. Frank Sinatra music in My Way, A family setting for Christmas with Greetings, a romantic comedy for seniors with Southern Comforts, and a story about sisters with The Sugar Bean Sisters.

In the studio shows we are challenging our audiences to think about tough issues. With Doubt we challenge audiences to look at what is the truth and how a person's life can be destroyed by gossip. Having Our Say challenges audiences to look at American history from a different perspective- the eyes of two African American women over 100 years old. The Secret Life of Girls challenges us all as parents to see how young girls lives are destroyed by social bullying.

So what is the theme for our 45th anniversary? Challenging ourselves. Challenge as a theatre to produce works that will stretch our creativity to the max to present on a tiny stage. Challenge to our audiences to take a chance on new plays they have never seen before in the mainstage and in our studio to challenge our audiences to a community conversation about difficult subjects in our lives. Challenge to our performers to stretch themselves and grow their abilities to step up to some of the roles this season.

Tomorrow we officially open our 45th Mainstage season. Next week we audition the next three plays and start play selection for our 46th season. We never seem to get a chance to enjoy the accomplishments before rushing off towards the next challenges. Hopefully we as a theatre can take a moment as we approach Oct. 13, 2008 and remember a group of local residents who challenged themselves 45 years ago on that day, to create a theatre performed by local people for the benefit of others in our community. Some 45 years later we are the largest community theatre in Kentucky, nationally recognized, award winning, and have produced hundreds of plays with thousands of performers. During the performance of My Way the actors raise their glasses in a toast to Frank Sinatra and all he accomplished. As we open our 45th season tomorrow night raise a glass with me and toast MHT and its rich legacy in the lives of the people who have graced the stage and watched their friends, family and neighbors from the seats. We've matured quite a bit in 45 years and I believe that, to borrow a song from My Way, "The Best is Yet to Come".