AACTFest 09 Report

I am back in Midland after 10 days in the Northwest where the highest temperature was in the upper 70s and it even got down to the 40s some nights - it was nice!

First off, I was the facilitator of the AACT Management Conference. 28 people participated in this class, and for three days we discussed various ideas, frustrations, thoughts and suggestions for areas such as Financing the Organization, Administrative Functions, Board of Directors, Marketing, Selecting a Season, Outreach Activities and Professional Development. It was a group of Managing Directors, Artistic Directors, Development Directors, Board Presidents and lead volunteers at mostly smaller community theatres. We had people from many states, and I made new friends from all over the USA that share a passion for community theatre. This conference took place on Monday afternoon and evening, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday afternoon, the AACT festival started with shows. Through Saturday afternoon, there were 12 one-hour productions from 10 regions across the USA and even one from the US army bases in Europe. There was a mixture of musicals - How to Talk Minnesotan, Nine and John and Jen; comedies - Gornischt, Catfish Moon, Lemonade, Hold Me; and dramas - How I Learned to Drive, Intimate Apparel, Eleemosynary, Scooter Thomas Makes It to the Top of the World, Minnesota Moon. Awards from the 2009 AACTFest can be found at this site

Overall, it was a great festival, and the organizers should be proud of their work. It was great to have a festival on the West Coast and include some theatres that don't normally travel too far east. In addition, Tracy Alexander from MCT was also able to attend the festival, and long-time supporters Neal and Marilyn Allen were also in Tacoma. It was a great week of theatre!