Yesterday after a couple of weeks of talking about it I tore into one of the exit doors on the west side of the Market House building. We scraped off the peeling paint from the window panes on the outside of the door and removed a plywood piece from the inside of the door to allow light to come into the theatre. We plan on doing that for all four exit doors. During performances we will cover those windows with a dark curtain or shutter so as not to distract inside the theatre. However during the day and during non performance times we will let the line come into the theatre and allow pedestrians walking by to peek in to see the rehearsal process for upcoming shows without disturbing the rehearsals. These changes are restoring the historic look to parts of the building. On just the four exits we will be replacing 19 broken window panes that had been busted out at some point in the past. These panes had been replaced over the years with a variety of sheet metal, masonite, or wood. I hope to have the project completed by the end of this month.
Footlights classes have been going for almost a month now. Several parents have commented about the changes in studio theatre, as they wait for their kids during footlights classes. If you haven't had a chance to see the studio theatre lately check out the cabaret style seating that is now set up for parties, meetings and events. The main theatre is also now set up for small events on a limited basis as well.
April has started rehearsals for Willy Wonka. She is working on music at the present time and then will begin staging later this week which means I have to have her set design for her a couple days before she starts staging. It seems that every show these days calls for scenes that flow from one place to the next with no scene changes and yet has to have large visual elements in each scene. She has a cast of over 40 kids in the show and by all reports it will be an outstanding musical sound as well as show. Cindy Miller is musical directing the production.
The theatre is in high gear getting ready for the Masquerade Ball on October 20. It should be bigger and better this year than last year and make sure that you make plans to attend. Creatures of Habit will again donate a portion of the costume rentals to the theater to help with the fundraising event. About 70% of people last year dressed in costume with the rest in cocktail attire. This year I'm willing to bet the costume percentage should go even higher as it was so much fun! It told someone that last year with the masks I would say hello to someone I thought I knew only to discover a few moments later that wasn't who I thought it was. I always love the scenes in modern fairy tale remakes of Cinderella or any number of other films where a castle is filled with people in all sorts of costume attire dancing and partying to sound of modern music with so much fun and laughter. Don't be left out of the fun! Make sure you come to the Ball!
Ghost tours are working on getting shaped up again for October weekends. Look for a couple of new stories to be added again this year as well as keeping some of the favorites from the past.
Our 49th Season is well underway and lots of exciting things are happening at the theatre!
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