Tomorrow I will order new seats. The theatre will spend over $54,000 on the project but will fall just shy of our goal of $63,000 to complete replace all the old seats. We will still have 3 rows at the back of the theatre that will be left with the old seats. I'm hoping that those who have said they wanted to contribute for new seats will do so within the next few weeks. We are about $9,000 short of finishing our goal. If we can receive enough donations in the next couple of weeks we can finish up this campaign in this year! Chair prices go up this October.
Today was the technical rehearsal for Secret Life of Girls. The cast and crew was treated to a Taco Dinner after the rehearsal courtesy of board members Sid Hancock, Heather Dorr, and Jennifer Hughes. Tomorrow evening is the first play selection meeting at 5:30 pm in the corner building. Chair Denise Bristol will run the meeting and talk about the guidelines for the selection process. If you are interested just show up at 5:30 at the box office building.
The Murder for Hire troupe will rehearse tomorrow for the show Reunion at Hippie High. We have only had a read through two weeks ago and tomorrow we start staging the show. Because of this rehearsal the cast for both Secret Life of Girls and Tom Dick and Harry have the night off. At some point this week we will do a dry run through of our trolley ghost tour which starts with the big party kickoff next Saturday. If you see me driving a van with Jody Smith and Phil Counts inside you will know what we are up to. Some people have seen me standing on street corners downtown talking to with Marsha Cash or Kim Yocum and I'm waving my arms and looking very strange. I haven't lost my mind. We are doing dry runs of the ghost walking tours this week as well.
Make plans to come see the Secret Life of Girls and the Ghost Tours. I think audiences will enjoy them both a great deal.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Post Smoke
Congratulations to Sarah Bynum and Alex Roman on their wedding last Saturday evening at Grace Episcopal Church. Everyone at MHT wishes you many years of happiness!
Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming ended its run last Sunday with a weekend of sold out performances and a run of standing ovations. The cast received a standing ovation every performance. Most of the performers know that I'm a firm believer in short curtain calls. Just about any show can get a standing ovation if the curtain call lasts long enough. A true measure is when the audience is standing before the last person walks onstage for a curtain call. For many of the performances of Smoke the audience started standing when the first performers walked on stage to take a bow and in some cases even before the lights came up for the curtain call. Congratulations to the cast on an outstanding performance. Cindy Miller did an outstanding job with the music for the production.
It was nice to have Emily Yocum and Maria Miller fill in as Weldon and Eldon. For the final performance I had them come out at intermission and draw the winning raffle number. Emily was 4 years old when she first appeared on the MHT stage in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Maria was 9 years old when she first stepped on the MHT stage in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Both of them have grown up doing plays and are now High School students and extremely talented performers. It was also nice to have Lisa Humphrey Wynn and Debbie Burnett back with us for the final two weeks of performances after a multi-year hiatus.
We are still totaling up the numbers but preliminary estimates show that Smoke did significantly better than projected single ticket sales. This is a great way to kick off the season. We had such high demand that Business Manager, Marsha Cash, who was working the box office by herself during the day sometimes had 3 callers on hold and people lined up a the ticket window. We have decided to bring Box Office Assistant, Rhiannon Dodds, in for more hours to help cover the box office during peak times. We really missed having one more full time person in the box office that we had last year with Alexis Davis. Alexis has kept in touch and tells us things are going well for her in her new job at SIU. We are trying to streamline our online ticketing so that audiences can more easily purchase tickets through the website instead of having to call the box office during peak box office times.
Business Manager, Marsha Cash, and I are working on ways to get class registrations and other events also on the website for easier access. You can buy tickets for the Secret Life of Girls and the River City Ghost Walking Tours online right now and have the tickets waiting for you when you arrive for the event. Someday (not yet!) we may even be able to do exchanges online for our season ticket holders, but that is a much more difficult process.
Wednesday we get the official word on our grant from the Kentucky Colonels about our seating campaign. We have a board meeting Wednesday evening to make plans for the purchase. The board is getting ready for the big party on Sat. October 3 for Gala Trolley Ghost Tour kickoff. The second draft of the tour script has been sent to the guides and we are in the process of walking, riding, and working through the final details. Our guides our Jody Smith, Marsha Cash, Kim Yocum, Phil Counts, Chris Black, and myself. We've had some school groups also book daytime ghost tours.
Our annual fund drive will kick off the week after fall break. Cindy Miller has been in several days now working with the database so we can contact past and present members to tell them about all the great things going on at the theatre.
Although we just closed a show Sunday, 24 hours after we finished striking the set we met onstage for the first rehearsal for Tom Dick and Harry. Last night was the first read through of the script. There were times the cast was laughing so hard that they couldn't speak. The show is a farce comedy with lots of mistaken identity and fast moving physical comedy. We start staging the first scene tonight. The cast for Tom Dick and Harry is Al Knudsen, Chuck Wilkins, Landon Baker, Sabrina Beck, Victoria Demarco, Diane Byrd, Jim Roush, Phil Counts, and Shawn James with Denise Bristol as the Assistant Director.
Next Sunday is the technical rehearsal for Secret Life of Girls. Although we produced the show last May it is still just as much work to get the technical elements ready as doing it for the first time. Lights have to be hung and focused and projectors re-hung and programmed. In addition we are doing several school matinees for the show so the cast and crew will have over 10 performances into 5 days.
We are in rehearsal for Reunion at Hippie High to be presented by the Murder for Hire troupe as a fundraiser for the Caldwell County High School Junior Class. Valerie Pollard, Renie Barger, Audra Hall, April Cochran, Marsha Cash, Fowler Black, Steve Schwetman, Chip Bohle are in the cast for that show.
Story Theatre will begin rehearsals within the next few weeks to prepare for its fall tour! That's four cast members out touring for a month. That is 5 productions along with Footlights classes and our new classes of Theatre Games for Adults offered by Joey Judd and workshops on auditioning, script analysis, and technical theatre, that I'm offering all in October. I'm tired just writing this! But the exciting thing is that we have so many people who want to participate! The energy and enthusiasm about the theatre is very high.
Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming ended its run last Sunday with a weekend of sold out performances and a run of standing ovations. The cast received a standing ovation every performance. Most of the performers know that I'm a firm believer in short curtain calls. Just about any show can get a standing ovation if the curtain call lasts long enough. A true measure is when the audience is standing before the last person walks onstage for a curtain call. For many of the performances of Smoke the audience started standing when the first performers walked on stage to take a bow and in some cases even before the lights came up for the curtain call. Congratulations to the cast on an outstanding performance. Cindy Miller did an outstanding job with the music for the production.
It was nice to have Emily Yocum and Maria Miller fill in as Weldon and Eldon. For the final performance I had them come out at intermission and draw the winning raffle number. Emily was 4 years old when she first appeared on the MHT stage in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Maria was 9 years old when she first stepped on the MHT stage in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Both of them have grown up doing plays and are now High School students and extremely talented performers. It was also nice to have Lisa Humphrey Wynn and Debbie Burnett back with us for the final two weeks of performances after a multi-year hiatus.
We are still totaling up the numbers but preliminary estimates show that Smoke did significantly better than projected single ticket sales. This is a great way to kick off the season. We had such high demand that Business Manager, Marsha Cash, who was working the box office by herself during the day sometimes had 3 callers on hold and people lined up a the ticket window. We have decided to bring Box Office Assistant, Rhiannon Dodds, in for more hours to help cover the box office during peak times. We really missed having one more full time person in the box office that we had last year with Alexis Davis. Alexis has kept in touch and tells us things are going well for her in her new job at SIU. We are trying to streamline our online ticketing so that audiences can more easily purchase tickets through the website instead of having to call the box office during peak box office times.
Business Manager, Marsha Cash, and I are working on ways to get class registrations and other events also on the website for easier access. You can buy tickets for the Secret Life of Girls and the River City Ghost Walking Tours online right now and have the tickets waiting for you when you arrive for the event. Someday (not yet!) we may even be able to do exchanges online for our season ticket holders, but that is a much more difficult process.
Wednesday we get the official word on our grant from the Kentucky Colonels about our seating campaign. We have a board meeting Wednesday evening to make plans for the purchase. The board is getting ready for the big party on Sat. October 3 for Gala Trolley Ghost Tour kickoff. The second draft of the tour script has been sent to the guides and we are in the process of walking, riding, and working through the final details. Our guides our Jody Smith, Marsha Cash, Kim Yocum, Phil Counts, Chris Black, and myself. We've had some school groups also book daytime ghost tours.
Our annual fund drive will kick off the week after fall break. Cindy Miller has been in several days now working with the database so we can contact past and present members to tell them about all the great things going on at the theatre.
Although we just closed a show Sunday, 24 hours after we finished striking the set we met onstage for the first rehearsal for Tom Dick and Harry. Last night was the first read through of the script. There were times the cast was laughing so hard that they couldn't speak. The show is a farce comedy with lots of mistaken identity and fast moving physical comedy. We start staging the first scene tonight. The cast for Tom Dick and Harry is Al Knudsen, Chuck Wilkins, Landon Baker, Sabrina Beck, Victoria Demarco, Diane Byrd, Jim Roush, Phil Counts, and Shawn James with Denise Bristol as the Assistant Director.
Next Sunday is the technical rehearsal for Secret Life of Girls. Although we produced the show last May it is still just as much work to get the technical elements ready as doing it for the first time. Lights have to be hung and focused and projectors re-hung and programmed. In addition we are doing several school matinees for the show so the cast and crew will have over 10 performances into 5 days.
We are in rehearsal for Reunion at Hippie High to be presented by the Murder for Hire troupe as a fundraiser for the Caldwell County High School Junior Class. Valerie Pollard, Renie Barger, Audra Hall, April Cochran, Marsha Cash, Fowler Black, Steve Schwetman, Chip Bohle are in the cast for that show.
Story Theatre will begin rehearsals within the next few weeks to prepare for its fall tour! That's four cast members out touring for a month. That is 5 productions along with Footlights classes and our new classes of Theatre Games for Adults offered by Joey Judd and workshops on auditioning, script analysis, and technical theatre, that I'm offering all in October. I'm tired just writing this! But the exciting thing is that we have so many people who want to participate! The energy and enthusiasm about the theatre is very high.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Casting
The cast list for Tom Dick and Harry was posted this morning. We have several veteran actors in the production along with a couple of newcomers to MHT. Monday's auditions had the majority of auditionees. Tuesday added the final person to the cast. Instead of call backs I felt fairly confident that I could cast the show this morning. We start rehearsals on Monday Sept. 21 the day after we close the final weekend of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming. With today's sales we have exceeded our budgeted single ticket sales goal for the show. It feels good to start the season off with a big success.
I got a call from a friend to tell me that Mayfield singer Kevin Skinner had just won America's Got Talent. I remember back this last spring when Cathy Creceilus from the WPSDLocal 6 called me and asked me to be one of the judges for the local competition. Kevin was one of over 20 performers who showed up for the competition. I remember watching him perform and being moved by this simple man who sang and played music that he wrote. I used the phrase the "real deal" when it was my turn to critique his performance. I'm happy that Kevin was able to take the opportunity that was given to him and to go all the way and win the competition. WPSDLocal 6 and Cathy Crecelius deserve a pat on the back for helping make Kevin's dream a reality.
It is somehow appropriate for me that Kevin won as I announced the cast list for the show today. I can't help but think about the many people who I have watched audition for shows over the many years. Some of them like Kevin have a natural talent that comes from the heart. You know it when you see them. Many of them have graced the MHT stage. Some of them have gone on to careers in New York or Los Angeles or other major cities. Some of them who were just as talented as Kevin went into careers in medicine or teaching or a variety of other occupations. It is the combination of talent, luck, hard work, and being the "real deal" that makes someone a success. The real deal part is probably the hardest and is often the thing that people lose, the more successful they become.
So to Kevin I say congratulations. You've done an amazing thing that many people dream about doing. To those who feel that desire to stand up in front of a crowd of people and know what it is like to perform, to make an audience laugh or cry or to be onstage at the end of a show and receive a standing ovation for a job well done - come on down. That's what Market House Theatre is all about. Giving you the opportunity to experience a little of your dreams. Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming cast has one of the other finalists from WPSDLocal 6's America's got Talent competition. Miki Abraham also went to Chicago for callbacks with Kevin. She and 7 other very talented people from Mayfield, Paducah and Metropolis will sing and make you laugh and cry this very weekend on the MHT stage. Come celebrate the local talent that is present in our community as we celebrate Kevin's national success.
I got a call from a friend to tell me that Mayfield singer Kevin Skinner had just won America's Got Talent. I remember back this last spring when Cathy Creceilus from the WPSDLocal 6 called me and asked me to be one of the judges for the local competition. Kevin was one of over 20 performers who showed up for the competition. I remember watching him perform and being moved by this simple man who sang and played music that he wrote. I used the phrase the "real deal" when it was my turn to critique his performance. I'm happy that Kevin was able to take the opportunity that was given to him and to go all the way and win the competition. WPSDLocal 6 and Cathy Crecelius deserve a pat on the back for helping make Kevin's dream a reality.
It is somehow appropriate for me that Kevin won as I announced the cast list for the show today. I can't help but think about the many people who I have watched audition for shows over the many years. Some of them like Kevin have a natural talent that comes from the heart. You know it when you see them. Many of them have graced the MHT stage. Some of them have gone on to careers in New York or Los Angeles or other major cities. Some of them who were just as talented as Kevin went into careers in medicine or teaching or a variety of other occupations. It is the combination of talent, luck, hard work, and being the "real deal" that makes someone a success. The real deal part is probably the hardest and is often the thing that people lose, the more successful they become.
So to Kevin I say congratulations. You've done an amazing thing that many people dream about doing. To those who feel that desire to stand up in front of a crowd of people and know what it is like to perform, to make an audience laugh or cry or to be onstage at the end of a show and receive a standing ovation for a job well done - come on down. That's what Market House Theatre is all about. Giving you the opportunity to experience a little of your dreams. Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming cast has one of the other finalists from WPSDLocal 6's America's got Talent competition. Miki Abraham also went to Chicago for callbacks with Kevin. She and 7 other very talented people from Mayfield, Paducah and Metropolis will sing and make you laugh and cry this very weekend on the MHT stage. Come celebrate the local talent that is present in our community as we celebrate Kevin's national success.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Getting the word out
We just completed the second weekend of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming. I've talked with several people who all heard how great the show is and told me they heard we were sold out. We are not sold out. We still have tickets left for all of the remaining shows next weekend. Last night I finished up the first draft of the walking ghost tour script and sent it off to the guides. I'm still working on the trolley script which visits several places not on the walking tour of downtown Paducah.
Tonight and tomorrow will be spent preparing for the auditions at 7 pm on Monday and Tuesday Sept. 13 & 14 in the main theatre for Tom Dick & Harry. I'll spend tomorrow selecting audition scenes for the play and contacting people to remind them about auditions. I hope to have the show cast by next Friday and start rehearsal the Monday following the close of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming.
The auditors from Williams Williams and Lentz will be arriving at the theatre bright and early tomorrow for their annual audit. They go through all of our financial records and produce and audit that we use for applying for grants and several other projects.
We heard from the Kentucky Colonels this past week that they will be presenting grant awards at the end of the month. Two years ago they used the MHT studio theatre for the community awards ceremony and will do so again this year. We are all eagerly awaiting the grant award amount so we can order our new theatre seats.
The theatre will be moving our annual fund drive from January to October so we are busy trying to prepare for that to kick off the week following Fall Break.
MHT will offer adult classes and workshops this fall. Instructor, Joey Judd, will offer a theatre games class starting October 15 and running through November 19 on Thursday evenings from 5:30-7:00 pm. Class fees are $35.
Michael Cochran will offer a series of free one hour workshops for adults on Saturday mornings at 9 am. The first workshop, on Sat. Oct 10, will be how to audition and common mistakes actors make. The second workshop on Sat. Oct. 17 will be script analysis for the actor. The third workshop on Sat. Oct. 31 will be on set and lighting design. These workshops are meant as an introduction to the subject matter. Beginning students ages 16 and up are welcomed to register for the free workshops. Students should register in advance for Improv classes and the free workshops.
Tonight and tomorrow will be spent preparing for the auditions at 7 pm on Monday and Tuesday Sept. 13 & 14 in the main theatre for Tom Dick & Harry. I'll spend tomorrow selecting audition scenes for the play and contacting people to remind them about auditions. I hope to have the show cast by next Friday and start rehearsal the Monday following the close of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming.
The auditors from Williams Williams and Lentz will be arriving at the theatre bright and early tomorrow for their annual audit. They go through all of our financial records and produce and audit that we use for applying for grants and several other projects.
We heard from the Kentucky Colonels this past week that they will be presenting grant awards at the end of the month. Two years ago they used the MHT studio theatre for the community awards ceremony and will do so again this year. We are all eagerly awaiting the grant award amount so we can order our new theatre seats.
The theatre will be moving our annual fund drive from January to October so we are busy trying to prepare for that to kick off the week following Fall Break.
MHT will offer adult classes and workshops this fall. Instructor, Joey Judd, will offer a theatre games class starting October 15 and running through November 19 on Thursday evenings from 5:30-7:00 pm. Class fees are $35.
Michael Cochran will offer a series of free one hour workshops for adults on Saturday mornings at 9 am. The first workshop, on Sat. Oct 10, will be how to audition and common mistakes actors make. The second workshop on Sat. Oct. 17 will be script analysis for the actor. The third workshop on Sat. Oct. 31 will be on set and lighting design. These workshops are meant as an introduction to the subject matter. Beginning students ages 16 and up are welcomed to register for the free workshops. Students should register in advance for Improv classes and the free workshops.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Smoke Opens
After weeks or preparation the season is underway as Smoke on the Mountain opened Thursday night to an enthusiastic audience response. The cast and crew have worked together to create a wonderful show that has received a standing ovation for every performance since opening. Maria Miller and Emily Yocum have filled in as the stage crew and are adding a fun element to the show as the offstage voices of 3 year olds Weldon and Eldon Culpepper. They create such mayhem at the side that it is not hard to believe two 3 years with their screaming and tantrums are really there. The matinee today at 2:30 will cap off the hectic week getting the show open and then give the performers 3 days off before they return for two more weekends of "Homecoming".
Footlights classes began Saturday morning. Joey Judd helped April with the High School class and taught the students some new improv skills in character building. Joey is working with April and I to offer a series of adult classes this fall.
A surprise visit from WPSD Local6 for the high school class had April calling me wondering why I hadn't told her they were coming. I didn't know anything about it. We are always thrilled for the community to get a better look at the education programming happening at the theatre.
The Ghost Tour guides will have a meeting Tuesday and the Murder for Hire troupe has a meeting Wednesday to prepare for the October events. MHT will provide a murder mystery performance for the Caldwell County Junior class as their fundraiser for the school.
Auditions for Tom Dick and Harry are coming up next Monday and Tuesday. The October newsletter is in the final stages before going to press. April begins rehearsal for Secret Life of Girl this next week as well.
Footlights classes began Saturday morning. Joey Judd helped April with the High School class and taught the students some new improv skills in character building. Joey is working with April and I to offer a series of adult classes this fall.
A surprise visit from WPSD Local6 for the high school class had April calling me wondering why I hadn't told her they were coming. I didn't know anything about it. We are always thrilled for the community to get a better look at the education programming happening at the theatre.
The Ghost Tour guides will have a meeting Tuesday and the Murder for Hire troupe has a meeting Wednesday to prepare for the October events. MHT will provide a murder mystery performance for the Caldwell County Junior class as their fundraiser for the school.
Auditions for Tom Dick and Harry are coming up next Monday and Tuesday. The October newsletter is in the final stages before going to press. April begins rehearsal for Secret Life of Girl this next week as well.
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