No its not December 31 but it feels like it sometimes. June 30 is the last day of the fiscal year for the theatre. Cinderella Enchanted closed on the 20 with a cast party that followed the show. There was almost no strike except to empty the orchestra pit and put in a large fulcrum lift and then put the cover back on for Aladdin Kids.
The Picnic which was held on June 21 honored retiring board members and voted in the new board members. The Golden Screw awards were presented to those persons who distinguished themselves during the past season in ways they would like to forget. Fowler Black and Katy Miller won the costume award for the moment when Katy's dress got caught on Fowler's medals and when she stood up it pulled the left side of her dress so she had to quickly adapt and do the entire scene seated next to Fowler while they slowly unhooked themselves. Sydney Hughes won the "What's my line award" for yelling that she had to go home and block up her TV. It was supposed to be the word chimney. Eden Lance won for the grace in motion as she was so energetic trying to get off the stool after trying on the slipper that she ran into a wall and ended up crawling offstage. We moved the Picnic/annual meeting inside the theatre and sat in the air conditioned comfort while it was over 100 with the heat index outside.
On Friday and Saturday June 25 & 26 we presented the show Aladdin Kids. Janice Peterson did a great job of adapting the costumes from the Aladdin Jr show 4 years ago to a much younger cast. As usual April did an outstanding job putting the performances together after only 8 rehearsals.
The next day on Sunday June 27 we hosted the Paducah Symphony String Quartet to the MHT stage for a chamber concert.
Monday and Tuesday were spent trying to get publicity out for the upcoming season while the box office staff worked on processing mail orders for season tickets. The final deadline to renew season tickets was June 20. Marsha and Rhiannon have been calling season ticket holders we haven't heard from to confirm they wanted to release their tickets.
The theatre so far has gotten a good response for the fund run as we work towards a 10,000 maximum match. As of yesterday we had raised over $2,500 which was the minimum to get a match. The final day to make a donation to the fund run to benefit MHT is Monday.
Yesterday I went and looked at potential warehouse space. today I went to another location and looked at warehouse space. We have to find a space that we can begin to move into by July 31. We need about 3,000 square feet. We will need lots of help in August to move the scenery from one warehouse to another. This makes about the 5 time we've move warehouse's in the past15 years. I'm hoping to find a long term lease at a reasonable price or buy a space that we know we can always keep for 5-10 years.
We have still not heard from the Kentucky Arts Council on funding for next fiscal year. With so many state budget cuts it looks grim for us to remain at the same levels we had been funded in the past.
April starts Gramasoris camp on July 12 which is the same date I have auditions for I LOVE YOU YOU'RE PERFECT- NOW CHANGE. I've been talking with the Paducah Parks Department on ways we can partner for the theatre to produce an Oak Grove walking tour this October. We confirmed walking ghost tour dates for October today and gave them to the Convention and visitors center.
The theatre will end the current year with an operating surplus. We have been trying to get all of the things that needed maintenance in before the June 30th last day so they wouldn't get charged to next season. This week we had both theatre vans in for repairs and hopefully we are ready to kick off the 47th Anniversary Season with a bang!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
June update
I feel like I've been running a marathon since June started and I'm getting closer to the finish line as the month is over half completed. With the opening of Cinderella and the great performances it has been trying to play catch up and prepare for the the events happening in the middle and the end of the month. I just returned yesterday from Washington D.C. where I was part of a group of business and civic leaders who met with government and agency leaders to help lobby for Paducah issues. The trip turned into a wonderful opportunity for me to make new friends with local leaders and to deepen relationships with others as we all came together for a common purpose.
I left Paducah Monday morning after getting about 3 hours of sleep on the first flight out. Check in time at the airport was 4:30-4:45 am. The plane was scheduled to leave at 6 am but we ended up sitting on the runway until almost 7 am because of weather delays and a fueling spill when the plane had to take on additional fuel to fly around the weather to get to Chicago. I ran through O'hare airport with Mark Dulley from Ingram Barge, Mayor Paxton and City Commissioner Gerald Watkins to get on board the flight that left at 9 am from Chicago to D.C. We arrived about 11:30 am Eastern Time and checked into the hotel located about a block from the main mall area by the Smithsonian and the Monuments. Mark became my tour guide and we must have walked about 3-5 miles to see the sights. We walked past the White house and the Washington Monument then back towards the capital building and our hotel. Mark was a great tour guide and we shared alot of family and business stories during our walk. I went to dinner with two others from the group and had a wonderful time there as well. On Tuesday we all gathered at Clyde's for lunch and our assignments. Some of the group had already been in meetings with the Homeland Security Department. I was in charge of a group that went to the National Endowment for the Arts for a meeting with key staff and hopefully the chairman of the NEA Rocco Landesman for a few minutes. Just before we arrived the NEA contacted the group and said our meeting had been moved to the Chairman's office. We were escorted their by NEA staff member Pepper Smith who had written the wonderful cover story article about Market House Theatre in the NEA magazine this quarter. We went into a conference room and then met with Pepper, Jaimie Bennet public relations director and Chairman Rocco Landesman for almost 30 minutes. It was a terrific meeting and we got a promise from Chairman Landesman that he would come to visit Paducah within the next fiscal year. We also talked about support for state arts councils and how that funding filters down to community organizations and about local projects in Paducah that were models for the rest of the country. We left feeling terrific about the meeting. We grabbed a cab and then headed to the capital building and met up with the rest of our group for a meeting with Senator McConnel and Representative Whitfield. We grabbed the tour bus back to the hotel and then madly changed into black tie formal attire for the Kentucky Society Dinner honoring Elaine Chao. At the cocktail party I spent time talking to the Chairman of USEC and thanked him for the local sponsorship of Cinderella. I talked with Senator Bunning, and several staff members for Congressmen and Senators at the reception and then we headed down to the dinner. At the dinner I was at a side entrance and turned around to suddenly be face to face with Senator McConnel and his wife Elaine Chao. I had a nice exchange about the theatre with the Senator and Secretary Chao and then we headed into the ballroom.
I had to fly back Wednesday morning to be here for the Dress rehearsal of the Curtain Call auction winners for Cinderella. All I can say after the Dress Rehearsal is that this is a performance you won't want to miss. The "guest stars" all did a great job and there were several times that the cast could not go on for a few moments because they were trying to maintain their character. When City Commissioner Richard Abraham appeared in a gold lame dress and boa and sang Falderall and Fiddly De Dee to Cinderella and danced he brought the house down. John Williams Jr also brought the house down in his Burgundy dress, wig and crown in his duet with Tom Miller of "Boys and Girls like you and Me".
Tonight we go back into performance mode with the regular cast of Cinderella as we move through the final weekend of performances. I'm trying to work through the annual Golden Screw Awards for the Annual Meeting next Monday and Picnic at Keiler Park. I hope to see everyone at the picnic next Monday at 5:30 pm. Bring a dish to pass and the theatre provides BBQ and Fried Chicken and Soft Drinks for the main course.
April Cochran has the Aladdin camp in full swing this week every morning and that performs the weekend after Cinderella closes. There is a lot going on behind the scenes at MHT as we wrap up June and the end of our 46th Season.
I left Paducah Monday morning after getting about 3 hours of sleep on the first flight out. Check in time at the airport was 4:30-4:45 am. The plane was scheduled to leave at 6 am but we ended up sitting on the runway until almost 7 am because of weather delays and a fueling spill when the plane had to take on additional fuel to fly around the weather to get to Chicago. I ran through O'hare airport with Mark Dulley from Ingram Barge, Mayor Paxton and City Commissioner Gerald Watkins to get on board the flight that left at 9 am from Chicago to D.C. We arrived about 11:30 am Eastern Time and checked into the hotel located about a block from the main mall area by the Smithsonian and the Monuments. Mark became my tour guide and we must have walked about 3-5 miles to see the sights. We walked past the White house and the Washington Monument then back towards the capital building and our hotel. Mark was a great tour guide and we shared alot of family and business stories during our walk. I went to dinner with two others from the group and had a wonderful time there as well. On Tuesday we all gathered at Clyde's for lunch and our assignments. Some of the group had already been in meetings with the Homeland Security Department. I was in charge of a group that went to the National Endowment for the Arts for a meeting with key staff and hopefully the chairman of the NEA Rocco Landesman for a few minutes. Just before we arrived the NEA contacted the group and said our meeting had been moved to the Chairman's office. We were escorted their by NEA staff member Pepper Smith who had written the wonderful cover story article about Market House Theatre in the NEA magazine this quarter. We went into a conference room and then met with Pepper, Jaimie Bennet public relations director and Chairman Rocco Landesman for almost 30 minutes. It was a terrific meeting and we got a promise from Chairman Landesman that he would come to visit Paducah within the next fiscal year. We also talked about support for state arts councils and how that funding filters down to community organizations and about local projects in Paducah that were models for the rest of the country. We left feeling terrific about the meeting. We grabbed a cab and then headed to the capital building and met up with the rest of our group for a meeting with Senator McConnel and Representative Whitfield. We grabbed the tour bus back to the hotel and then madly changed into black tie formal attire for the Kentucky Society Dinner honoring Elaine Chao. At the cocktail party I spent time talking to the Chairman of USEC and thanked him for the local sponsorship of Cinderella. I talked with Senator Bunning, and several staff members for Congressmen and Senators at the reception and then we headed down to the dinner. At the dinner I was at a side entrance and turned around to suddenly be face to face with Senator McConnel and his wife Elaine Chao. I had a nice exchange about the theatre with the Senator and Secretary Chao and then we headed into the ballroom.
I had to fly back Wednesday morning to be here for the Dress rehearsal of the Curtain Call auction winners for Cinderella. All I can say after the Dress Rehearsal is that this is a performance you won't want to miss. The "guest stars" all did a great job and there were several times that the cast could not go on for a few moments because they were trying to maintain their character. When City Commissioner Richard Abraham appeared in a gold lame dress and boa and sang Falderall and Fiddly De Dee to Cinderella and danced he brought the house down. John Williams Jr also brought the house down in his Burgundy dress, wig and crown in his duet with Tom Miller of "Boys and Girls like you and Me".
Tonight we go back into performance mode with the regular cast of Cinderella as we move through the final weekend of performances. I'm trying to work through the annual Golden Screw Awards for the Annual Meeting next Monday and Picnic at Keiler Park. I hope to see everyone at the picnic next Monday at 5:30 pm. Bring a dish to pass and the theatre provides BBQ and Fried Chicken and Soft Drinks for the main course.
April Cochran has the Aladdin camp in full swing this week every morning and that performs the weekend after Cinderella closes. There is a lot going on behind the scenes at MHT as we wrap up June and the end of our 46th Season.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Cinderella Opening
Tonight is the opening of Cinderella Enchanted by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Theatre is a collaborative art form where many people work together to make something that is greater than the individual could do on their own. Director Bonnie Daniels has done a terrific job of bringing this updated classic to life along with very talented leads and a strong chorus. The show has some more modern costumes, props, and lines that may at first puzzle a few audience members comparing it to the Disney version of the show but the classic story comes through loud and strong.
The concept for the show was to give the costumes a little bit of fun modern touch to a few of the characters. Audience will see the Fairy Godmother who arrives in the pumpkin patch in a 1920's style costume to go along with her lines about having done the traditional fairy godmother thing with the wand but now prefers to standout from the crowd. At one moment the prince and his steward does a fist bump and in the following scene the prince is practicing his baseball pitching with a modern ball and glove. These are just a few of the changes that were made conceptually to go along with some of the more modern language in the play. We hope that audiences will enjoy this elements that keeps this story fresh after hundreds of years. Jack and Natalia Cody who own Creatures of Habit have created beautiful costumes based on Bonnies suggestions for the show.
Kelly Salchli has done an outstanding job with the scenic painting. As the scenic and lighting designer I've given Kelly a broad outline of what I wanted painted as wall textures on the scenery and she has taken those ideas and created a beautiful look. Kelly is a much better painter than I am and she has added lots of depth and design to my original ideas. Cast members have popped in during the past week and helped paint. Denise Bohle helped out yesterday and is back again today working on the fireplace and the large pumpkin carriage.
Part of the design was to go very minimal and theatrical with the furniture for the show. I gave Jim Keeney some illustrations of what I wanted built for furniture and he has done a wonderful job of creating the framework and ornamental wood pieces along with the upholstery.
Cindy Miller who is the musical director has worked tirelessly with the cast and musicians to create a very strong musical production. She has worked hard to bring out the voices and to work with a 6 piece orchestra to create a rich sound without over powering the actors. We have area choral microphones but not wireless individual microphones for the cast so balance is critical to being able to hear the performance. Bonnie and Cindy have worked very hard on diction and enunciation for the actors to be heard by the audience.
Two days ago I had a moment that I had been dreading would happen. Tony Vancil with Action Audio has been extremely gracious in loaning his large rear projection screen to the theatre over the past several years when ever we needed it. I knew that one day we would be depending on the screen and he would have it rented some place else. Tony stopped by Tuesday to tell me he needed his screen for next weekend. My heart stopped as we are very dependent on that screen for Cinderella. Tony sells equipment and was able to get me a great price on a new screen and get it here between opening and second week of the run. Sunday we will strike his screen and return it to him and Wednesday our new screen will come in and we will install it for the Thursday night show. That was an unanticipated $1,700 expense that we didn't see coming. We've done over a dozen shows with his screen and this was the first time he needed it during our run.
Today we are still doing lots of painting on the set. I'm still hanging several lights to try to fix "dark spots" that are created in the space between one light area on the stage and an adjacent area.
Tonight's opening should be outstanding and audiences will walk away with the beautiful love songs ringing in their ears and a renewed love for the story of Cinderella. Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella Enchanted will rate up there with their other musicals like Oklahoma, The King and I, South Pacific, and so many others as a love story for all ages. There are over 40 people who have collaborated to make the production tonight come together and each of them have contributed something to make the show much better than we could have ever envisioned when we started. Call and get your tickets today for what will surely be a big hit!
The concept for the show was to give the costumes a little bit of fun modern touch to a few of the characters. Audience will see the Fairy Godmother who arrives in the pumpkin patch in a 1920's style costume to go along with her lines about having done the traditional fairy godmother thing with the wand but now prefers to standout from the crowd. At one moment the prince and his steward does a fist bump and in the following scene the prince is practicing his baseball pitching with a modern ball and glove. These are just a few of the changes that were made conceptually to go along with some of the more modern language in the play. We hope that audiences will enjoy this elements that keeps this story fresh after hundreds of years. Jack and Natalia Cody who own Creatures of Habit have created beautiful costumes based on Bonnies suggestions for the show.
Kelly Salchli has done an outstanding job with the scenic painting. As the scenic and lighting designer I've given Kelly a broad outline of what I wanted painted as wall textures on the scenery and she has taken those ideas and created a beautiful look. Kelly is a much better painter than I am and she has added lots of depth and design to my original ideas. Cast members have popped in during the past week and helped paint. Denise Bohle helped out yesterday and is back again today working on the fireplace and the large pumpkin carriage.
Part of the design was to go very minimal and theatrical with the furniture for the show. I gave Jim Keeney some illustrations of what I wanted built for furniture and he has done a wonderful job of creating the framework and ornamental wood pieces along with the upholstery.
Cindy Miller who is the musical director has worked tirelessly with the cast and musicians to create a very strong musical production. She has worked hard to bring out the voices and to work with a 6 piece orchestra to create a rich sound without over powering the actors. We have area choral microphones but not wireless individual microphones for the cast so balance is critical to being able to hear the performance. Bonnie and Cindy have worked very hard on diction and enunciation for the actors to be heard by the audience.
Two days ago I had a moment that I had been dreading would happen. Tony Vancil with Action Audio has been extremely gracious in loaning his large rear projection screen to the theatre over the past several years when ever we needed it. I knew that one day we would be depending on the screen and he would have it rented some place else. Tony stopped by Tuesday to tell me he needed his screen for next weekend. My heart stopped as we are very dependent on that screen for Cinderella. Tony sells equipment and was able to get me a great price on a new screen and get it here between opening and second week of the run. Sunday we will strike his screen and return it to him and Wednesday our new screen will come in and we will install it for the Thursday night show. That was an unanticipated $1,700 expense that we didn't see coming. We've done over a dozen shows with his screen and this was the first time he needed it during our run.
Today we are still doing lots of painting on the set. I'm still hanging several lights to try to fix "dark spots" that are created in the space between one light area on the stage and an adjacent area.
Tonight's opening should be outstanding and audiences will walk away with the beautiful love songs ringing in their ears and a renewed love for the story of Cinderella. Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella Enchanted will rate up there with their other musicals like Oklahoma, The King and I, South Pacific, and so many others as a love story for all ages. There are over 40 people who have collaborated to make the production tonight come together and each of them have contributed something to make the show much better than we could have ever envisioned when we started. Call and get your tickets today for what will surely be a big hit!
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