November 1, 1983

We left Kansas City on October 30, 1983 after packing up my belongings and April's belongings in Kansas City. We finished packing the U-Haul truck about 3pm in the afternoon. I had added a tow bar to the back of the truck and towed my gold American Motors Sport-About Hatchback vehicle (which was also loaded down). April followed in her loaded down Red Buick Regal. I remember we finally pulled out of Kansas City which had been our home and headed to Paducah. I had looked at a house about 3 weeks earlier that was across from Paducah Middle School. That house had fallen through and one of the board members at the time had secured a house for us on Clark Street with a 1 year lease. We took the house on the recommendation of a board member. All I had was an address in Paducah as to where April and I were going to live. April was going to stay for a week and then she was driving to Wisconsin to prepare for our Wedding which was set for Nov. 19, 1983. We drove as far as Mount Vernon that first day and then got a room at the Holidome there. We arrived in Paducah on Halloween and located the house. It was small but cozy. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I remember coming to the interview only a month earlier. The theatre was doing the technical rehearsal for the play The Rainmaker on the day I came for an interview. I remember following the directions into Paducah and pulling up outside of the theatre. I can still distinctly remember thinking- "where did they put a theatre in this tiny space?" When I walked in all of the actors were present. They were setting light cues and all of the actors had to stand in place while the lights were set. This process took several hours (something I changed immediately upon being hired). The floor was painted white so that it would reflect the lights up onto the actors. The floor was also made of particle board so that every time someone dropped something on it the floor dented. All of the canvas walls were painted with a powdered pigment paint that rubbed off on all the costumes if you brushed against it. In fact the side of the building still had some remnants of color on it from the last strike where the strike crew "washed" off the color from the flats so they could be used again. I met with the board of directors that night at Virginia Glover's home. I spent the night at Executive Director Paul Meier's home. His young son Cameron had given up his bedroom for me to sleep in while I stayed overnight and I remember sleeping on Smurf sheets. I had never set foot inside a community theatre before in my life and never worked for one either. Apparently the board was impressed with my portfolio of set, costume and lighting designs along with my technical director portfolio. I had directed and acted in plays and was a theatre generalist. I talked money with the board and then drove back to Kansas City. I received a call the next week offering me a job. I also had offers from two other professional theatres but there was something about Paducah that appealed to me. I accepted the job of Technical Director for $14,000 a year with no benefits (I also had to pay all my own taxes at that time). The theatre was celebrating its 20th anniversary. When the board asked me why I was interested in Paducah I told them that April and I were looking for a place to start a family and a place where we could become part of a community.

As April and I unpacked our belongings I went to work and began the set and costumes for my first production at MHT which was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which opened the first week of December 1983. Looking back now at the playlist from the very first one produced in 1963, Snow White was the 95th production that MHT had produced in its history. I designed and built the sets, designed and hung the lights, and designed and sewed all the costumes for the actors. (My biggest costuming at MHT was the first production of the Miracle Worker where I sewed over 20 dresses by myself. Some of those dresses are still in costume storage and occasionally used.) That first year the theatre produced 5 shows total. I directed my first show at MHT that April with the production of To Kill a Mockingbird.

In 1985 Paul Meier left the theatre and MHT hired April as its Executive Director. April held that position until 1995 when she left for a couple of years to work as the Youth Minister at Grace Episcopal Church. I took over as the Executive Director in July of 1995.

Tom Dick and Harry marks MHT's 510th production and my 100th show to direct at MHT. MHT has grown a great deal over the time I've been fortunate enough to be involved with it. The main thing that has remained is a group of talented people who continue to impress me with the dedication and donation of their time and money to produce professional quality theatre. The board of directors has always been supportive and caring. The staff and volunteers I work with each day are truly dedicated to making great theatre.

This month I will attend the National Community Theatre Directors Conference in Madison Wisconsin. It is a conference that never fails to recharge my batteries. Almost 100 Managing Directors from across the country will sit in a room for 3 days and share all of their successes and failures. We will also adjourn to a local bar after hours and over our favorite spirits share our personal stories complete with pictures of children and grandchildren with long time friends.

So this November 1, we have a hit show (Tom Dick and Harry) on stage at MHT, a youth show (Best Christmas Pageant Ever) in in rehearsal, a Story Theatre musical (The City Mouse and the Country Mouse)touring production that has its first school performance on Tuesday, and the River City Ghost Tours for school groups that continue on Thursday. The work hasn't slowed down a bit in 26 years. But the things that made me feel something special about MHT and Paducah when April and I first arrived on Halloween 1983 are still present today.