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.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
11-14-2010
I don’t think I could be any more tired. Bloody Murder opened Thursday night to a great show. Jennifer Poff has done an outstanding job of coming in with only a couple of weeks before opening to take on the role of Lady Somerset. She has the largest amount of lines in the play and has really worked hard and it has paid off. Veteran cast members Kris Shanks, Tom Dolan, Rayla Trigg, Roy Hensel all do a great job. Kris Shanks would laugh being called a veteran considering just 5 months ago she was making her MHT debut. Seth Mittendorf who is making his debut with Bloody Murder has also turned in a great performance. With one weekend of the show now complete the audience response has been very positive and the cast can take a well deserved couple of days off before they start back up next Thursday.
Saturday saw a cold morning alternating between light rain and misting rain. The theatre was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a large truck from Ray Black and Son to try to move a majority of the 3,000 square feet of storage from the Easter Seals building behind Bikeworld to the theatre’s new storage building inside the old Arcade theatre. A small but determined crew turned out to take 4 truckloads of scenery. A huge thank you goes to Diane Bryd, Patt Lynch, and Charles Keeney who joined Jim Keeney and I from 9am-5pm lifting and carrying scenery. Jim’s parents joined in about mid day and stayed until the end. Luke Wilkins worked in the morning and had to leave mid day. The move was exhausting. Patt Lynch took lots of photos and I hope that I can get a copy of them to post on facebook.
Jim, his brother Charles, and I continued the move Sunday morning with the borrowed truck. The three of us did a load in the morning and then while I covered the Sunday matinee of Bloody Murder, Jim and Charles installed more racks at the arcade. As soon as the show was over the three of us went back to the Easter Seals and loaded all of the platforms and step units. As of Sunday night about ½ of the scenery has been transferred from the Easter Seals to the Arcade. Jim and I will continue during the week to take a couple of loads every day as weather and time permits. Our goal is to be out of the Easter Seals completely by Thanksgiving. We have two weeks left and I think we can make it. If anyone has time and the ability to help we can certainly use the help. Contact Jim Keeney or Marsha Cash and let them know when you are available.
MHT Board Members have been coming in to work on the annual fund drive campaign. Hopefully those letters will be out by mid week. I read in the paper today about the Carson Center year end deficit. We should have the MHT audit completed with the next couple of days and will share that with the public. We had a positive year that ended last June 30. By all of our early estimates MHT ended the year with a surplus of funds due to better than expected fundraising by the board of directors, strong box office receipts and a continued effort to reduce expenses.
While MHT ended the year with a surplus we have also invested a great deal of that surplus on consultants to help us with strategic planning for the next 3 years and the purchase of the arcade theatre building to solve our continuing storage problems. We hope that these expenses will help MHT be even more solvent in the future. The theatre staff and board have spent a great deal of time and effort on sustainability and long term financial growth for Market House Theatre.
Monday evening the play selection committee will meet again. We have a couple of great musicals that we are looking at. Several comedies and romantic comedies have been read and we are still looking for new scripts. It was just 12 months ago that we discovered the brand new script Bloody Murder. It is our goal to find great scripts and put them together with dedicated and talented actors and create a season that not only audiences will buy tickets for, but that actors want to audition for as well. Occasionally audience members will email me or tell me suggestions for scripts they have seen at other theatres. I’m always happy to hear from audiences and performers to try to balance a season of plays.
There are a few weeks left to book Todd Duff as a sleight of hand artist for holiday parities. All the proceeds from Todd’s bookings in November and December go to the Market House Theatre. Todd is incredibly talented and a big hit at any party. Don’t miss out!
Saturday saw a cold morning alternating between light rain and misting rain. The theatre was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a large truck from Ray Black and Son to try to move a majority of the 3,000 square feet of storage from the Easter Seals building behind Bikeworld to the theatre’s new storage building inside the old Arcade theatre. A small but determined crew turned out to take 4 truckloads of scenery. A huge thank you goes to Diane Bryd, Patt Lynch, and Charles Keeney who joined Jim Keeney and I from 9am-5pm lifting and carrying scenery. Jim’s parents joined in about mid day and stayed until the end. Luke Wilkins worked in the morning and had to leave mid day. The move was exhausting. Patt Lynch took lots of photos and I hope that I can get a copy of them to post on facebook.
Jim, his brother Charles, and I continued the move Sunday morning with the borrowed truck. The three of us did a load in the morning and then while I covered the Sunday matinee of Bloody Murder, Jim and Charles installed more racks at the arcade. As soon as the show was over the three of us went back to the Easter Seals and loaded all of the platforms and step units. As of Sunday night about ½ of the scenery has been transferred from the Easter Seals to the Arcade. Jim and I will continue during the week to take a couple of loads every day as weather and time permits. Our goal is to be out of the Easter Seals completely by Thanksgiving. We have two weeks left and I think we can make it. If anyone has time and the ability to help we can certainly use the help. Contact Jim Keeney or Marsha Cash and let them know when you are available.
MHT Board Members have been coming in to work on the annual fund drive campaign. Hopefully those letters will be out by mid week. I read in the paper today about the Carson Center year end deficit. We should have the MHT audit completed with the next couple of days and will share that with the public. We had a positive year that ended last June 30. By all of our early estimates MHT ended the year with a surplus of funds due to better than expected fundraising by the board of directors, strong box office receipts and a continued effort to reduce expenses.
While MHT ended the year with a surplus we have also invested a great deal of that surplus on consultants to help us with strategic planning for the next 3 years and the purchase of the arcade theatre building to solve our continuing storage problems. We hope that these expenses will help MHT be even more solvent in the future. The theatre staff and board have spent a great deal of time and effort on sustainability and long term financial growth for Market House Theatre.
Monday evening the play selection committee will meet again. We have a couple of great musicals that we are looking at. Several comedies and romantic comedies have been read and we are still looking for new scripts. It was just 12 months ago that we discovered the brand new script Bloody Murder. It is our goal to find great scripts and put them together with dedicated and talented actors and create a season that not only audiences will buy tickets for, but that actors want to audition for as well. Occasionally audience members will email me or tell me suggestions for scripts they have seen at other theatres. I’m always happy to hear from audiences and performers to try to balance a season of plays.
There are a few weeks left to book Todd Duff as a sleight of hand artist for holiday parities. All the proceeds from Todd’s bookings in November and December go to the Market House Theatre. Todd is incredibly talented and a big hit at any party. Don’t miss out!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
10-26-2010
It seems I've just posted and it's already been a week. Alice in Wonderland Jr. finished up its run last weekend with terrific audience response. The cast and crew did an outstanding job with the production and it was received with an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences.
Last Friday the MHT Ghost Tours moved to Oak Grove Cemetery. Friday night's fundraising event was a terrific success. MHT Board President Cindy Miller and committee chair Kathryn Joyner along with committee members Heather Overby, Melisa Mast did a great job. All MHT board members contributed food for the event and helped with hosting at the hospitality tent. Tour guides Kim Yocum, Cat Tilker, Fowler Black and Marsha Cash did an outstanding job of learning the script with very little time and creating historical portrayals of the people interred in Oak Grove Cemetery. Saturday night the response was so positive that we added a tour at 7:20 after the 7:00 and 7:45 tours sold out. The guides were kept very busy just finishing up one tour group as another appeared.
A big thank you goes to the Paducah Parks department for helping MHT make this event possible. The night tours of the Mausoleum were a big hit with those taking the tour. The combination of history and a beautiful fall evening, with a full moon both nights, led to a wonderful event. The Oak Grove Cemetery tours continue this Thursday and Friday evening.
MHT has a board meeting this Wednesday to review the completed first quarter of the year. We have struggled with some income areas due to the economy and exceeded our goals in other areas. This year with the purchase of the Arcade building for storage has added a few additional expenses to get the building ready for use. MHT had to do over $2,000 in brick work to stabilize the building in addition to the purchase price. The electrical costs will also run about a $1,000 to get electric service to the building. The theatre has engaged Webb Management resources from NY to do a thorough review of MHT operations and our current facilities. All these things add up and the theatre board has done a great job of trying to balance the additional costs while staying within the budget and a strong financial position. MHT staff continues to keep a close eye on expenses as well.
Bloody Murder has gone through a couple of cast changes as it makes its way towards opening. One of the actors who was first cast had to drop out due to a family medical situation which required them to travel to be with their loved ones. Sunday the cast of Alice in Wonderland and some wonderful parents of some of the kids came in and we cleared the stage after the final performance. On Monday, Jim Keeney and I set up several flats for the beginning of the set for Bloody Murder and the cast moved to the stage with furniture and most of the walls in place less than 24 hours after the full Alice in Wonderland performance ended.
Debra Harned is finishing up the last of the program for Bloody Murder to submit this week while the newsletter written by Don Barger, Sarah Roman, Cindy Miller and myself goes to press. In addition the theatre is just about to send out our annual fund drive information. October has been a very, very, busy month.
Last Friday the MHT Ghost Tours moved to Oak Grove Cemetery. Friday night's fundraising event was a terrific success. MHT Board President Cindy Miller and committee chair Kathryn Joyner along with committee members Heather Overby, Melisa Mast did a great job. All MHT board members contributed food for the event and helped with hosting at the hospitality tent. Tour guides Kim Yocum, Cat Tilker, Fowler Black and Marsha Cash did an outstanding job of learning the script with very little time and creating historical portrayals of the people interred in Oak Grove Cemetery. Saturday night the response was so positive that we added a tour at 7:20 after the 7:00 and 7:45 tours sold out. The guides were kept very busy just finishing up one tour group as another appeared.
A big thank you goes to the Paducah Parks department for helping MHT make this event possible. The night tours of the Mausoleum were a big hit with those taking the tour. The combination of history and a beautiful fall evening, with a full moon both nights, led to a wonderful event. The Oak Grove Cemetery tours continue this Thursday and Friday evening.
MHT has a board meeting this Wednesday to review the completed first quarter of the year. We have struggled with some income areas due to the economy and exceeded our goals in other areas. This year with the purchase of the Arcade building for storage has added a few additional expenses to get the building ready for use. MHT had to do over $2,000 in brick work to stabilize the building in addition to the purchase price. The electrical costs will also run about a $1,000 to get electric service to the building. The theatre has engaged Webb Management resources from NY to do a thorough review of MHT operations and our current facilities. All these things add up and the theatre board has done a great job of trying to balance the additional costs while staying within the budget and a strong financial position. MHT staff continues to keep a close eye on expenses as well.
Bloody Murder has gone through a couple of cast changes as it makes its way towards opening. One of the actors who was first cast had to drop out due to a family medical situation which required them to travel to be with their loved ones. Sunday the cast of Alice in Wonderland and some wonderful parents of some of the kids came in and we cleared the stage after the final performance. On Monday, Jim Keeney and I set up several flats for the beginning of the set for Bloody Murder and the cast moved to the stage with furniture and most of the walls in place less than 24 hours after the full Alice in Wonderland performance ended.
Debra Harned is finishing up the last of the program for Bloody Murder to submit this week while the newsletter written by Don Barger, Sarah Roman, Cindy Miller and myself goes to press. In addition the theatre is just about to send out our annual fund drive information. October has been a very, very, busy month.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
10-19-2010
It has been a long week since my last post. Alice in Wonderland Jr opened to rave reviews. I think that April has outdone herself again and the show ranks right up there with some of the best productions MHT has ever done. The cast is terrific and Janice Peterson's costumes really shine. Kelly Salchli who was the scenic artist also did a terrific job of creating a fantasy world. When I designed the panels, I asked Kelly to paint topiary with hidden animals in the bushes and wispy images of Alice in the clouds. She did a great job of hiding the images and you have to look close to find them all. See how many you can find if you attend the play next weekend. The cast did six school matinees which were sold out with standing room only. The public performances have been about 95% capacity. The cast is currently off for 4 days and will return for 2 final performances next Saturday and Sunday afternoon. If you haven't seen it don't wait to get tickets because I anticipate tickets will go fast for the final two performances.
The Downtown Walking and Bus Ghost Tours started off the month of October slow and last weekend finished with a bang! We had to add two additional tours on Saturday evening to accommodate the ticket demand. A very special thanks goes out to all the guides, Marsha Cash, Phil Counts, Cat Tilker, and Fowler Black. Last Friday evening while Alice in Wonderland was performing on the stage Cat Tilker had to lead all 3 walking tours that night. The following night Marsha Cash and I did three walking tours each and Fowler did both bus tours. Saturday night we did a total of 7 tours between 6:30 and 9:30. Speaking from experience as one of the guides to do 3 tours in a row takes a little over 3 hours of solid walking and speaking with only enough time to get a drink of water before heading out with the next tour. Great job Cat and Marsha! Fowler had his own unique experience with the bus tours on Friday night. The bus he was in stopped across the street from the old first national bank building on 3rd street near the Silver Bullet bar. Fowler was telling the tale of Popular Foot and suddenly a man dressed in dark clothing with a short cane staggered up to the bus and began to bank on the doors. The people on the tour were all startled and thought it was part of the tour. Fowler got off the bus to talk with the man who had obviously too much to drink and tried to get him to go back into the Silver Bullet. The man was quite obstinate. The amazing thing was that the story of Popular Foot is about a man who has his head cut off by a wagon wheel. The man in dark clothes that banged on the bus doors had a scar that ran from behind his ear almost all the way around his neck! Fowler said he was a little spooked by the coincidence as well! One of the people on the tour bus called the police because they were afraid the man would hurt himself falling in the street. The police showed up and Fowlers bus tour continued on. Needless to say it was a memorable event for everyone on the bus when "Popular Foot" made an appearance!
A huge thank you goes to First Presbyterian church and the several members of the church who volunteered as drivers for the tours. I can't thank the church and those volunteers enough for helping us with our tours.
Story theatre is in the final weeks before it sets out on tour with Little Red Riding Hood. The cast rehearses during the mornings and we are racing to get that set built and painted before it goes on Tour Nov. 1. Yesterday the brick and block work was completed at the old Arcade building. The electrician was there most of the day putting in the new power meter and breaker panel. Jim and I spent about 2 hours yesterday sweeping and removing dust and debris from the floor so that we could start moving furniture and scenery from the Easter Seals building to the Arcade. We can't begin the official move until we have permission from he building inspector after they look at the brick and block work and approve the electrical lighting for the space.
Bloody Murder is in rehearsal each week night. Last night The Complete Works of Shakespeare took advantage of the free stage space in the main theatre to rehearse with a couple of the cast members. Play selection met last night and discussed several plays.
This week we are working hard with the board and the staff to get ready for the Oak Grove tours starting Friday with the fundraising event. The tour guides from the walking tours are helping me with the Oak Grove tours and I owe them a huge thanks and apologies for getting them the script so late. Some of them are just getting their scripts today! They will have about 3 days to cram for the event in order to learn their parts. I'm still writing my part for the tours and will hopefully have it polished and ready to go before Friday as well.
Sunday evening I lead a tour for the First Presbyterian youth group as a way of saying thank you for the loan of the bus. As I finished up the last stories I did find myself sad and proud. Sad that the downtown walking tours had reached the end for this year as we move to Oak Grove and proud of all of the guides and the board members who helped make these tours happen. They all deserve a rousing ovation and my heartfelt thanks for creating something that was truly memorable.
The Downtown Walking and Bus Ghost Tours started off the month of October slow and last weekend finished with a bang! We had to add two additional tours on Saturday evening to accommodate the ticket demand. A very special thanks goes out to all the guides, Marsha Cash, Phil Counts, Cat Tilker, and Fowler Black. Last Friday evening while Alice in Wonderland was performing on the stage Cat Tilker had to lead all 3 walking tours that night. The following night Marsha Cash and I did three walking tours each and Fowler did both bus tours. Saturday night we did a total of 7 tours between 6:30 and 9:30. Speaking from experience as one of the guides to do 3 tours in a row takes a little over 3 hours of solid walking and speaking with only enough time to get a drink of water before heading out with the next tour. Great job Cat and Marsha! Fowler had his own unique experience with the bus tours on Friday night. The bus he was in stopped across the street from the old first national bank building on 3rd street near the Silver Bullet bar. Fowler was telling the tale of Popular Foot and suddenly a man dressed in dark clothing with a short cane staggered up to the bus and began to bank on the doors. The people on the tour were all startled and thought it was part of the tour. Fowler got off the bus to talk with the man who had obviously too much to drink and tried to get him to go back into the Silver Bullet. The man was quite obstinate. The amazing thing was that the story of Popular Foot is about a man who has his head cut off by a wagon wheel. The man in dark clothes that banged on the bus doors had a scar that ran from behind his ear almost all the way around his neck! Fowler said he was a little spooked by the coincidence as well! One of the people on the tour bus called the police because they were afraid the man would hurt himself falling in the street. The police showed up and Fowlers bus tour continued on. Needless to say it was a memorable event for everyone on the bus when "Popular Foot" made an appearance!
A huge thank you goes to First Presbyterian church and the several members of the church who volunteered as drivers for the tours. I can't thank the church and those volunteers enough for helping us with our tours.
Story theatre is in the final weeks before it sets out on tour with Little Red Riding Hood. The cast rehearses during the mornings and we are racing to get that set built and painted before it goes on Tour Nov. 1. Yesterday the brick and block work was completed at the old Arcade building. The electrician was there most of the day putting in the new power meter and breaker panel. Jim and I spent about 2 hours yesterday sweeping and removing dust and debris from the floor so that we could start moving furniture and scenery from the Easter Seals building to the Arcade. We can't begin the official move until we have permission from he building inspector after they look at the brick and block work and approve the electrical lighting for the space.
Bloody Murder is in rehearsal each week night. Last night The Complete Works of Shakespeare took advantage of the free stage space in the main theatre to rehearse with a couple of the cast members. Play selection met last night and discussed several plays.
This week we are working hard with the board and the staff to get ready for the Oak Grove tours starting Friday with the fundraising event. The tour guides from the walking tours are helping me with the Oak Grove tours and I owe them a huge thanks and apologies for getting them the script so late. Some of them are just getting their scripts today! They will have about 3 days to cram for the event in order to learn their parts. I'm still writing my part for the tours and will hopefully have it polished and ready to go before Friday as well.
Sunday evening I lead a tour for the First Presbyterian youth group as a way of saying thank you for the loan of the bus. As I finished up the last stories I did find myself sad and proud. Sad that the downtown walking tours had reached the end for this year as we move to Oak Grove and proud of all of the guides and the board members who helped make these tours happen. They all deserve a rousing ovation and my heartfelt thanks for creating something that was truly memorable.
Monday, October 11, 2010
10-10-10
I've always liked dates that have symmetry.
We have officially entered Tech Week for Alice in Wonderland Jr. That means that a tremendous amount of work has to be completed in a short time. Costumer Janice Peterson has been burning the midnight oil trying to get costumes ready and she still has a ways to go before we open Thursday. Some of the actors had complete costumes, but other were still wearing street clothes because their costumes were still awaiting assembly in the costume shop. The set was about 3/4 completed, lacking mostly just the final painting for Wonderland. Stools that Tech Director Jim Keeney had built remained raw wood and some of the prop pieces that drop from the "sky" were still "do-fers". For instance the bottle that magically appears for Alice to drink from was a green plastic Sprite bottle for rehearsal until the real bottle is created and attached. Jim Keeney is still working on the shades that we are using to create the look of the scenery growning and shrinking as Alice changes size during the show. They have to rise to a height of 10 feet and shrink to as little as 2 feet.
The scenic projections were purchased from Istock photo and Creststock photo. Some of them were Photoshopped to create a more illustrated look to match the painting on the set walls. I must have looked at almost 2,000 photos and illustrations to find the 10 images that will end up being in the show. In addition there is some video for Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I purchased the video and then opened it in video editing software to expand the length of the looped software. After several tries I finally got the 20 second video clip extended to 5 minutes. We projected the video and I immediately realized that I needed to put the video in slow motion. When I went back in and edited the video to create a slow motion effect the video slowed down but became jerky as it seemed to pause just slightly every so often. That lost the fluid movement that the extended video had so we then changed it back to the first video.
Tech week is full taking an idea that you have created which works in theory and then putting it into practice. What usually happens is that part of it works and part of it doesn't so you then begin to redesign and rebuild to work through the problems at each phase of the process until you have a finished product. I loaded the sound into the computer and April edited it into the software that we use for playback. We found there was a loud buzz in the system. After spending time making sure that all of the power sources were run through a power conditioner to eliminate any grounding problems I was no closer to solving the mystery of the buzz. I then began to change out all of the sound cables to see if one of them was laying across a power source or was unshielded. After several cords were changed out I finally found the culprit and eliminated about 90% of the buzz. There is still a few more cables to move and check but that requires ladders to trace the sound cables over 75 feet that winds its way from the back of the theatre to the stage.
All of this can lead to incredible stress on the director of the show. April is trying to pull all the actors together while the technical elements are added and sometimes eliminated for re-working and then re-added. Trying to make decisions as to what is acceptable, and what must change is a constant battle for all directors and designers. An example from yesterday's tech rehearsal were actors who were standing on the edge of the light at the front of the stage. Do you move the actors about a foot or do you refocus the lights a foot further over. If you refocus then the lights may light up an area that you are trying not to light because you want to reduce the acting area so that the entire set isn't lit. I probably have 50 lighting notes about refocusing, or redesigning some lighting cues to eliminate the actors standing at the edge of the scene who are in partially in the dark.
Friday MHT officially closed on the old Arcade theatre building after 2 1/2 months of setbacks. We still have some hurdles to jump getting the building ready for use as a storage space but the deal has at least been completed. This week masons will come in and brick up door openings between the Arcade theatre section and the rest of the Arcade building to create a firewall between the buildings. As soon as that is complete and new electric service is run and attached to the building then we can start moving our current storage space contents into the new building.
Saturday morning after about 2 weeks of smelling random natural gas on the side walk between the offices and the scene shop I called the gas company and they came out and found a small gas leak at a valve under the brick street. Saturday morning the gas company closed off 1/2 of the market house square (right during Market Square Mornings) and dug up part of the street to fix the leak. I was a little concerned about its effects on Market Square Mornings and the Ghost Tours for Saturday night but the street was reopened that afternoon with barricades around the hole in the street and waling and bus tours went on without a hitch. Next Friday and Saturday will conclude the last tours downtown before we move our historic tours to Oak Grove Cemetery on Oct. 22.
On the things to do list for this week are finish up Alice and get it open, story theatre rehearsals for Little Red Riding Hood and get that set design finalized, get a set design finalized so Phil Counts can begin staging for Bloody Murder which is rehearsing each night this week, get the Fall Annual Fund Drive letter printed and processed, get the Arcade ready for storage, read scripts for next season, finish up the research on the Oak Grove Cemetery script and planning for the event, do final details on the Mad Hatter Tea Party in connection with Alice in Wonderland, and hopefully selling lots of tickets to all of the events!
We have officially entered Tech Week for Alice in Wonderland Jr. That means that a tremendous amount of work has to be completed in a short time. Costumer Janice Peterson has been burning the midnight oil trying to get costumes ready and she still has a ways to go before we open Thursday. Some of the actors had complete costumes, but other were still wearing street clothes because their costumes were still awaiting assembly in the costume shop. The set was about 3/4 completed, lacking mostly just the final painting for Wonderland. Stools that Tech Director Jim Keeney had built remained raw wood and some of the prop pieces that drop from the "sky" were still "do-fers". For instance the bottle that magically appears for Alice to drink from was a green plastic Sprite bottle for rehearsal until the real bottle is created and attached. Jim Keeney is still working on the shades that we are using to create the look of the scenery growning and shrinking as Alice changes size during the show. They have to rise to a height of 10 feet and shrink to as little as 2 feet.
The scenic projections were purchased from Istock photo and Creststock photo. Some of them were Photoshopped to create a more illustrated look to match the painting on the set walls. I must have looked at almost 2,000 photos and illustrations to find the 10 images that will end up being in the show. In addition there is some video for Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I purchased the video and then opened it in video editing software to expand the length of the looped software. After several tries I finally got the 20 second video clip extended to 5 minutes. We projected the video and I immediately realized that I needed to put the video in slow motion. When I went back in and edited the video to create a slow motion effect the video slowed down but became jerky as it seemed to pause just slightly every so often. That lost the fluid movement that the extended video had so we then changed it back to the first video.
Tech week is full taking an idea that you have created which works in theory and then putting it into practice. What usually happens is that part of it works and part of it doesn't so you then begin to redesign and rebuild to work through the problems at each phase of the process until you have a finished product. I loaded the sound into the computer and April edited it into the software that we use for playback. We found there was a loud buzz in the system. After spending time making sure that all of the power sources were run through a power conditioner to eliminate any grounding problems I was no closer to solving the mystery of the buzz. I then began to change out all of the sound cables to see if one of them was laying across a power source or was unshielded. After several cords were changed out I finally found the culprit and eliminated about 90% of the buzz. There is still a few more cables to move and check but that requires ladders to trace the sound cables over 75 feet that winds its way from the back of the theatre to the stage.
All of this can lead to incredible stress on the director of the show. April is trying to pull all the actors together while the technical elements are added and sometimes eliminated for re-working and then re-added. Trying to make decisions as to what is acceptable, and what must change is a constant battle for all directors and designers. An example from yesterday's tech rehearsal were actors who were standing on the edge of the light at the front of the stage. Do you move the actors about a foot or do you refocus the lights a foot further over. If you refocus then the lights may light up an area that you are trying not to light because you want to reduce the acting area so that the entire set isn't lit. I probably have 50 lighting notes about refocusing, or redesigning some lighting cues to eliminate the actors standing at the edge of the scene who are in partially in the dark.
Friday MHT officially closed on the old Arcade theatre building after 2 1/2 months of setbacks. We still have some hurdles to jump getting the building ready for use as a storage space but the deal has at least been completed. This week masons will come in and brick up door openings between the Arcade theatre section and the rest of the Arcade building to create a firewall between the buildings. As soon as that is complete and new electric service is run and attached to the building then we can start moving our current storage space contents into the new building.
Saturday morning after about 2 weeks of smelling random natural gas on the side walk between the offices and the scene shop I called the gas company and they came out and found a small gas leak at a valve under the brick street. Saturday morning the gas company closed off 1/2 of the market house square (right during Market Square Mornings) and dug up part of the street to fix the leak. I was a little concerned about its effects on Market Square Mornings and the Ghost Tours for Saturday night but the street was reopened that afternoon with barricades around the hole in the street and waling and bus tours went on without a hitch. Next Friday and Saturday will conclude the last tours downtown before we move our historic tours to Oak Grove Cemetery on Oct. 22.
On the things to do list for this week are finish up Alice and get it open, story theatre rehearsals for Little Red Riding Hood and get that set design finalized, get a set design finalized so Phil Counts can begin staging for Bloody Murder which is rehearsing each night this week, get the Fall Annual Fund Drive letter printed and processed, get the Arcade ready for storage, read scripts for next season, finish up the research on the Oak Grove Cemetery script and planning for the event, do final details on the Mad Hatter Tea Party in connection with Alice in Wonderland, and hopefully selling lots of tickets to all of the events!
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