500th show

We are currently preparing for Ramona Quimby. With the fundraiser that had been scheduled for last Friday moved to March 20th we began the week finishing clearing Southern Comforts and getting ready for Ramona. Tuesday and Wednesday of last week Jim and I spent a couple of days hauling scenery back to the warehouse and picking up other scenery to use for Ramona. We have the back projection wall up and the two side walls that form the basis for the set. Friday was spent transferring spike marks from the rehearsal space in the classroom to the stage. It is a multi-colored stage floor with at least 6 different colors of tape on the floor in exact positions that mark where furniture and set pieces will go for the different scenes.

In addition during last week we re worked the break room in the offices. It had become so cluttered with different materials that it became a dumping ground for things we didn't know what to do with. We had emptied the shelves of two tall bookcases to use on stage for Southern Comforts. We had 4 bookcases that originally housed our script library. Those book cases are now in the lobby of the box office in the corner building. That freed up space to move our extra computer which volunteers and staff use for archiving and newsletters to the break room. (The break room is the former women's restroom which a couple of years ago we removed all the fixtures and stall dividers because we realized that two restrooms were more than was needed. We turned the men's room into a men's/women's restroom and created more space.) It is something that never ceases to amaze me. We have so much stuff that collects.

Alexis used the opportunity to clear out box office records that we keep for a certain number of years after the audit in case we need to go back to find something. All of the ticket stubs, reservation envelopes, and forms from the past 3 years tend to collect in spaces all around the office. Every so often we confirm that they are no longer needed and eliminate them by shredding them. Most of the forms only contain names and dates of tickets. With the rules for credit card security we never keep credit card numbers in any files. They are always destroyed immediately after processing.

Marsha has been working on processing the donations from our annual fund drive that keep coming in. We had just completed our big mail campaign before the storm hit and now are working to follow up with all those who put our appeals aside to deal with power issues. We are hoping that many will contribute after they "dig out" from the storm damage.

The insurance adjuster came and looked at our roof in the corner building where a tree punctured it. We will receive funds to repair the roof, and exhaust vent that was damaged and the ceiling walls of the apartment where water leaked in from the storm.

At the beginning of this season I totaled up the number of shows the theatre has produced and discovered that Ramona Quimby will be number 500. I'm working to get that information out in press releases associated with the show. I forgot to tell Cindy Miller that when she was working on the newsletter so we will insert some information about that in the upcoming newsletter.

Our deepest condolences go out to board member Sarah Bynum and Ilistpaducah's Mary Thorsby on the death of Mary's father and Sarah's grandfather. They have been out of town this past week to attend the funeral.

The rights for the plays for next season have been secured and we will be making an announcement soon about our exciting 46th season. Some are familiar and a couple are brand new by playwrights that audiences have liked in the past. I can tell you there will be two musicals, a farce comedy, a women's comedy and a classic comedy in the mainstage season. The youth productions have an old favorite and a brand new show with a very funny name. I'm working on the pricing details for next season at the moment before we announce the shows. We always want to be ready to sell tickets to a show when we announce something.

This week I'll spend Tuesday and Wednesday with Randy Cohen VP of Americans for the Arts announcing the results of the Paducah Economic impact of the arts survey. The numbers are exciting.