It was 2:30 pm on December 23 and all through the house (Market House that is) not a creature was purring, not even a mouse (we've trapped them all).
The staff hung their stockings on the mantle (prop fireplace in the display window in front of the scene shop) with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
Marsha and Rhiannon were complaining to Michael. We need more time off for Christmas to prepare!
Janice was busy in her second floor shop, trying to find a pair of knickers for Chuck before we stop.
Jim was out bargaining for a ukelele for Ross. Who wants the actors to learn to play music without any props.
April was entertaining, now that school was out. She took Jade and a friend, to an afternoon movie bout.
Marsha was busy with Constant Contact. She's trying to import graphics, which gives her a pain in the back.
Rhiannon is sorting and delivering mail, she's also on the look out for anything with a tail.
Michael is in the office fixing websites and grants. He's drinking his coffee and shouting in rants.
The end of the day is coming quickly said he, I hope that we get all this stuff done by three!
So its off to the kennel! And off to the bank! Go dash to the post office and don't be a crank!
So to all Market House fans, both far and near, Have a Merry Merry Christmas and we'll see you next year!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mid Year Update
Yesterday we started experiencing some telephone equipment problems and will be working to correct those. If you call the theatre you may end up having to leave a message and we will return your call. We are having to bypass our telephone system in order to allow incoming calls to reach our box office during business hours without cutting them off. Its amazing what you can work around when you need to. Unfortunately our telephone equipment is almost 10 years old and is still operating on a Windows 95 computer system that we keep in the phone closet. We are investigating upgrading out system. We have certainly got our money's worth out of the system.
April is rushing around with classes in the schools while at the same time holding auditions for some of the school productions that she directs. Clark Elementary school will produce Cinderella Kids as their school play and she is holding auditions at the school this work along with the school music teacher Dale Julian. She recently had auditions at Lone Oak Elementary for a play she is working on there as well. April has so many different classes and plays going on that I can't keep up with her schedule.
Technical Director, Jim Keeney, is continuing to work on the Complete Works set and is also still trying to organize the warehouse. I'm really hoping that he gets some time to clean the scene shop. It's in desperate need of a cleaning after our hectic fall schedule. If anyone has some time to sort screws and do general clean up in the shop it would be greatly appreciated.
Business Manager Marsha Cash and Box Office Assistant Rhiannon McIntosh are still on the hunt for a mouse who has made the office its home. We've set out traps and other devices to try to rid ourselves of it. Today in the box office we heard paper behind one of the desks moving and when we investigated we found that our little friend was nibbling on our season ticket holder charts! While not playing mousetrap the office staff has been looking at colors and working with a printer on new ticket stock. We order about 25,000 blank tickets at a time and as we sell them they are printed with information. About every 18 months we have to order new stock. We've had pink, green, and blue tickets. This year's color choice seems to be moving towards a pale purple.
The MHT Board of Directors met last night for our December meeting. Some of the staff was able to join the board in a more social setting at the Cochran house to share some holiday food and merriment! In addition to the social setting the board did conduct a business meeting and we reviewed two important documents the theatre received during the last month.
The first document was the official audit for the last year we completed back in June which was done by CPA firm Williams, Williams and Lentz. We had a great year last year and the theatre ended the year with a small surplus of funds. We have already invested some of that surplus into the purchase of the Arcade building and contracting Webb Management services out of NYC to do a thorough review of our organization structure and needs. The board intends to use the rest of the surplus to help us build up our reserve funds for those years that we don't do as well. I have already posted the official audit on our website and will add some additional information regarding number of people served and economic impact later today to that posting.
The second document discussed was the Webb management report as well. The report confirmed to us that our #1 priority is to secure the long term usage of the Market House building. Our lease runs out in 2014 and without long term control of our current space the theatre is not willing to commit the $50-$75,000 of renovation expenses on the lobby and restrooms. A committee is being formed to evaluate options and then meet with city representatives. We are waiting for the release of the River Area Master Plan report commissioned by the city. We would like to have this resolved as soon as possible so that we can move on to other organizational and facility needs that are outlined in our consultant report.
Overall the theatre is in a strong financial shape and we are almost half way through our current fiscal year. We are on track to meet our financial goals for the current year. I can't say enough about the MHT Board of Directors and the great job they are doing. President Cindy Miller has devoted countless hours to staying in touch with MHT donors and sponsors and letting them know how much we appreciate their support, helping put together the Offstage Noises Newsletters, and so many other things. Vice President Melisa Mast has been vital to MHT's marketing efforts and fundraising efforts with posters and flyers and postcards. Board members Scott Taylor, Jennifer Hughes, Barbara Allen, Don Barger, Pam Benzing, Chip Bohle, Denise Bristol, Sarah Roman, Sid Hancock, Kijsa Housman, Kathryn Joyner, Heather Overby, and Kristin Williams are passionate about the mission of the theatre and actively involved in all the fundraising events and strategic planning for the theatre. I can't thank them enough for all their work to support the theatre and the staff. In addition the Trustee group has provided invaluable advice over the past year on finances, programming and facilities. MHT has so many people working very hard to make it a success and they don't get thanked nearly enough.
As we get ready for the holidays and look back on the year I also want to thank all of the volunteers who are the heart and soul of this organization. We have a group of dedicated ushers who always step forward every time Marsha sends out an email request for help. We have been blessed so far this year with an incredible pool of actors who have created shows that truly delighted audiences. The small group of dedicated technical crew members have stepped in to help out when we needed them most this year deserve a big thanks as well.
The theatre office will be open through December 23. We will be closed December 24 through Jan. 3. The offices will reopen after the holidays on Jan. 4. Many of the theatre staff head off to various parts of the country over the Christmas break to be with family. A big thank you goes to the MHT staff who puts so much time and passion into their work- Marsha Cash, Rhiannon McIntosh, Janice Peterson, Jim Keeney, and Sandy Harben for all their hard work in 2010! Finally I have to thank April, who amazes me constantly with her talent and abilities in theatre. The theatre would never have achieved as much success as it has if it wasn't for her unending hard work and sacrifice. Every time I think she's peaked she just keeps getting better.
April is rushing around with classes in the schools while at the same time holding auditions for some of the school productions that she directs. Clark Elementary school will produce Cinderella Kids as their school play and she is holding auditions at the school this work along with the school music teacher Dale Julian. She recently had auditions at Lone Oak Elementary for a play she is working on there as well. April has so many different classes and plays going on that I can't keep up with her schedule.
Technical Director, Jim Keeney, is continuing to work on the Complete Works set and is also still trying to organize the warehouse. I'm really hoping that he gets some time to clean the scene shop. It's in desperate need of a cleaning after our hectic fall schedule. If anyone has some time to sort screws and do general clean up in the shop it would be greatly appreciated.
Business Manager Marsha Cash and Box Office Assistant Rhiannon McIntosh are still on the hunt for a mouse who has made the office its home. We've set out traps and other devices to try to rid ourselves of it. Today in the box office we heard paper behind one of the desks moving and when we investigated we found that our little friend was nibbling on our season ticket holder charts! While not playing mousetrap the office staff has been looking at colors and working with a printer on new ticket stock. We order about 25,000 blank tickets at a time and as we sell them they are printed with information. About every 18 months we have to order new stock. We've had pink, green, and blue tickets. This year's color choice seems to be moving towards a pale purple.
The MHT Board of Directors met last night for our December meeting. Some of the staff was able to join the board in a more social setting at the Cochran house to share some holiday food and merriment! In addition to the social setting the board did conduct a business meeting and we reviewed two important documents the theatre received during the last month.
The first document was the official audit for the last year we completed back in June which was done by CPA firm Williams, Williams and Lentz. We had a great year last year and the theatre ended the year with a small surplus of funds. We have already invested some of that surplus into the purchase of the Arcade building and contracting Webb Management services out of NYC to do a thorough review of our organization structure and needs. The board intends to use the rest of the surplus to help us build up our reserve funds for those years that we don't do as well. I have already posted the official audit on our website and will add some additional information regarding number of people served and economic impact later today to that posting.
The second document discussed was the Webb management report as well. The report confirmed to us that our #1 priority is to secure the long term usage of the Market House building. Our lease runs out in 2014 and without long term control of our current space the theatre is not willing to commit the $50-$75,000 of renovation expenses on the lobby and restrooms. A committee is being formed to evaluate options and then meet with city representatives. We are waiting for the release of the River Area Master Plan report commissioned by the city. We would like to have this resolved as soon as possible so that we can move on to other organizational and facility needs that are outlined in our consultant report.
Overall the theatre is in a strong financial shape and we are almost half way through our current fiscal year. We are on track to meet our financial goals for the current year. I can't say enough about the MHT Board of Directors and the great job they are doing. President Cindy Miller has devoted countless hours to staying in touch with MHT donors and sponsors and letting them know how much we appreciate their support, helping put together the Offstage Noises Newsletters, and so many other things. Vice President Melisa Mast has been vital to MHT's marketing efforts and fundraising efforts with posters and flyers and postcards. Board members Scott Taylor, Jennifer Hughes, Barbara Allen, Don Barger, Pam Benzing, Chip Bohle, Denise Bristol, Sarah Roman, Sid Hancock, Kijsa Housman, Kathryn Joyner, Heather Overby, and Kristin Williams are passionate about the mission of the theatre and actively involved in all the fundraising events and strategic planning for the theatre. I can't thank them enough for all their work to support the theatre and the staff. In addition the Trustee group has provided invaluable advice over the past year on finances, programming and facilities. MHT has so many people working very hard to make it a success and they don't get thanked nearly enough.
As we get ready for the holidays and look back on the year I also want to thank all of the volunteers who are the heart and soul of this organization. We have a group of dedicated ushers who always step forward every time Marsha sends out an email request for help. We have been blessed so far this year with an incredible pool of actors who have created shows that truly delighted audiences. The small group of dedicated technical crew members have stepped in to help out when we needed them most this year deserve a big thanks as well.
The theatre office will be open through December 23. We will be closed December 24 through Jan. 3. The offices will reopen after the holidays on Jan. 4. Many of the theatre staff head off to various parts of the country over the Christmas break to be with family. A big thank you goes to the MHT staff who puts so much time and passion into their work- Marsha Cash, Rhiannon McIntosh, Janice Peterson, Jim Keeney, and Sandy Harben for all their hard work in 2010! Finally I have to thank April, who amazes me constantly with her talent and abilities in theatre. The theatre would never have achieved as much success as it has if it wasn't for her unending hard work and sacrifice. Every time I think she's peaked she just keeps getting better.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
December 5 2010
The Story Theatre tour ended with a shocking finale at Meridian Elementary school. The Gym floor was made of small hardened rubber tiles that seemed to generate static electricity. Everything that we touched created a static shock. During the show I played the Wolf and put on Grandma's cape and glasses. After Little Red (Julie Price) discovers its the wolf in Grandma's bed, she gets chased around the stage with the wolf trying to get her goodies. I finally got the basket and pretended to eat all of the goodies and then got sleepy and fell asleep on the bed. Kim Yocum who played the Grandmother came out of hiding in the closet and took her glasses off the sleeping wolf's face and put them on. When Kim touched the glasses perched on my nose a large static shock was created between the glasses and my nose. It was everything I could do to keep pretending I was asleep and Kim had to fight bursting into laughter as the Grandma. It is certainly an electrifying moment in the final performance that I will always remember.
Last Thursday night the Lone Oak Middle School presented a murder mystery performance performed by the drama club and directed by April. The kids did a great job and the event sold out. April did a great job of directing as well. The event raised money for the school library.
Last week Jim Keeney cut a section of the front of the stage out and built steps to insert in the center front of the stage for the Complete Works of Shakespeare. There is a section of the show that requires the actors in the audience. We took rows A-G and separated the rows between seats 6 & 7. Seats 1-6 are now on the house right and seats 7-13 are on house left with a center aisle between them. We put in an aisle all the way across the theatre in front of row H for access to the center aisle. Marsha Cash and Rhiannon Mackintosh called those ticket holders who sit in seats 6 & 7 and either confirmed that they were okay with the change for Complete Works or moved them into open seats next to their original seats. The new seats we purchased at the beginning of 2010 allowed us to create this option for the Shakespeare show. I want to stress that this arrangement is just for this production of Complete Works.
The theatre has received the draft of the first part of our consultant report and it stresses the need for MHT to tackle several issues. The most important issue is for the theatre to get a long term commitment from the City of Paducah to occupy the Market House building. The theatre's lease ends in 2014 and we are in discussions with the consultants from the River Area Master Plan and the city to work out long term agreement. A second issue is a restroom renovation in the main theatre. Our preliminary costs are over $50,000 for the renovation. Over the next few months the theatre board will review the consultants reports and look for ways forward.
Tomorrow, Dec. 6 the staff will take the day off and celebrate the holidays with a lunch and then a movie in the afternoon. This is an annual staff tradition at the theatre. The next few weeks up to the Christmas break we will be working on the set fo the Complete Works of Shakespeare and continuing organizing our warehouse space. I'm putting the old theatre seats on sale on a couple of online websites to see if we can sell off the approximately 170 seats that are currently in storage. If you know of anyone who is interested in buying the seats have them contact the theatre.
On December 10 the theatre is rented for a musical group presenting a Doo Wop Christmas show. We have posters on the theatre doors that promote the event for the group.
Last Thursday night the Lone Oak Middle School presented a murder mystery performance performed by the drama club and directed by April. The kids did a great job and the event sold out. April did a great job of directing as well. The event raised money for the school library.
Last week Jim Keeney cut a section of the front of the stage out and built steps to insert in the center front of the stage for the Complete Works of Shakespeare. There is a section of the show that requires the actors in the audience. We took rows A-G and separated the rows between seats 6 & 7. Seats 1-6 are now on the house right and seats 7-13 are on house left with a center aisle between them. We put in an aisle all the way across the theatre in front of row H for access to the center aisle. Marsha Cash and Rhiannon Mackintosh called those ticket holders who sit in seats 6 & 7 and either confirmed that they were okay with the change for Complete Works or moved them into open seats next to their original seats. The new seats we purchased at the beginning of 2010 allowed us to create this option for the Shakespeare show. I want to stress that this arrangement is just for this production of Complete Works.
The theatre has received the draft of the first part of our consultant report and it stresses the need for MHT to tackle several issues. The most important issue is for the theatre to get a long term commitment from the City of Paducah to occupy the Market House building. The theatre's lease ends in 2014 and we are in discussions with the consultants from the River Area Master Plan and the city to work out long term agreement. A second issue is a restroom renovation in the main theatre. Our preliminary costs are over $50,000 for the renovation. Over the next few months the theatre board will review the consultants reports and look for ways forward.
Tomorrow, Dec. 6 the staff will take the day off and celebrate the holidays with a lunch and then a movie in the afternoon. This is an annual staff tradition at the theatre. The next few weeks up to the Christmas break we will be working on the set fo the Complete Works of Shakespeare and continuing organizing our warehouse space. I'm putting the old theatre seats on sale on a couple of online websites to see if we can sell off the approximately 170 seats that are currently in storage. If you know of anyone who is interested in buying the seats have them contact the theatre.
On December 10 the theatre is rented for a musical group presenting a Doo Wop Christmas show. We have posters on the theatre doors that promote the event for the group.
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