MCT Executive Director BLOG

Two shows in rehearsal

2012-01-17T21:29:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't posted anything recently, but I have a good excuse - I've been in rehearsals for two shows since January 2nd:

GUYS AND DOLLS, our 2012 opening musical, has been rehearsing six days a week in preparation for our opening on Friday, February 3, 2012, and RED WHITE AND TUNA has been rehearsing weekends and Tuesdays/Thursdays until GUYS AND DOLLS opens in order to be ready to open on Friday, February 24, 2012.

Both shows are blocked and rehearsals are going well - we have great casts who are hard working and dedicated. It's a pleasure to work with volunteers who want to do a great show, and are willing to put the time and effort into the rehearsal process. I hope you'll come see the fruits of their labor and attend our two opening productions for the new season!

National Community Theatre Director's Conference

2011-11-20T14:23:00.000-06:00

Although it's opening weekend of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, I had to leave Midland on Friday to attend AACT Board meetings and the National Community Theatre Director's Conference in Madison, WI. Arrived in Madison on Friday afternoon, and had dinner with AACT friends. Saturday, we had six hours of AACT meetings, and the board made several important decisions. Conference attendees arrived for a Saturday night reception, and the conference has started on Sunday morning. We'll be meeting through 10 p.m. on Sunday night, and then all day Monday and Tuesday morning. Planning to return to Midland late Tuesday night as long as the flights arrive on time.

I'm very proud of the cast and crew of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. We have had three shows on opening weekend and we have four more weekends of performances. If you can't get tickets for the night you want to come, just show up - we'll work really hard to get you in.

The Sound of Music - Tech Week

2011-11-14T14:53:00.000-06:00

Opening night is near, and we're getting ready to open the show on Friday night. The cast has been working hard for the past five weeks, and they have a couple of dress rehearsals to get ready for opening night. The set crew has been working on moving sets between scenes over the tech weekend, and the staff and volunteers are working on painting and finishing these items before opening night. The costume crew has worked on beautiful costumes for the show, and tonight is the first time the cast will be wearing these costumes. Lights and sound have been arranged, and the Stage Manager, ASMs, Light Board operators and Sound operators are working on learning the show in the technical rehearsals. Overall, it's amazing to watch this process of the final 10-12 days of rehearsals for a show at your community theatre. MCT continues to produce the finest in quality live theatrical productions in the Permian Basin due to our amazing volunteers - onstage actors, backstage volunteers and front of house volunteers. If you attend our 2011 holiday production, say "thank you" to our wonderful volunteers - without them, the show could not go on!

November at MCT

2011-10-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

Several fall events are now behind us, including the great production of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE in Davis Theatre I, the fall Improv at the Yucca, the HamHock Halloween Howl and our recent fundraiser The Sizzle King. However, that does not mean that we've scaled back for the upcoming holiday season. In Mabee Theatre II, our final 2011 show in the small theatre has two more weekend. The cast and crew of CHARLIE COX RUNS WITH SCISSORS has done an amazing job with this great script, and I hope you'll support them and come out and enjoy this wonderful show. Meanwhile, I've been in the basement for the past three weeks with the cast of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, working on choreography, blocking and music. We're one week away from moving upstairs and getting ready for tech weekend. The Box Office was filling orders all weekend long for our 2011 holiday production, and we hope that you and your family will share the end of the year with some time at your community theatre.

MCT has recently announced our 2012 membership season: GUYS AND DOLLS, RED WHITE AND TUNA, LITTLE WOMEN, LARRY'S BEST FRIEND (2011 McLaren winner), ANYTHING GOES, A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE, THE 39 STEPS and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Membership renewal letters have been mailed to 2011 members, and brochures will be mailed in mid-November to everyone on our mailing list. We feel that we have a great lineup of shows for next season, and we hope you'll agree and purchase a 2012 membership. Thank you for your support of our community theatre!!

Busy Fall at MCT

2011-09-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

As we prepare to turn the page to October, the theatre continues to be a very busy place. Our Mabee Theatre II production of THE DINNER PARTY finishes performances this weekend, and I congratulate this talented cast on their outstanding run. As this show wraps up, our Davis Theatre I production of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE opens tonight with an incredibly talented cast led by the skilled direction of Carl Moore. This Agatha Christie mystery - based on the nursery poem "Ten Little Indians" - is a tour de force of acting and technical elements. While these shows are in performance, three shows are preparing for their eventual runs. CHARLIE COX RUNS WITH SCISSORS is in rehearsal in the basement and waiting for THE DINNER PARTY to clear out of Mabee Theatre II so they can move upstairs and get ready for their opening in mid-October. THE HUNDRED DRESSES - the fall Pickwick show - is currently in rehearsals in preparation for their public run on October 21-23 followed by performances for MISD students the next week. Finally, our 2011 holiday musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC will have auditions this weekend - youth on Saturday (October 1st) and adults on Sunday and Monday (October 2nd and 3rd) - and will start rehearsals on October 10th in preparation for their opening in mid-November. Needless to say, there's always so much happening at your community theatre!!

DINNER WITH FRIENDS

2011-09-02T10:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the opening of the Neil Simon comedy DINNER WITH FRIENDS in Mabee Theatre II. Director Jane Moore and her strong cast have done a wonderful job with this later work of Mr. Simon - it's really more of a drama with comedic parts - that deals with divorced couples who are forced to face their former partners. Kudos also to Scenic Designer Brian Baillif, who challenged me to allow him to put this play "in the round" in Mabee Theatre II and build the platforms and seating areas that can be used again in future Theatre II productions. We hope our audience will enjoy the new seating option - it's not permanent, just an option for future Mabee Theatre II shows - as well as the production. Cast members Andy Salcedo, Joe Thomason, Paul Mangum, Missy Hulen, Stephanie Rivas-Guevara and Samatha Spencer have done a great job with this play - support their hard work and come on down as we resume our 2011 membership season with this Neil Simon play.

McLaren Festival

2011-08-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was the 2011 version of the McLaren festival - a reader's theatre version of the three finalists. This past Saturday was one of the better festivals we've had - the audience was large and responsive, and actors and directors were well-prepared and presented each script in a positive manner, and the voting was very close. The finalists were MARFA, TEXAS, LARRY'S BEST FRIEND and WANDA JOHNSON AND THE KINGDOM OF HAIR. The audience selected LARRY'S BEST FRIEND as the winning production, and the members of the 2012 Play Selection committee are discussing which production to produce in our 2012 membership season. McLaren chair Mary Lou Cassidy and her volunteer directors and actors should be very proud of their hard work on this competition and festival - also, special thanks to staff members Eddie Taylor, Laura Abott and especially Tracy Alexander for their extra work on this event.

Midland Community Theatre presents MY WAY at the Tromsø Dialogue 2011

2011-07-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

This past July, Midland (TX) Community Theatre was proud to represent the North American Regional Alliance (NARA) and the USA at Tromsø Dialogue 2011, the IATA/AITA International Amateur Theatre festival in Norway. Midland Community Theatre submitted its application to NARA in December 2010, and was chosen by the Norwegian organizers in January 2011. Midland Community Theatre submitted its production of My Way – a Review of the Music of Frank Sinatra since Midland Community Theatre had previously toured this production to the Dundalk Maytime Festival in Ireland during 2004 and could travel to Norway with a small company.

Our company arrived in Tromsø on Friday, July 15, 2011, and we immediately were attending productions that night from Hungary, Denmark and Germany. Our first performance took place on Saturday, July 16^th at 10 p.m., and we spent that day working on technical elements and preparing for our show. During the rest of the week, our group was also able to attend productions from Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Norway (2), Russia and our favorite Argentina. When we arrived, we were told that the group from Iran was unable to obtain a Visa to enter Norway, but suddenly on Wednesday the group was able to secure these documents and they arrived and performed on Saturday night to wrap up the festival.

Jaime Sotelo, Lisa Jebsen, Kristen Loyd, Rob Montgomery

Performing groups lived together in a local school, which was set up with cots in classrooms. Although not ideal, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet people from around the world and interact with them. Our men were on the same floor as the groups from Russia and Lithuania, and our women were located next door to the Hungarians. Several groups held parties with their national music and food and drink. Our group decided to host a special breakfast for everyone in the school. On Thursday morning, we awoke at 6:30 a.m. and started cooking scrambled eggs with cheese, peppers and onions and made breakfast burritos for everyone. Many people told us that they set their alarms in order to not miss our special treat.

One of the wonderful elements of having the festival in Tromsø was the fact that July is the time for the Midnight Sun. During the festival, the sun never went down, and this took some adjustments. However, we brought sleeping masks and darkened the windows in our schoolroom to allow us to sleep at night. It was a magical feeling to walk home late at night with full sunlight, but we were all glad to return home and see the sun go down again.

Rob Montgomery, Lisa Jebsen, Tim Jebsen, Ryan Loyd, Kristen Loyd, Jaime Sotelo

In addition to our participation in the festival, several member of the group were able to travel early to Oslo and tour the capital in addition to taking a train trip to the Sognefjord in Western Norway to see the beautiful scenery. However, the terrorism event of Friday, July 22, 2011 added a somber note to the end of the festival while reminding us that theatre can bring together people from different societies, and that the arts can be part of the process of education and knowledge. The terrorism event took place two hours before our second performance – and our thoughts and hearts were with our Norwegian friends as they dealt with the national tragedy.

Overall, our group had a wonderful experience in Norway. The people were warm and welcoming, and our new international friends gave us a greater global perspective on the world of theatre. If you or your company has the chance to travel and perform abroad, please consider the sacrifice of time and money – it’s well worth it!

Jaime Sotelo, Rob Montgomery, Kristen Loyd, Norwegian Chair Svein Svensson,

Tim Jebsen, Lisa Jebsen

Norway

2011-07-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

Tonight is our final rehearsal prior to leaving for the IATA/AITA international theatre festival in Tromso, Norway. MCT is proud to represent the USA at this festival, and our travel party of 6 is very excited to get started on this trip. We will run the show tonight, and then four of us leave on Monday and the other two on Thursday and we all arrive in Tromso on Friday and perform on July 16 and 22. I will attempt to post pictures on Facebook and keep the blog updated, but I can not promise that I will always have access to the internet. I will definitely update the blog upon my return!

National AACT Festival

2011-06-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

I have just returned from 11 days in New York state - 3 days of fun with my Dad visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame and playing golf (including on Father's Day) and then 8 days of work in Rochester NY.

In Rochester, I started the week as the Facilitator of the Community Theatre Management Conference. There were 30 people from community theatres across the country - staff, volunteers, board members. We discussed budgets, marketing, volunteers, season selection, royalties - anything related to running a theatre. It was three days of discussion and sharing, and I believe that everyone came away from the event with a new idea (or twelve) for their theatre to implement. It was very exciting to meet these new theatre friends, and I look forward to hearing more from them about their experiences.

On Wednesday afternoon, the shows started and we saw twelve one-hour productions from the ten AACT regions. Texas was represented by "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" - a drama based on the Peanuts characters except now they are teenagers and they have very modern issues and concerns. It was definitely not a family show, but I had enjoyed it at state and they did a great job at nationals - it won the competition. Other shows included "Parrallel Lives", "Sunday in the Park with George", "The Bear", "Hauptmann", "The Gin Game", "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", "Wiley and the Hairy Man", "The Zoo Story", "Second Samuel", "Check Please" and "Urinetown". "Urinetown" won second place and "Sunday in the Park with George" came in third.

Summertime is here!

2011-06-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

It's officially summer when Summer Mummers opens - we had opening weekend starting on June 10th and the show runs at the Yucca Theatre through September 3rd this summer. This year's theme is bull riding - Ribaldry at the Rodeo or Hoping for an 8 Second Ride. It's important to remember that this event is the annual fundraiser for MCT, and puts an emphasis on the first three letters - it's a FUNdraiser. However, keep in mind that the event is recommended for those over the age of 16. Please support your community theatre and come see the show this summer.

In addition to Summer Mummers, the summer Theatre School program is now in session - our second week-long session is going on this week, and our two-week session starts on Monday, June 20th. All three sessions are full, and we are thrilled to have so many students (and parents) interested in our education program. The Pickwick Players have cast the summer musical - FAME - and have started rehearsals in preparation for their opening on July 15th in Davis Theatre I.

In early June, we held fundraising performances for our trip to Norway this summer with the Frank Sinatra review MY WAY. I am so pleased that we were able to raise the necessary funds for this trip, and the cast and crew look forward to representing MCT, Midland and the USA at this international theatre festival in Tromso, Norway. MY WAY will be performed on July 16 and July 22 at the festival.

Finally, we have several auditions coming up, including the Reader's Theatre readings for our 2011 McLaren finalists (auditions July 17-18), the fall production of THE DINNER PARTY directed by Jane Moore has auditions on July 24-25, the Agatha Christie mystery AND THEN THERE WERE NONE directed by Carl Moore has auditions on August 14-15 and the fall comedy CHARLIE COX RUNS WITH SCISSORS directed by Pam Keel will hold auditions on August 28-29. Needless to say, there's a lot happening at your community theatre this summer!

MY WAY and Summer Mummers

2011-06-06T11:02:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to everyone who attended the performances of MY WAY this weekend at the Cole Theatre to raise funds for our travels to Norway. We had great crowds and are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Norway - we depart July 11 and perform at the festival on July 16 and 22.

Kudos to the cast of THERE'S NO JUSTICE JUST COURT COSTS for their strong four weekend run of the 2010 McLaren winner - we closed the show on Saturday night, and the cast and crew have done a great job of entertaining our audiences with this new comedy.

This weekend marks the official beginning of summer - at least on the MCT calender - with the opening of the 2011 version of Summer Mummers on Friday night. Advance sales have filled the pit for almost the entire summer, but house seats are still available. The show runs June 10-September 3 on every Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the historic Yucca Theatre in downtown Midland. Come join the fun and see the show - remember, Summer Mummers is recommended for those over 16!

MY WAY

2011-05-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

Midland Community Theatre is very proud to be selected to represent the USA at the upcoming AITA/IATA International Theatre festival in Tromso, Norway in July 2011. Our production of MY WAY - a review of the music of Frank Sinatra - will be performed in Norway at this festival. To prepare for our trip and help raise money for our expenses, we will have two public performances of the show in Midland on June 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. in Davis Theatre I.

Tickets

HAIRSPRAY and JUSTICE

2011-05-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, I think that I write these entries into the blog and no one reads them. It's one of the reasons that my writing has really slowed down this past year. Thursday night, however, someone told me something that reminded me that people do read the blog even if I don't know it. So, I'll try to do better and write more often...

HAIRSPRAY is closing today and it will be very sad. We've had a great run of the show and the crowds couldn't have been better or more receptive to the show. Some have asked why we didn't to the show as an opening musical - longer run, more opportunities to see it. First of all, I think part of the success is the partnership with Midland College Music and Drama - the 12 college kids in the orchestra and the 14 college kids in the choir performing have added so much to the show (and that wouldn't have happened on the opening musical). In addition, the Yucca Theatre has been a great venue for the show (and the opening musical would have been in Davis Theatre I), and some of our actors might not have participated with January rehearsals and six weeks of performances. It will be sad to see the show end today - but I'm sure that feeling will wear off when we're 2 hours into strike!

We opened the 2010 McLaren winner THERE'S NO JUSTICE JUST COURT COSTS last night. The cast and crew have worked very hard to get the show ready for opening weekend, and I know that they're ready for an audience. For the third time in my 15 years in Midland, I've had to remove an actor from the show during technical rehearsals - in this case, the actor was trying but he simply could not learn the lines and it was holding the show back. We replaced him on Tuesday night before we opened, and it's been an uphill challenge for the director (Gene Houk) and the incoming actor (Carl Moore). However, I must give full credit to the actor who was asked to step aside - he did it with grace and understanding. Working with volunteers is an important part of our work in community theatre, and it's never easy to make this kind of decision. We all hope it works out for the best.

Hairspray Rehearsal

2011-04-20T10:55:00.000-05:00

We've moved rehearsals for our 2011 spring musical HAIRSPRAY down to the Yucca Theatre this week - we're headed into tech weekend in preparation for our opening next week. The set has been loaded in but still needs lots of painting and trim, but we're able to work in the space with the stage extension, buildings and portal all in place. On Monday and Tuesday, we adjusted the show to the Yucca spacing, and now we're going to work Act One (Wednesday) and Act Two (Thursday) and then do another run through on Friday night. Crews will start work on Saturday as we add lights, sound, sets and props. I'll keep you posted on our progress!!

UIL Drama at Midland College

2011-04-07T18:07:00.000-05:00

Over the past eight days, we've hosted three UIL Drama competitions at Midland College and MCT. Certainly, my involvement at Midland College as the chair of the Drama program has added to the responsibilities across the bridge, but we've also partnered up with MCT for these events as the shows have used MCT spaces (Redfern, Taubman, North, Mabee, Dressing rooms) as their dressing rooms for the show. Thanks to the wonderful MC Hall Way bridge between MC and MCT, the casts have been able to walk over for their show and then walk back. They've gotten to see our wonderful spaces at MCT, and been able to perform in the Wagner and Brown Auditorium and see the Midland College drama experience at work. We've had 5-6 drama club students help us all three days (6 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and it's been a wonderful experience for the theatre, the college and the high school drama students. It's ironic that UIL and "competition" is keeping drama - and the arts in general - alive and well in Texas high schools.

AACT Festivals

2011-03-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting - I've been traveling around the country in March. AACT is hosting the national community theatre festival in Rochester NY in June, and various state and regional festivals are taking place this spring. Some of them happened in the fall - I was an adjudicator for the Region X festival in Kaiserslauten Germany for the US Military bases in Europe in October 2010 - but many happen in the spring. Over the previous three weekends, I saw 22 plays. I was the AACT representative - basically, the person who makes sure that everyone follows the rules - at the Ohio state theatre festival from March 3-5. I was an adjudicator for the New Mexico theatre festival - one of three judges who comments on the shows and determines which show moves on - from March 10-13. Finally, I attended the Texas state theatre festival in Ft. Worth from March 17-20 in support of our MCT entry THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB. I was very proud of director Jane Moore and our talented cast and crew, but they did not advance to the regional. However, it was a good three week run of theatre, and I look forward to seeing the 12 shows that make the national festival this summer in Rochester!

March Madness

2011-03-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

Not that it's ever a slow time, but March has been particularly busy for me. This month, I will be traveling to three state AACT festival competitions leading up to the national festival in Rochester NY in June 2011. On March 3-7, I was in Ohio at their state AACT festival competition as the AACT commission rep (basically making sure that everyone played by the rules). On March 10-13, I was in New Mexico as an adjudicator for their state AACT festival. This weekend, I will be in Ft. Worth representing MCT and cheering on the cast and crew of "The Dixie Swim Club" as they compete in the state festival.

In addition, our 2011 opening musical OKLAHOMA has now closed after a six weekend run - congratulations to the cast and crew for all their hard work and dedication to this show. The great cast of THE NERD opened the second show of the 2011 season in Mabee Theatre II this past weekend, and will continue their run through April 2, 2011. We had over 100 people audition for HAIRSPRAY, and rehearsals have started for the spring Yucca musical. The Pickwick Players currently have 100 youth in the building this week with Fine Arts Camp, and their production of THE MAGICAL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM is in rehearsal. Finally, we have rehearsals for our 2010 McLaren winner THERE'S NO JUSTICE JUST COURT COSTS on March 27 and 28. Needless to say, it's a busy March at your community theatre!

Busy Times at MCT

2011-02-21T10:41:00.000-06:00

It's a very busy time at your community theatre! What's going on right now?

OKLAHOMA is still performing in Davis Theatre I
THE NERD is in rehearsals in Mabee Theatre II in preparation for performances in March/April
THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB is getting ready to perform at the Yucca Theatre and in Ft. Worth for the state AACT festival
MY WAY is starting rehearsals in preparation for our travels to Norway this summer
THE MAGICAL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM had auditions this past weekend and will begin rehearsals soon in preparation for their performances in April
HAIRSPRAY has auditions on February 27th, 28th and March 1st

Needless to say, there's a lot going on, and we'd love to get you involved. You can audition for a show, work backstage on building a show (sets, costumes, lights/sound), usher for a production or work concessions/bar or assist us in the Business Office or Box Office. It's YOUR community theatre - become a part of the fun!!

Interested in volunteering? Call Tracy Alexander at 682-2544 or tracy@mctmidland.org

Opening Night - OKLAHOMA

2011-02-05T20:24:00.000-06:00

Last night was opening night for our 2011 opening musical - OKLAHOMA. We had a great crowd at the theatre - there were even 31 people on the waiting list to get in! The crowd was enthusiastic and excited by the show - and the cast was thrilled. After performing for five weeks with no one in the audience, it was nice to finally have someone clap, laugh and respond at the scenes and song.

A very funny thing happened during the show last night. During the second scene, Jud and Curly are supposed to fire their guns in the smokehouse. Jud's fired just fine, but Curly's did not fire - he tried three times and nothing. Finally, he said "Bang!" and said "that would've gone through that knothole". The audience laughed and responded positively, because the actor (Drew Ervin) handled the situation well and in character. In the second act, Curly sells the gun at the Box Social in order to increase his bid over Jud, and he offers it to Joe and says "it only misfired once!" - well, the audience went nuts. The joys of live theatre - the gun had never been a problem in dress rehearsals, but it happened in front of an audience and the actor handled it well. All in all, it will probably go down as one of our "memories" of this show!

If you're in Midland over the next five weeks, come on down to MCT and see the show - support our talented volunteers (both onstage and off) who have worked on this show.

Opening Night

2011-02-04T10:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it's time - all the work and preparation has come to an end, and it's time to perform the show in front of an audience. Our actors have done an amazing job getting ready for tonight's performance, and we have some incredible characters and performers onstage. We are especially proud of the fact that seven people in OKLAHOMA have never appeared on the MCT stage before tonight - it's their debut MCT performance! The crews have also done a wonderful job preparing the scenery, costumes, props, lighting and sound. If you don't already have a ticket, I hope you will get one and join us for our opening musical!!

AITA/IATA 2011 - Norway

2011-01-30T12:58:00.000-06:00

It's now official - Midland Community Theatre has been invited by the organizers of the 2011 AITA/IATA International Theatre festival in Tromso, Norway to present our production of MY WAY this summer at the event. Needless to say, we are very excited about this invitation, and are looking forward to working on this important project. Here is a website for the festival - at last glance, it had not been updated to include the recent productions added to the festival.

We are currently in the process of putting together the production - three of the original four members of the show still live in the Permian Basin and have agreed to participate. I've had to add a new member to the production to replace Amy (who moved away) and the group is getting started in a week after I open OKLAHOMA. In addition, I can not devote my full attention to the production until I get done with HAIRSPRAY this spring - we may have some Saturday rehearsals and a slow beginning to the process before moving forward.

In addition, we'll need to work on raising the money to make this trip. When I asked the board's permission to accept this invitation (if offered), I agreed that we would not use funds from the 2011 operating budget for the trip. Therefore, we're going to need to raise a considerable sum to make this trip. I am planning to keep the traveling party small - six people - but Norway is an expensive country and summer is the busy travel season. I'll keep you posted as we develop more of our plans.

Tech Weekend - OKLAHOMA

2011-01-28T10:35:00.000-06:00

We've reached the final week of rehearsals for our 2011 opening musical - OKLAHOMA. We open a week from tonight, and the next eight days will be filled with rehearsals and hard work to get ready for the opening. The cast has had a good week of work improving from our "stumble thru" on Sunday afternoon, and last night's run thru on the stage was a positive step forward. We'll run the show again tonight, and start technical rehearsals on Saturday by adding lighting, sound and the scenery. We'll have another actor rehearsal on Sunday afternoon, and another tech on Sunday night. Finally, we have dress rehearsals Monday through Thursday and then the opening on Friday night.

This is always an exciting part of the year, since it's the beginning of a new season. We recently had auditions for THE NERD, our first production in 2011 in Mabee Theatre II. They start rehearsals on Sunday in preparation for their opening in March, and soon the Pickwick Players will hold auditions and begin rehearsals for THE MAGICAL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM. There are lots of volunteers needed for our opening musical backstage, and we have auditions coming up for HAIRSPRAY and the 2010 McLaren winner THERE'S NO JUSTICE JUST COURT COSTS, so become involved in your community theatre!

Oklahoma Rehearsals

2011-01-18T09:04:00.000-06:00

OKLAHOMA rehearsals have continued over the past week - we are working six days a week to get ready for our opening on Friday, February 5, 2011. The cast has been working hard on the songs, dances and scenes, and we're starting to transition from the "learning" process into the "performing" process by getting off-book (lines memorized) and working on more character interactions.

On Sunday night, Jessi and Cameron Willmann - Jessi is playing Ado Annie - hosted the cast for a party after the rehearsal and it was a great chance to meet and talk outside of rehearsals. There are lots of new people in the show, and it was a great chance for people to meet and learn more about each other. Part of the joy of community theatre is the family atmosphere that exists within each cast. When you work together for 5-6 weeks and then perform together for several weekends, it has a bonding experience for the whole group. I've been really pleased with how the veterans have mixed with the newcomers in our 2011 opening musical.

OKLAHOMA Rehearsals

2011-01-13T16:53:00.000-06:00

We are now 1/3 of the way through rehearsals for our 2011 opening musical OKLAHOMA. Almost all of the scenes have been blocked, and all of the songs have been introduced and the choreography roughed out for the musical numbers. Musical Director Bert Bostic has a full night of music rehearsals tonight, and Choreographer Misti Tytanic will be working on the Dream Ballet, the song "Kansas City" and other dances at rehearsals on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. All of this work leads up to our opening on Friday, February 4, 2011.

Several people have noted that our 2011 opening musical includes many performers who have never appeared on the MCT stage before, and we're very excited to welcome these newcomers. These newcomers include the actors playing Laurey (Jenness Rouse), Curly (Drew Ervin), Gertie (Cara Craggett), and Jud (Micheal Waid). Additional newcomers include Jim Johnson, Meaghan Hall, Leanne Ervin, Brady Suggs and Daniela Morales. Of course, there are others in the cast that you will recognize from past MCT productions, but we are thrilled to have so many newcomers participating in our 2011 opening musical!

Closing Weekend - WHITE CHRISTMAS

2010-12-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that WHITE CHRISTMAS closes this weekend - we've had a great five weekend run of the show and audiences were very enthusiastic about the show. Initially, I had some concerns about a show with only one "kid" for the holiday season, but it's a family friendly show and the audiences have come each and every weekend. The cast has been thrilled with the audience response to the show, and I could not be more proud of the hard work of our cast. Audience members always comments on the tap dance number at the top of Act Two ("I Love a Piano") and I remind them that three of the women in the number had never tap danced ever before tapping for this number - it amazes them!

Although the show has not yet closed, I am already hard at work on our 2011 opening musical OKLAHOMA. After doing THE PRODUCERS (2008) and LES MISERABLES (2009), we've had two years of more traditional opening musicals - THE WIZARD OF OZ (2010) and OKLAHOMA (2011). The good news is that the last time we produced the show at MCT was 1978, and it's never been done in our current facility - the Cole Theatre. We've cast the show and had the first cast meeting, and we start full rehearsals on Sunday, January 2nd. Below is a photo of the model for Act One.

Finally, I will be dedicating my work on OKLAHOMA to the memory of Charles Dickey, our Musical Director for the opening musical since 2004 who passed away on Saturday, December 4, 2010. Charles always challenged our singers to work hard and do better, and he could be difficult to work with but he always produced great shows and was a true friend to me and the theatre. He will be missed!!

2010-11-18T11:20:00.000-06:00

We are in the final stages of getting ready for our opening of WHITE CHRISTMAS on Friday night. The photo is from technical rehearsals (for the musical number "Snow") and we've added costumes and additional set, lighting, props and sound over the past week. Tonight is our final dress rehearsal, and we're ready for an audience to enjoy the show.

When you see WHITE CHRISTMAS, I hope that you will appreciate the tremendous work and the amazing talents of Choreographer Judith Giebler and our volunteer dancers. Community theatre has lots of people who can act and sing, but finding dancers is much more difficult. Our cast has worked hard on these great dance numbers - like "Happy Hollidays", "Blue Skies", "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing" and the tap number "I Love a Piano" - for the past six weeks, and we hope that you will appreciate their dedication and hard work on these numbers. It is really a treat to see these volunteers learn the dance moves and work hard to make the song shine. Kudos to Judith and our talented performers.

Many performances have sold-out, but remember that there are usually empty seats and we squeeze in those people on the waiting list into any available seats. Join us for Irving Berlin's wonderful musical and a classic holiday story - WHITE CHRISTMAS from November 19-December 18 at the Cole Theatre

Tech Weekend - WHITE CHRISTMAS

2010-11-15T10:45:00.000-06:00

We survived tech weekend for WHITE CHRISTMAS. If you've never participated, it's a long - but necessary - part of the process, especially for a musical. We worked on Act II on Friday night, and I was back on Saturday morning doing some backstage work. Those with wireless microphones arrived at Noon on Saturday for balancing with Eddie Taylor (lights and sound) and the sound operators (Cole and Ryan for this show). The cast arrived at 1 p.m. and we were off and working through the whole show.

Ran into an interesting problem on Saturday - the new mid-stage traveler broke in the middle of our tech of Act One. We had purchased a new curtain and rigged the motor to work on this curtain line that's been there for years but we've rarely used. So, we were faced with a problem - how do we move forward with tech on the show when it depends upon this curtain? After 10 minutes, the guys realized it would take about 30 minutes to fix it - rather than 2-3 hours - so we jumped ahead and went through the tech of Act Two, took a 30 minute break while they fixed it and then came back and picked up Act One. We could go forward to Act Two because it uses the mid-stage curtain only twice, where as Act One depends upon it. In the end, we got all our work done and were actually done around 6 p.m. Not a bad Saturday afternoon tech!

Sunday started around Noon and we had an actor run through at 2 p.m. with just acting, singing and dancing - no props, set pieces or lighting and sound. Judith (choreographer), Bert (musical director) and I were able to make some improvements and adjustments with the actors onstage - that's our last chance. From here on out, we'll have to give notes after the show and hope that the actors remember our notes and incorporate them into the show. We then had a cast and crew dinner in the lobby - always a great bonding experience for the group as we head towards opening night - and the hair and makeup people did their meetings with the cast. We had a quick change rehearsal to prepare for the dress rehearsal on Monday, and then on Sunday night we ran the show again with full tech - lights, sound, sets and props. Tonight (Monday) we add costumes and on Tuesday we add makeup and hair.

2010-11-12T14:01:00.000-06:00

Tech Weekend - WHITE CHRISTMAS

Well, we've finally reached tech weekend for our 2010 holiday musical WHITE CHRISTMAS. We've had extra rehearsals for the complex dance number in this show - include our first group tap dance number since CRAZY FOR YOU - but we are heading toward our opening weekend with great anticipation. The talented cast have worked hard on the songs, dances and scenes in this show, and our technical staff and awesome volunteers are working hard on the sets, props, costumes, lighting and sound. Last night (Thursday), we did a dry tech (no actors) and then a wet tech (with actors) on Act One, and we'll do the same for Act Two tonight (Friday). On Saturday, we'll have a full technical rehearsal with all of the lighting, sound, props and set changes for the afternoon - always one of the longest rehearsals of the whole process. On Sunday, we return in the afternoon with an actors only rehearsal, followed by a dinner with a review of hair, makeup and costume changes, and then another tech rehearsal on Sunday night. Starting on Monday, we add costumes for our first dress rehearsal.

Tickets are currently on sale for our 2010 holiday musical - which is the last production in our 2010 membership season. Many performances are already sold out, so don't wait to call the box office (432-570-4111) or purchase tickets through our website.

2010-10-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

This past Friday, MCT opened the eighth production in our 2010 membership season - DOUBT - in Mabee Theatre II. For several years, our Play Selection committee has been considering this drama for our season, and we were very pleased to finally add it in 2010. Director Pam Keel and her strong cast have done an outstanding job with this show - I had the chance to watch a dress rehearsal last week and it's a great production. In addition, Scenic Designer Brian Baillif and Costume Designer Micheal Waid have done a great job complimenting the actors and the director with their work. This drama is only 90 minutes long (no intermission) and we hope that you will support our great volunteers and staff in their work on this show. Call the Box Office (432) 570-4111 or visit our website and get your tickets for the penultimate show in our 2010 membership season.

MAAS Fundraiser

2010-10-20T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Midland-Odessa Area AIDS Support (MAAS) will be hosting a fundraiser on Thursday, October 28th at 8 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre featuring Michael Arden. Michael is a former Pickwick Player and has appeared on Broadway (The Times They Are a Changin') and the West End (Aspects of Love) and will be presenting a one man show "The Heart of the Matter" with his musical director and a bass and drums. The cost of bringing Michael to Midland has been underwritten by a local sponsor, so all proceeds of this event benefit MAAS. Please join us at the Yucca on October 28th - tickets are available at the MCT Box Office or Iron Press Cleaners or First Presbyterian Church or at the door that night.

Region X AACT Festival - Germany

2010-10-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

From October 6-11, I was in Germany adjudicating the Region X AACT festival. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about - AACT is the Amerian Association of Community Theatre and they are in the midst of state and regional festivals to select the 12 shows that will perform in Rochester NY in June 2011 at the national AACTFest. Region X consists of all of the community theatres located on military bases in Europe - so, these are American citizens either serving in Europe or family members of these soldiers. During my trip, I adjudicated 13 one-act plays over 30 hours by providing feedback to each group after the performance and - in cooperation with the other two judges - selecting the top three productions along with the top 3 for acting, directing and technical awards. In addition, I had the opportunity to teach a 90 minute workshop on Performance Improvisation - using many of the games that we play at Improv at the Yucca, adjudicate the seven finalist monologues from the workshop and and see the outstanding Brazilian production again that had performed this summer at the AACT International festival in Venice, FL. Although it was a fairly quick trip, we still had some time to eat good food, drink German beer and appreciate the wonderful talents of these dedicated volunteers in Region X. It will take me several days to catch up on my sleep, but it was worth it.

The winning production was HAUPTMANN, performed by SHAPE - they will be representing Region X in Rochester.

Many thanks to Jim Sohre for inviting me to adjudicate, and many thanks to Benny Sato Ambush and Tracy Friendman, the other two adjudicators. It was also great to work with Kathleen Maldonado and Kristi Quinn - representing AACT - as well as Morrie Enders (ED of the Lincoln Community Theatre) who taught the monologue workshop.

WHITE CHRISTMAS Auditions

2010-09-16T10:48:00.002-05:00

Our 2010 holiday musical is based on the extremely popular movie of the same name – WHITE CHRISTMAS. I have been working for the past five years to get the rights for this show, and we are proud to finally have the opportunity to produce the stage musical version of the movie. If you’ve seen (or remember) the movie, then you know the story – two guys are a song-and-dance team after their time in the Army and meet up with two gals on their way to perform in Vermont - an Inn that is run by the guys’ former General; they pitch in to help by putting on a show and everyone comes out a winner! There are many great roles available in this show, but it’s not a huge cast – in fact, we will probably only cast 25-30 people in this show (versus 50+ for A CHRISTMAS CAROL). Needless to say, everyone will be busy who is cast in WHITE CHRISTMAS.

WHITE CHRISTMAS

Director: Tim Jebsen

Choreographer: Judith Giebler

Musical Director: Bert Bostic

Stage Manager: Sandy Faulkner

Performances: Friday, November 19 – Sunday, December 19, 2010

(Thursdays (7:30), Friday and Saturday evenings (8:00) and Sunday afternoons (2:00))

There will be no Saturday afternoon performances for WHITE CHRISTMAS

Here’s a breakdown of the characters:

Bob Wallace – This is the Bing Crosby role from the movie version – mostly a singer with some movement
Phil Davis – This is the Danny Kaye role from the movie version – singer and dancer
Betty Haynes – Both sisters need to be good singers and dancers and must “pair up” with Bob and Phil
Judy Haynes – (see above)
Ezekiel Foster/Mr. Snoring Man/Quintet Member – A good character role for a non-dancing, older male
General Henry Waverly – Bob and Phil’s superior officer, another good character role for a non-dancing, older male
Susan Waverly – the General’s granddaughter (age 8-12) – sings and dances – the only role for anyone under 13 in the show
Martha Watson – Runs the Inn, a great singing with movement role for an older female
Ralph Sheldrake – Bob and Phil’s Army buddy, a great male role for a non-singer/non-dancer
Rita and Rhoda – Phil’s girlfriends from the ensemble who wear outlandish costumes and sing and dance
Ensemble – the ensemble will all play a multitude of roles in the show and will have a mix of actors, singers and dancers

As you can see from the above list, everyone in the show does not need to be a great singer and dancer – we need all types to put on this show!!

Auditions for WHITE CHRISTMAS

Sunday and Monday, September 19^th and 20^th at 6:30 p.m.

Note: we’ve moved up the auditions a couple of weeks from their original dates in order to give Bert and Judith a couple of extra weeks to work on songs and dances. Since we know that most of you are not experienced dancers, we want to make sure that you have plenty of time to learn the dances. However, please do NOT be afraid if you’re not a “dancer” – we have parts for all types of actors, singers and dancers. Men do NOT have to tap dance unless they want to play the role of Phil – all the women do not need to tap dance but we are looking for 8-10 women who will work with Judith to learn a tap number.

Scripts and music are available for check out through the Business Office. There is no audition packet for this show – you can check out the script or just watch the movie to get a feel for the show. Auditions will be held in the traditional Midland Community Theatre manner – you will be asked to sing with Bert from selections presented at the auditions, you will dance with Judith in the Taubman Dance Studio and you will read scenes from the show with Tim.

Here’s a YouTube clip of the Broadway version that has played in NY for the past couple of years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHQWCkprlrQ&feature=fvst

Here are some more clips from other productions of WHITE CHRISTMAS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDh1l6J86W4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8EUrAyVnM4

Want more information about the stage version of the show?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_%28musical%29

I hope that you will strongly consider auditioning for our 2010 holiday musical – I know it’s going to be a fun show!!

Auditions - WHITE CHRISTMAS

2010-09-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Now that we've passed Labor Day weekend, summer is officially over and it's time to get ready for auditions for our 2010 holiday musical - WHITE CHRISTMAS. Auditions will be held on September 19th and 20th at 6:30 p.m. at the Cole Theatre. We've moved the auditions up a little in order to give Bert Bostic (Musical Director) and Judith Giebler (Choreographer) a little more time to work on the songs and dances for this show before our opening on November 19th (the weekend before Thanksgiving). If you're familiar with the movie, then you're familiar with the plot and chracters and music of the show. Scripts and music are available for check-out, but we will have all audition materials available at these auditions. Come on down and join the fun with this great holiday musical!

AUDITIONS
Sunday and Monday, September 19th and 20th
Rehearsals begin September 27th
Performances - November 19-December 19, 2010
Performances will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons
There are no Tuesday night performances or Saturday afternoon performances

AUDITIONS

2010-08-13T11:37:00.000-05:00

AUDITIONS - Escanaba in da Moonlight

Sunday and Monday, August 15th at 16th at 6:30 p.m.

Performances: October 1-16, 2010 in Davis Theatre I

ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT

A comedy by Jeff Daniels

At 43 years old, Reuben is the last member of the Soady clan never to bag a buck during the family's annual deer hunting pilgrimage to their ramschackle deer camp. Nicknamed the "Buckless Yooper", Reuben is desperate to escape his past misfortune and make this hunting season count. Encountering mystical powers and other strange escapades round out this hysterical journey set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

McLaren Festival

2010-08-05T08:29:00.000-05:00

Our annual McLaren Comedy Competition festival takes place this Saturday - August 7th starting at 1 p.m. Director Gene Houk has three full-length comedies, and the casts have been working in order to perform these three shows Reader's Theatre style in Mabee Theatre II for the afternoon. Audience members who attend all three readings will be allowed to vote for the winner of the competition. Join us at the Cole Theatre this Saturday for three original comedies.

Upcoming MCT Auditions

2010-08-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

After several months off from auditions, we have a run of auditions in the next two months. This past week, we completed auditions for our September musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE - Director Carl Moore and the cast are now in rehearsals for that show. However, we have three sets of auditions coming up and we hope that our volunteers will show up in force:

ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT
Auditions: Augusut 15 and 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Performances: October 1-16, 2010
Director: Jim Carver

DOUBT
Auditions: August 29 and 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Performances: October 22 - November 13, 2010
Director: Pam Keel

WHITE CHRISTMAS
Auditions: September 19 and 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Performances: November 19 - December 18, 2010
Director: Tim Jebsen
Choreographer: Judith Giebler
Musical Director: Bert Bostic

2011 OPENING MUSICAL
Auditions: December 5 and 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Performances: Feb/March 2011
Director: Tim Jebsen
Choreographer: Misti Tytanic
Musical Director: Charles Dickey

As always, contact Tracy Alexander via phone or e-mail for information and encouragement:
(432) 682-2544, extension 3003
tracy@mctmidland.org

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2010-07-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

CAST LIST

Rona Lisa Perretti                    Charlotte Dameron
Vice Principal Panch                 Drew Anderson
Mitch Mahoney                        Marcellus Roberts
Chip Tolentino                         Brian Gravelle
Leaf Coneybear                         Cameron Willmann
William Barfee                          Alex Rodriguez
Olive Ostrovsky                        Abby Anderson
Loagainne Schwarzy                Jessi Willmann
Marcy Park                               Michelle Tate

Godspell

2010-07-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

The Pickwick Players present GODSPELL - July 16-24, 2010 - Davis Theatre I
Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. - Sunday (July 18th) at 2 p.m.

These incredibly talents teenagers have been working all summer to get ready for our July production, and they are looking forward to entertaining you and your family with this wonderful musical. Please come support the Pickwicks and MCT and see our summer musical.

Tickets - (432) 570-4111 or visit the website

AACT 2010 International Wrap-up

2010-06-28T13:14:00.000-05:00

I just returned from the 2010 AACT International theatre festival that was hosted by the Venice Theatre in Venice, Florida. There were 12 shows at the festival, including 9 from abroad (three were fill-ins from within the USA for groups that could not show up at the last minute). The Venice Theatre should be congratulated for hosting a wonderful week of international theatre. Their staff and volunteers worked very hard to make this event happen, and the AACT has actually awarded the 2014 International festival to Venice for a return engagement. Highlights for me during the week included the amazing Brazillian production with puppets, the creative dance and movement production from Australia and the visual feast of of music videos from Denmark. The festival highlighted that our definitions of "theatre" might differ from country to country, but the ability to entertain, engage, challenge and fascinate is not limited by language. It was a good week of wonderful theatre!

2010 AACT International Theatre Festival

2010-06-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

I am currently attending the 2010 AACT International Theatre festival in Venice, Florida. MCT was proud to host the last AACT International festival, and it's a pleasure to attend a festival without an responsibilities. Last night, we saw three good shows to start the festival - an American production of THE WHO'S TOMMY, an Italian production of Commedia del' Arte and a Brazilian production that combined theatre, circus and puppetry (with one performer). There are several elements of the Brazilian production that could make for a wonderful Olio act at Summer Mummers! During the day, there are meetings and workshops, and three more shows tonight. The festival continues through Saturday evening.

It's Time fo SUMMER MUMMERS!!

2010-06-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that summer is upon us, but graduation happened last weekend and the temperature has gotten over 100 degrees in Midland so that must mean it's time for our favorite summer entertainment in the Permian Basin - the 62nd version of Summer Mummers. Opening on Friday night (June 11th) and running every Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre through Labor Day weekend, this annual fundraiser is an important part of our community theatre. Without the funds raised by Summer Mummers, we could not continue to produce the finest in quality live theatrical productions in the Permian Basin. Summer Mummers has an incredible group of volunteers who participate onstage, backstage and in the house - without their time and dedication, we could not continue to produce thirteen weekends of shows every summer.

Please join us this summer and bring a group of friends down to the Yucca Theatre - June 11 - September 4, 2010. Tickets are available at (432) 570-4111 (Box Office hours are M-F 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) and through the website. Remember, Summer Mummers is recommended for those 16 and up due to adult language and situations.

Virtually in Love

2010-05-10T11:05:00.000-05:00

Opening on Friday is the 2009 winner of the McLaren comedy festival - VIRTUALLY IN LOVE. It's always fun to work on a new production, and director Gene Houk and his talented cast have been rehearsing for the past five weeks to get ready for their opening on Friday night. This original play is about love and romance in the modern computer world, and the playwright - Bradford Owens - will be here this weekend to attend the show. Come on down and support these wonderful volunteers and their very funny show.

VIRTUALLY IN LOVE
May 14 - June 5, 2010
(432) 570-4111 or visit the website

Added Performance - THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

2010-04-28T22:30:00.000-05:00

Based on demand, we have added an extra performance of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW on Saturday, May 8th at 8 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre. We have been very pleased with the response to the show, and look forward to entertaining audiences this weekend (April 30th and May 1st at 8 p.m.) and next Saturday night.

Tickets? (432) 570-4111 or visit the website

Also, congratulations to everyone who auditioned and was cast in the 2010 version of Summer Mummers. It looks like its going to be a great show, and MCT sincerely appreciates all the great volunteers who work both onstage and off at our annual fundraiser at the Yucca Theatre. Performances start June 11th and run every Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre, 208 North Colorado in downtown Midland.

Opening Night - ROCKY HORROR SHOW

2010-04-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the opening night for our 2010 Yucca musical - The Rocky Horror Show. We've been doing these shows for the past five years, and we've had some hits (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rent) and some misses (Chicago, The Full Monty) with our audience attending these shows. It's not a part of the membership season, and thus everyone who attends must buy a ticket. We've had some good publicity - many thanks to the MRT, Good Times Magazine, KODM and KMID-TV for their support - and now we're waiting for the crowds to show up and watch the show.

Frankly, this has been a wonderful process as a director. The cast is a mix of veterans to the MCT stage and some newcomers - there are several people in the show that have never appeared in an MCT production. It's been a fun rehearsal process - working on the songs, the dances and the scenes. Misti Tytanic has done a great job with the choreography, and Bert Bostic has done an outstanding job with the music. Our great band is a wonderful addition to the show, and our outstanding volunteers are helping us backstage with costumes, sets, lighting and sound. Stage Manager Jaime Sotelo is ready to call his first musical - it's time to do the TIME WARP again!

If you don't have tickets, come down to the Yucca Theatre and join the fun:

Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24 at 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1 at 8 p.m.

(432) 570-4111 or visit our website

Rocky Horror tech rehearsal

2010-04-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

We've moved the show down to the Yucca Theatre, and we're getting ready to open on Friday, April 23rd. This past week, we adjusted the show to the Yucca stage and the set pieces - many thanks to all the great volunteers who helped the staff to load-in the set pieces on April 10th. Last night (Friday), we ran through the whole show and had some dressers and other crew members watch the show to get a feel for how their involvement will affect the performance. After the run through, a group of us ran over to Odessa to perform "The Time Warp" at Sin Citi and pass out flyers to encourage people to attend the show. It was fun to perform in front of an enthusiastic nightclub!!

Today (Saturday) we have dry tech this morning where we will work on set, light and sound issues. This afternoon, we'll add the microphones to the actors and run a technical rehearsal with lights, sound and set changes. This is where we add our technical volunteers - the Assistant Stage Managers work backstage, the light and sound board operators learn their role, the set crew learns their moves and the props are in place backstage. Tomorrow (Sunday), we'll have an actor rehearsal in the afternoon and then another tech rehearsal in the evening. Starting on Monday, we'll add costumes to the show, then add hair and makeup on Tuesday night. We'll continue dress rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for our opening on Friday, April 23rd.

Public Performances of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Friday, April 23rd at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 24th at 8 p.m.
Friday, April 30th at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 1st at 8 p.m.

Call the Box Office for tickets - (432) 570-4111 or visit our website

The Diary of Anne Frank

2010-04-05T15:49:00.000-05:00

The Pickwick Players are starting dress rehearsals tonight in preparation for their opening on Friday of the spring Pickwick production THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. These talented teenagers have worked hard on this wonderful story, and you only have six chances to see the show:

April 9, 10, 11
April 15, 16, 17

Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.; Thursday (15th) at 7;30 p.m. and Sunday (11th) at 2:00 p.m.

Visit our website to get your tickets - support the Pickwicks and see at great show!

UIL Competition - Midland College

2010-03-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

Today, we're hosting the UIL Drama competition for six area schools at the Wagner and Brown auditorium in AFA at Midland College. It's an honor to see these young and energetic kids perform 40 minute shows. Although the concept of theatre as a competitive sports remains strange (even in the AACT festival process), it's great that all area high schools have a drama teacher and the high school students can learn and perform theatre.

If you'd like to attend the shows, it's only $5 (benefiting the MC Drama club) for a bracelet that gets you into all six performances starting at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, April 1, 2010).

TNT Conference

2010-03-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Tracy Alexander and I attended the Texas Nonprofit Theatre (TNT) conference in Beaumont, TX this past weekend along with volunteers Marilyn Allen and Alathea Blishke. It was a fun weekend of networking, workshops and performances - we saw the Beaumont Community Theatre's production of CHICAGO on Friday night and the Port Arthur Little Theatre's production of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS on Saturday afternoon. In addition, the Board of TNT organized a gala event on Saturday night and the silent auction - organized by Tracy - raised $1,600 for TNT. All in all, it was a great weekend of fun!

Congratulations to the cast and crew of THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB - the audience response has been excellent and we've had to add performances to meet the demand. Right now, we're in rehearsal for both THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. If you're interested in being on the stage, our 2009 McLaren winning production VIRTUALLY IN LOVE will hold auditions on Sunday and Monday, March 28th and 29th at 6:30 p.m. here at the Cole Theatre, 2000 West Wadley in Midland.

DIXIE SWIM CLUB opens

2010-03-11T13:42:00.000-06:00

We have now reached the end of the run of our 2010 opening musical, and our second production of the membership season will open on Friday night. This comedy is a welcomed opportunity to showcase many of our finest actresses. THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB is about a group of women who were on their college swim team and now meet every summer at a beach house to reminese about old times.

Here's a link to the story in the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB opens on Friday, March 12, 2010 and runs through April 3, 2010 in Mabee Theatre II. For tickets, contact the Box Office at 570-4111 or visit the MCT website.

End of WIZARD and Opening of DIXIE

2010-03-02T13:44:00.002-06:00

We're down to the final performances of WIZARD OF OZ. It's been a good run of our 2010 opening musical, but it didn't always look like that. Initial sales were slow, and Cue Cards did not fill the performances like they have in past opening musicals. About three weeks before opening, we wondered if this show would sell-out performances, and started some additional advertising - the leads walked through the mall on consecutive Saturdays in costume and took pictures with families and passed out flyers about the show. We send out flyers to some area schools - buy an adult ticket and get a youth ticket for free. We printed extra posters and spread them all over town. We asked the cast to post on their Facebook and tell family and friends to come see them in the show.

In the end, it looks like someone worked. Starting opening weekend, we've had waiting lists for empty seats - this usually happens at the end of a run of the show but not on opening weekend. As a result, every performance has been very full and we've had some wonderful crowds see our opening musical. As a result, membership sales are catching up to our "pace" and we might even reach our goals. Considering the fact that the economy has hit us harder in 2010 than in past years, this is a great sign for our financial success in 2010.

Our second production of the 2010 membership season is THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB. Check out the seasons for almost any community theatre in 2009, 2010 or 2011 and you will see this show on their season. Why? It's a comedy and it has five women in it. We're blessed to have a great director (Jane Moore) and an outstanding cast - Patrice Compton, Charlotte Dameron, Liz Koeninger, Gail Theobald and Jena Tumlin. They've been working on the show in Mabee Theatre II since late January and they are ready for you to come see it and laugh along with these ladies. Box Office Manager Laura Abbott describes it as "Steel Magnolias" meets "Same Time, Next Year". If you haven't already filled our your Cue Card, send an e-mail to the Box Office at boxoffice@mctmidland.org and reserve your seats!

February 2010

2010-02-19T14:49:00.002-06:00

It's a busy month at your community theatre!

THE WIZARD OF OZ, our 2010 opening musical, continues its run through early March. After a slow start to membership sales and tickets sales for WIZARD in January, things have picked up in February and we've even added some extra performances to the run. The cast has done a great job of producing a consistent show and we've had some outstanding crowds and great responses to the show. If you haven't seen it, we've tried to make it new and fresh - everything from pyrotechnics to projections and the song "The Jitterbug", which was cut from the original movie. If you haven't already gotten your 2010 membership or tickets to our musical, visit the website and join us at the theatre.

We recently cast our second production of the 2010 season - THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB. Director Jane Moore and her outstanding cast - Patrice Compton, Charlotte Dameron, Liz Koeninger, Gail Theobald and Jena Tumlin - are now in rehearsals for their March 12th opening. Box Office Manager Laura Abbott calls the show "Steel Magnolias" meets "Same Time, Next Year" and this new comedy is being produced by almost every theatre in the USA this year! Don't miss your chance to see this wonderful show and support our outstanding volunteers - watch for the Cue Card in your mailbox.

Finally, we have auditions coming up for THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. ANNE FRANK is being produced by the Pickwick Players, and will be presented in Davis Theatre One from April 9-17, 2010. THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is our spring 2010 Yucca musical, and will be presented at the Yucca from April 23-May 1, 2010. If you're interested in auditioning for THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, join us at the Cole Theater on Sunday, February 28th or Monday, March 1st at 6:30 p.m. If you're familiar with the movie, the musical is the original version and much more in the mode of "Rock 'n Roll" music. Join the fun and audition!

Opening Night - WIZARD

2010-02-05T10:45:00.002-06:00

It's here - the sets are getting their last touch ups, the costumes are getting pressed and last minute repairs are being made, the lights and sound are getting their final adjustments, and the lobby is being cleaned for tonight's audience. Opening night for the first show of the season is very exciting - we're opening both a show and a season tonight. The cast and crew of THE WIZARD OF OZ have worked hard to prepare for this night, and we're excited to open it for an audience.

Last night was final dress rehearsal, and it reminded me of last year's final dress for LES MISERABLES. Last year, the final dress for LES MIS included set pieces coming in at the wrong time and missed actor entrances - the classic thought that a bad final dress rehearsal means a good opening night. Fortunately, it worked out great last year and we had a good opening weekend. Well, we had our share of problems last night at final dress rehearsal for WIZARD OF OZ - Katie (Dorothy) is getting over a bug, so she did not sing last night so that she could save her voice for opening night, and the fire alarm went off when we tried a little bit of extra powder in the smoke effects for the Wicked Witch. However, these are all part of getting a show opened, so we'll do our best to put on the best show possible tonight for our sold-out audience. The staff and volunteers have worked hard - we hope you'll come out and support their efforts.

Dress Rehearsal - WIZARD

2010-02-02T11:21:00.002-06:00

Last night was the first night with costumes for THE WIZARD OF OZ. Fortunately, there were not many problems with costume changes - we have wonderful volunteer dressers - so that did not delay the show. In addition, adding the costumes usually adds some energy to the performance as the actors begin to feel that it's closer to opening night and their excitement rises. Tuesday night, we will be adding hair and makeup, and really get a feel for the overall look to the show.

Wizard - Tech Weekend

2010-01-31T17:41:00.003-06:00

We are currently in the midst of tech weekend for our 2010 opening musical - THE WIZARD OF OZ. On Saturday, we worked on flying in the morning - with the two flying monkeys - and then tested microphones and started a tech run at 1 p.m. that didn't end until 6:45 p.m. However, we worked through all of the problem spots, and hope to clean them up today (Sunday) in order to move into dress rehearsal in a good place. Today, we had an actor rehearsal this afternoon where we ran the show with just acting, singing and dancing - no tech elements - and I'm writing this blog after dinner while we're doing the hair and makeup workshop and then we'll move into the tech run around 6 p.m. I will try to update with more information early this week.

Ticket sales have picked up, but there are very few shows that are "sold out" so join the fun and come support MCT and our talented volunteers - Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10-5:30 p.m. or you can check our website

WIZARD stumble thru

2010-01-25T10:49:00.001-06:00

On Sunday afternoon, we did a "stumble thru" of the whole show - started at the beginning and went through every scene, song and dance in order. It's an important step in the process for the actors, who need to learn how their individual part fits into the overall whole of the show. We definitely had many stumbles on Sunday, but I feel that this will be a learning experience for everyone involved. We move upstairs to the stage tonight to adjust the entrances, blocking and dances to the spacing on the stage - should be interesting.

We are still in need of volunteers to help us build the sets and costumes for this show. We are working every night from 6-9 p.m. in both the set shop and the costume shop - no experience required. We start technical rehearsals on Thursday.

Wizard Update - Monday, January 18th

2010-01-18T14:49:00.002-06:00

Rehearsals have been going well - the cast is learning the songs, dances and blocking, and now we have to get the cast off-book and doing the show without their scripts in hand. The real test will be Sunday afternoon when we do a "stumble thru" of the whole show. At this rehearsal, we'll learn where the problem spots are located and what needs to be worked on before the technical and dress rehearsals.

This past weekend, we did some "guerilla marketing" of the show. On Saturday afternoon, we dressed up Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman and the Lion in the costume rental shop costumes and went to the mall, HEB and Target. We didn't talk, sing or perform - they just walked around, let people take pictures and handed them a brochure (if asked). It's our hope that this and other events like it will get people thinking about the show and planning to attend.

The Box Office is now filling member reservations for the show. If you're a 2010 member of MCT, you can make a reservation - non-members can not make a reservation until Monday, February 8, 2010. To purchase a membership, visit our website and click on the link to 2010 memberships - they start for as little as $85 for the season.

Wizard of Oz - First Week

2010-01-07T13:54:00.002-06:00

We are getting close to the end of the first week of rehearsals for our 2010 opening musical - THE WIZARD OF OZ. Early rehearsals are both fun and anxious. There's none of the pressure of later rehearsals when the show is about to open and you're wondering if it's all going to come together. Rather, it's fun to start to develop a character and have the cast get to know each other. As a director, the early rehearsals are a little strange - I'm always wondering if my blocking on the page is going to translate into something that works on the stage - certainly, changes are made and the actors are allowed to bring their own interpretation of the character into the process.

After Saturday morning's rehearsal with the Munchkins, all of Act One will be blocked - by the end of next week, we'll have blocked all of Act Two and be into reviewing scenes, songs and choreography. On January 24th (prior to the Annual Meeting) we're going to do a "stumble thru" of the whole show to see where we stand on everything, and then we'll start the process of moving the show upstairs.

Right now, the crew is working on painting and creating props and scenery upstairs - they work during the day (for anyone who can come by) but they also have work calls on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 6-9 p.m. - come join the fun!

2009 A Year in Review

2009-12-21T09:25:00.003-06:00

Friends of Midland Community Theatre:

Now that we have closed all of our 2009 productions, it's a good time to review this past year. We had a wonderful season, including a community theatre premier (RENT) and the first mainland US community theatre to produce a show (LES MISERABLES). We also had an outstanding run of our two holiday productions - A TUNA CHRISTMAS and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Many other shows were extended, including MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, SUITE SURRENDER and the 2008 McLaren winner KNOCK KNOCK. Shows were sold out for the Pickwicks PINNOCHIO and FOOTLOOSE . Finally, Summer Mummer broke every record for income in 2008, and we thought that the economy might hinder our fundraiser in 2009 - but it didn't happen. Summer Mummer made more money in 2009 than in 2008 for MCT. All in all, it was a great year of productions.

In addition to our work onstage, we continued to expand our educational programs. MCT has partnered with the Rays of Hope Grief Center to utilize drama therapy for those in need, and Bill and Judith have also expanded their work with the Autism Society to help kids find new (and creative) ways to express themselves. MCT continues to work with MISD to expand their drama programs in the schools, and the Pickwick Players, Theatre School and Centerstage programs continue to flourish. Education remains an important element of your community theatre.

Overall, MCT remains extremely blessed to have outstanding volunteers. Whether it be onstage or backstage, front of house or building sets, costumes or props, our staff is lucky to have so many outstanding volunteers. This past month, we were worried about auditions for our 2010 opening musical THE WIZARD OF OZ - very few scripts had been checked out, and we had not run many ads in the newspaper. To our surprise, over 150 people auditioned for the show, including 100 adults! We were at auditions until 1 a.m. each night, and this goes to show that MCT remains committed to our mission of allowing the community to participate in our productions.

In 2010, we have an exciting season of productions, starting with THE WIZARD OF OZ and ending with our 2010 holiday musical IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS. In between, we have two great musicals - GODSPELL and THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE - as well as comedies - THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB, the 2009 McLaren winner VIRTUALLY IN LOVE and ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT - and drama - THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and DOUBT. In addition, we are doing the live musical version of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at the Yucca in April/May. There's something for everyone in 2010 at MCT!

To those who have supported us this year as a donor, an audience member or as a volunteer, I thank you for your support of our community theatre. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you at MCT in 2010!

NOTE: MCT will be closed from December 22nd through January 3rd.

Wizard of Oz Auditions

2009-12-07T10:40:00.002-06:00

Last night, we had the first night of adult auditions for THE WIZARD OF OZ. Youth auditions were on Saturday, and there were 38 youth (ages 8-13) at these auditions. A good number - and lots of talented kids - but not an overwhelming number. We start auditions at 6:30 p.m., and on Sunday night at 6 p.m. - when those of us who had worked all afternoon on A CHRISTMAS CAROL returned from a quick dinner - there were already 20 people in line for auditions and by the end over 80 adults auditioned for the 2010 opening musical.

It takes a long time to audition that many people - especially since they all need to dance, sing and read scenes from the show. In the end, we completed the first night of auditions at 1 a.m., and will continue auditions tonight (Monday) along with casting the show - this could be a long evening!

Madison Conference - Day Two

2009-11-23T09:14:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we spent a lot of time on two topics - marketing theatre (seasons, tickets) and selecting a season. There was a lot of discussion in both areas, and we're behind on the agenda - we've got lots of topics to cover today and Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, I'm leaving on Tuesday morning and will have to leave the Tuesday session early in order to get to the airport in time for my flight.

There seems to be an overall thought of two things - lots of community theatre directors are burned out and need to be "recharged" at this meeting, and we're all concerned about the next group of plays/musicals that we're going to produce. The "hits & misses" session last night had limited usefulness - there was lots of disagreement - what worked in Peoria didn't work in Sacramento. Hard to gain consensus on shows.

I have two questions that I hope to get answers today from the groups:
1) How do other theatres list the "crew" in the program without knowing the volunteers in advance?
2) Do other theatres have a master calender or schedule posted on line?

AACT Management Conference

2009-11-22T10:43:00.003-06:00

I'm currently in Madison, Wisconsin attending the AACT Management Director's Conference. This event happens every two years, and always take place the Sunday through Tuesday before Thanksgiving. However, I missed the conference in 2005 and 2007 since the holiday production opened on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and therefore this was tech weekend for the show (which I always direct). However, since we moved to opening this show the Friday before Thanksgiving, I can now attend. A CHRISTMAS CAROL opened on Friday night, and I was on the airplane at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. The sessions take place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning, and I will be back in Midland on Tuesday night.

I will share my thoughts on the conference when I get the chance. Right now, we just finished the introductions, and are moving into "marketing" for the morning and afternoon...

Dress Rehearsals

2009-11-17T07:35:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was tech weekend for A CHRISTMAS CAROL - worked on Act One on Thursday night, Act Two on Friday night and then runs of the show on Saturday and Sunday (twice). Last night (Monday) was first dress rehearsal for the show. We are still training crew members - set crew, dressers, spotlight operators - so it was very rough. However, it's part of the process and will result in getting trained more great volunteers to help with the long run of the show.

Speaking of the run of the show, we have added two performances in December to our run - if you are still looking for tickets to the show, contact the Box Office and they will get you some great tickets for the matinee performances on Sunday, December 13th and Sunday, December 20th - 570-4111 or visit our website.

Christmas Carol - getting closer

2009-11-09T10:43:00.002-06:00

We're less than two weeks away from opening night for A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This past weekend was our last "off" weekend with Friday and Saturday night free - this weekend, we will have rehearsal on Friday night and Saturday afternoon - as well as Sunday afternoon and evening - and then performances on the weekend through Christmas.

Sunday was our last chance for Heather to review all of the major dance numbers in the show - it was good to also have Bert at rehearsal to check in on our progress. Steve and Scott - the other Musical Directors - have done a great job, but neither has done a performance of this show. I know that Steve got a good feel of the show last Thursday night with our stumble through.

Tickets are available to the public starting today - there are many shows with tickets still available, so contact us and bring the family down to the theatre and enjoy this wonderful holiday production - (432) 570-4111 or visit our website.

Stumble Thru - A CHRISTMAS CAROL

2009-11-06T11:27:00.002-06:00

Last night was the first stumble through of the 2009 version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. We ran the whole show from beginning to end without major stopping. It was a good introduction - especially to those that had not been in the show before - about how their "part" fit into the "whole". I have always called it a stumble through so that people knew that it wouldn't be perfect, but rather an important step in the growth process of the show. Overall, the show is in good shape - some people still need to get off book and a lot of actors need to continue to work on their singing and dancing outside of rehearsals - but we can make it to where we want to be on opening night if we continue to work hard.

Christmas Carol in progress

2009-11-02T10:40:00.003-06:00

This past week, we made more progress on A CHRISTMAS CAROL - an important step since we're now less than three weeks away from opening night. It's always interesting to work on a show that you've done before because you already know where the "problem spots" are and have solved some of the blocking or staging challenges. In addition, you have actors who have been involved in previous versions of the show and remember old "bits". However, it's great to have new people in the show who bring a fresh perspective to their character and the overall production. I'm looking forward to moving upstairs and getting the show ready for an audience. This past weekend, we started filling Cue Card orders - I will have an update on sales in my next post.

Many thanks to all who attended the Eddie Pleasant MAAS fundraiser last Thursday night - we had over 400 people (into the blue seats at the Yucca) and it was a great night of Nat King Cole music.

Christmas Carol rehearsals

2009-10-28T11:22:00.003-05:00

Over the last three days, I have blocked all of the "scenes" for A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Mind you, I skipped over the choreography numbers, and there are some scenes that are just rough blocked and need to be reviewed and cleaned up, but this was an important step in the process towards opening night. Considering that I was absent from the first two weeks of rehearsal - thank you Gralin, Bert, Steve, Scott and Heather for all your great work on music and dancing - we needed to get these scenes under our belt in order to move forward. Of course, it's a lot easier since I've directed the show four times in the past and already have all of the rough blocking in my script - it's simply a case of putting the new actors into their positions and allowing (and encouraging) them to make the show their own.

I am away from rehearsal (again) for the rest of the week - the Midland Area AIDS Support fundraiser is Thursday night at the Yucca. As most of you know, MAAS serves those with AIDS and their family and provides counseling and support. This is our annual fundraiser, and Eddie Pleasant - a Midlander who lives and performs in NYC - is returning to do his one-man show, a tribute to Nat King Cole. The show will be Thursday night at 8 p.m. at the Yucca - tickets are available at the door and seating is first come, first serve (behind the sponsor tables).

Finally, the TUNA boys had some time off from the show, and are back at it this weekend with four shows this weekend.

The 2010 membership season has been announced - watch for a brochure in the mail soon!!!

TUNA Opening Weekend

2009-10-26T07:42:00.002-05:00

TUNA CHRISTMAS opened this past weekend with three great audiences in Mabee Theatre II. I think that cast and crew - as well as the director - were ready to put this show in front of an audience and get the ball rolling. Mike and David worked really hard, and both are experienced at dealing with live audiences - from their years on the Mummer stage. In addition, the crew has done a great job of supporting the show. We now have six different dressers trained to work with the quick changes, and Doug has several light board operators and two great ASM to assist him with the upcoming run of the show.

On Sunday, I returned to A CHRISTMAS CAROL rehearsals - I don't know if they remembered me! We blocked most of the major group scenes in the show, including Act One, Scene One; Act One, Scene Three; and Act Two, Scene Five. I will continue to block the show throughout the next 6-8 rehearsals - with a break for the MAAS fundraising concert on Thursday night at the Yucca Theatre. I will keep you updated - through this blog - on the status of rehearsals for A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

The Cue Card for A CHRISTMAS CAROL has gone out, and we expect tickets to go as quickly as they did for TUNA CHRISTMAS. Contact the Box Office with questions - boxoffice@mctmidland.org or (432) 570-4111 or visit our website.

Tuna Christmas - more dress rehearsals

2009-10-21T10:40:00.002-05:00

There's a lot of stress backstage when you have only two actors in a show and 40+ costume changes within two hours. Over the past two nights, we have worked with the dressers on getting more comfortable with the quick changes, and the actors are getting more comfortable with the transitions from one character to another. We're making progress, and opening night is right around the corner.

A quick note of thanks to all the great volunteers who work our shows - Stage Manager Doug Hart and his crew - a light board operator, an Assistant Stage Manager backstage and two dressers - will be expected to man 20+ performances of TUNA CHRISTMAS. We couldn't do it without our great volunteers - onstage and off - thanks for all your dedication to our community theatre!

Tuna Christmas - Dress Rehearsals

2009-10-19T10:27:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting updates - CHRISTMAS CAROL auditions, Indian Guides camping trips, teaching at Midland College and preparation and planning for our 2010 season have kept my plate full.

TUNA CHRISTMAS rehearsals have progress well, and Mike and David are ready to put on the costumes and get ready for an audience. We've created solid characters for both actors, settled on vocal choices, smoothed out the blocking and pantomime of props and now need the added pressure of costumes and costumes changes. Those of you who know the TUNA series will understand that these shows are all about the costume changes - getting these changes "choreographed" so that the actors can concentrate on the show - and not on the changes - is the biggest challenge this week. Tonight is first dress rehearsal - the guys had a rehearsal with Rebecca (Costume Designer) and the dressers last Thursday - and this should get us "on the road" to opening night.

For those looking for tickets - or frustrated that you can't get tickets - the Box Office has been working with me to add performances to meet our membership demands. Check in with the Box Office - (432) 570-4111 or boxoffice@mctmidland.org - and they can update you on added shows. We want you to visit Tuna this holiday season, and we're working hard to make it happen!

TUNA CHRISTMAS end of week one

2009-09-25T07:38:00.000-05:00

Last night, we finished our first week of rehearsals on our upcoming comedy. We started by reading through Act Two, and then moved on to blocking the first two scenes of the second act. We will finish blocking Act Two on Sunday afternoon, and Monday we will start over again and begin reviewing the scenes.

Mike and David are having fun discovering the different characters in the show. In addition to determining how they are going to play 11 different roles each, they also need to figure out a quick way to switch from one character to another. David is trying out phrases that he can say to himself that get him into the new character. Mike is playing many of the same characters that he played in GREATER TUNA, but he's also having to discover new characters. It's a fun process for all of us.

Blocking - TUNA CHRISTMAS

2009-09-23T18:41:00.003-05:00

This week, we are blocking the show - determining where and when actors enter and exit, where and when they move or sit. As the show has very little furniture, there's also a lot of pantomime - a coffee cup, an oven, decorating cookies, etc. We are also in the early stages of determining the differences for each actor between their characters - what makes Jody different than Charlene for David Odom? How does Mike change from Thurston to Elmer? It's a fun process that will continue until we get the entire show blocked and then we'll move into making more specific choices and further developing the characters.

On a separate note, this is the final weekend of SUITE SURRENDER - we have four shows this weekend, including Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. If you haven't seen the show, come on down and support our great cast and crew!

TUNA CHRISTMAS rehearsals begin

2009-09-22T08:42:00.002-05:00

Last night, we had our first rehearsal for TUNA CHRISTMAS. It's a small group - just the two actors (Mike Harrell and David Odom) along with Stage Manager Doug Hart and myself. It was good to get back into the rehearsal room and get back to work on directing - I have not directed a show since LES MISERABLES opened in February 2009. Of course, I'm going to be directing four shows in a row - TUNA, CHRISTMAS CAROL, the opening 2010 musical and the spring 2010 Yucca musical - so I am pretty much going to be in rehearsals and performances until late April 2010.

Working on TUNA CHRISTMAS is going to be fun for both myself and the actors. If you're familiar with GREATER TUNA, you understand the basic premise of the show - two guys play all of the people in Tuna, Texas. The original (GREATER TUNA) introduced you to these characters, and we had a tremendous run of this show in Mabee Theatre II in 2001. The guys who wrote the show live and perform in Texas, and have always restricted the rights to perform this show in their home state - in other words, for years you could do this show in 49 states - just not in Texas. They have actually written and are now performing a fourth version of the show based on Las Vegas, so I guess they released the rights to TUNA CHRISTMAS in Texas.

I will try to blog more now that I am in rehearsals and keep you updated on our progress. Opening night for the show is Friday, October 24, 2009.

Auditions

2009-09-15T16:12:00.002-05:00

Auditions can be one of the most difficult times to work at a theatre. Almost everyone involved in the auditions is nervous - will I get a part? who else is auditioning? how do i feel right now? who am I reading with for the next scene? As the director, you try to provide a "level playing field" for everyone participating in the auditions. If it's a non-musical, you can have them read scenes and then go home. If it's a musical, you have scenes plus singing and dancing - musical auditions can (and have) gone very late into the evening.

At MCT, we have traditionally held auditions on Sunday and Monday night. I made this change when I arrived because I felt that providing a Sunday night auditions allowed some people to audition on a day they didn't have to work. The downside is the fact that its the end of the weekend - and sometimes people just forget until they go to work on Monday. However, we don't require you to be there both days, so two days of auditions are usually enough to cover our needs. If we have youth (ages 8-14) auditions, they are usually held on Saturday, adding a third day of auditions to the process - this will happen for both A CHRISTMAS CAROL (our upcoming 2009 holiday musical) and THE WIZARD OF OZ (our 2010 opening musical).

This past weekend, we held auditions for TUNA CHRISTMAS. These auditions are a little easier - after all, you only need two guys to do the show. However, we had nine talented men audition for the show, and this meant some hard choices - check out the cast list on the MCT website. However, I feel very lucky that MCT has such a talented pool of actors to chose from. This past summer at the conference in Tacoma, I heard from many of my friends in community theatre - "we have no men". MCT has a great talent pool of male performers, and I hope that we can continue to provide our men - and women - with many opportunities to let their talents shine on our stages.

Opening Night - SUITE SURRENDER

2009-09-04T11:16:00.003-05:00

Two years ago, we were alerted to a new comedy being performed in Florida. It was about a USO show in the 1940s with two divas who did not get along and were performing at the same USO show. They were both assigned the same dressing room, and chaos ensued. This farce was 90 minutes long and would be a perfect addition to an upcoming season. This comedy was SUITE SURRENDER.

Director Pam Keel and her great cast have been working hard to prepare for tonight's show. I watched dress rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday night, and I think our audience is going to love this show. Now, you may have heard that many performances are sold out - we recently added two more shows to the run on September 20th and 24th. In addition, you can always just "show up" and we will put you in an empty seat. So come on down and join the funny - I promise that you'll laugh and have a great time!

McLaren Festival

2009-08-14T10:02:00.002-05:00

This weekend is the McLaren festival, the culmination of the process for 2009. Each year, we accept submissions in January and February from around the country for original comedies in both the full-length and one-act categories. A reading committee of outstanding (and dedicated) volunteers makes sure that every scripts is read by at least two people - keep in mind that we usually receive between 120-150 scripts each year. The readers select the one-act winner, and they also select the finalists for the full-length competition.

This year, there are four finalists, and each will have a Reader's Theatre presentation on Saturday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. From the audience vote, a winner will be selected for the competition. In addition, the members of the 2010 Play Selection committee will attend, and one of these plays may be selected to be included in our 2010 membership season.

Therefore, you're invited to join us on Saturday afternoon and see these finalists - support the readers who helped to select them, and support the directors and actors who will be reading. The cost is only $15, and a small dinner will be served between the second and third performance - the shows will be over by 6 p.m. Call 570-4111 for tickets or just come on down to 2000 West Wadley on Saturday!

Final Weekend - FOOTLOOSE

2009-07-24T09:59:00.000-05:00

We added the summer Pickwick musical to our membership season several years ago, and it has become more and more popular with our audience. Normally, we produce our Pickwick shows in Davis Theatre I for two weekends, but we may need to consider three weekends for the 2010 summer musical. FOOTLOOSE has sold out all of the public performances - thank you for your support. However, if you still want to see this show - come on down to the Cole Theatre this Friday or Saturday night at 7 p.m. and put your name on the waiting list. Our good people in the Box Office will work hard to get you in when people turn in tickets or don't show up. Congratulations to the Pickwick Players!

Also, kudos to the great volunteers at Summer Mummers - we are in the midst of our 2009 summer run of our annual fundraiser, and the audience response has been tremendous. Floor tickets for the rest of July and August are few and far between - call the Box Office and make your reservations before the remaining tickets are sold out. 570-4111 or visit the website

Everyboy cut...everybody cut...

2009-07-17T14:11:00.001-05:00

FOOTLOOSE - presented by the Pickwick Players - opens tonight in Davis Theatre I. There are public performances on July 17, 18, 19 (matinee), 24 and 25. Right now, all performances are sold out but call in and put your name on the waiting list and the good people in the Box Office will work hard to get you into the show. Plus, you can simply show up to a performance - the odds of everyone who has tickets showing up is slim and we would love to fill in those empty seats with you!

Break a leg, Pickwicks - have a great run of the show!

Everybody cut loose!

2009-07-10T08:58:00.002-05:00

The Pickwick Players are hard at work on their 2009 summer musical - FOOTLOOSE. Based on the 1980s hit musical starring Kevin Bacon and including many of the great songs from the movie, this musical is a great opportunity to showcase the tremendous talents of our youth performers. Director Bill Williams, Choreographer Judith Giebler and Musical Director Darryl Knapp have been working with the Pickwicks for the past five weeks, and the youth are adding lighting, scenery and costumes this weekend to perpare for their opening next Friday.

FOOTLOOSE public performances are on July 17, 18, 19 (matinee), 24 and 25. For tickets, contact the MCT Box Office at 570-4111 or visit our website

Below is a synopsis of the musical FOOTOOSE from the American Rose Theatre:

Chicago. A group of young people have gathered at their favorite dance club to unwind and say goodbye to Ren McCormack. Ren's father has walked out, so he and his mother are forced to move in with her sister's family in a small town nobody has ever heard of - Beaumont. Ren soon finds himself at odds with the repressive atmosphere in Beaumont, where the spiritual life of the community is overseen by the power local minister Reverend Moore. Ren is stunned to learn that dancing is not allowed anywhere within the town limits of Beaumont. His new friends explain that this law dates back five years to a car accident that claimed the lives of four Beaumont teenagers. In the flood of grief and guilt that followed that tragedy, Rev Moore managed to convince the town council to ban dancing. The only person seemingly unfazed by Rev Moore's iron-fisted control is his daughter Ariel. Following a bout with her boyfriend, Ren walks Ariel home and they find they have a lot in common. But Rev Moore forbids Ariel to see Ren again, citing him as a troublemaker, despite his wife's pleas. Annoyed, the minister walks away.

The next day, frustrated by his new stifling environment, Ren vows to "take on this town" and incites a revolution by his classmates to throw a dance. Ren drives Ariel and their friends 100 miles outside Beaumont to a dance hall where they party into the night and teach Willard how to dance. When Ariel finally arrives home, her defiance infuriates Rev Moore, who denies that he has become too severe since the death of his son - one of the teenagers killed in the fateful car accident. Angered, he walks away again.

At the long awaited town council meeting, Ren makes his case for a dance with Ariel's help. When the motion is defeated, he is devastated, but his mother convinces him that Rev Moore "fixed" the vote, and urges him to try again by speaking privately with the minister.Ren goes to the church, but after a brief discussion in which Rev Moore is unable to share his fears and motivation for continuing the ban, he asks Ren to leave and turns away. Appalled by his own actions, it is only then that the minister realizes how musch the pain of his son's death has overshadowed his life, and the lives of everyone in Beaumont. After a struggle with his conscience, he announces to his parishioners that he has had a change of heart - that in fact a dance might be a good idea. And so, for the first time in years, the young people of Beaumont are able to dance freely, and as everyone joins in, the evening becomes not only a celebration, but finally as ecstatic expression of healing. They dared to dance and "Everybody Cut Footloose!"

Fourth of July

2009-07-03T09:32:00.001-05:00

Have a happy (and safe) Fourth of July weekend!

REMINDER - the Saturday, July 4th performance of Summer Mummers will have a curtain time of 7 p.m.

AACTFest 09 Report

2009-06-30T08:51:00.002-05:00

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!

Report from Tacoma

2009-06-25T11:38:00.002-05:00

I am currently in Tacoma, Washington attending the AAACFest 09 - the national festival of plays for community theatre. Prior to the festival, I facilitated a conference for managers of community theatres that wrapped up on Wednesday morning. We worked Monday afternoon and evening, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning - the plays started Wednesday afternoon.

The participants were mostly from smaller community theatres - they were board members, founders, first staff members of their theatre. They came with a list of problems and a desire to learn more from each other. There were 28 participants in the class. I think that the workshop went very well as each person had the opportunity to speak and share their thoughts and frustrations and provide insights and ideas to each other. Several people told me - "I thought I had problems at my theatre and now I know that these problems are everywhere". Overall, I hope that everyone gained something from our discussions - I know that I have a list of ideas to take back to MCT and share with the staff.

There are shows Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday afternoon here at the festival - two shows in each time slot - and then a wrap up dinner and award show on Saturday night. I will update the blog again when the festival is over.

AACTFest 2009

2009-06-16T16:09:00.002-05:00

The AACT (American Association of Community Theatre) festival will take place on June 24-27, 2009 in Tacoma, Washington. I am headed to the northwest on Wednesday and will be facilitating a managing conference prior to the festival. There will be twelve performances from theatres from around the USA - including a production from the US Army bases in Europe. I will try to find some time and provide my thoughts on the shows while I am in Tacoma. I have already seen two of the shows as I was the adjudicator for Region I and the AACT rep for Region II.

Summer Mummers is now open and running every Friday and Saturday night through Labor Day weekend. We had a great opening weekend - including an outstanding (and rowdy) crowd for opening night. Shows are filling up, so make your reservations soon - call 570-4111 or visit the website.

It's Summer Mummer time!

2009-06-11T09:53:00.002-05:00

For sixty-one years, the Mummers have been entertaining the Permian Basin all summer long. This year's theme is big time wrestling - West Texas Fighting (WTF - get it?). Our outstanding volunteers have been working hard to prepare the melodrama and olio, film the movie and edit it in time for opening night and prepare the Yucca Theatre and fill it with mugs, popcorn, beer, novelities and t-shirts. The show opens on Friday night (June 12th) and runs through Labor Day weekend.

Last year, Summer Mummers grossed over $400,000 for our community theatre. It's a wonderful fundraiser, and we couldn't put the show on without our great volunteers onstage, backstage and in the house. Only two groups get paid to work Summer Mummers - the police officers and the people who clean up. Everyone else is a volunteer - show your support for our volunteers and for MCT and put together a group and come see the show!

For more details on the show, visit the Summer Mummer website

Tickets - (432) 570-4111 or the MCT website

Special Theatre Event

2009-06-05T09:23:00.001-05:00

There's going to be a special theatre event at local movie theatres:

"Forever Plaid," one of Off-Broadway’s most popular and critically acclaimed musicals will return for only one night, not to the stage, but to the big screen! NCM Fathom and Forever Plaid Productions partner to present a hilarious and irresistible event featuring a LIVE red carpet appearance by the original cast followed by a pre-taped performance of the musical, Forever Plaid. The exclusive event will conclude with a LIVE performance by “The Plaids” and sing-a-long where theatre audiences can even join in the fun! Buy your tickets early for this sensational musical event on Thursday, July 9th at 8:00pmET / 7:00pmCT / 6:00pmMT and 8:00pmPT (tape delay).

LINK

June is busting out all over

2009-06-02T16:24:00.002-05:00

June means summer and that means that it's time for Mummers! The Yucca Theatre has been busy with activities - dance, melodrama and olio rehearsals have been down at the Yucca since mid-May, and the building is still being worked on. Tonight, the popcorn arrives for the summer! We also have the new Mule Train sign installed in the lobby - check it out when you come to see the show.

Summer Mummers opens on Friday, June 12th and runs through September 5th. Tickets are $20 for the pit, $15 for the floor, $10 for the balcony and $5 for the "peanut gallery" - remember, there's no popcorn throwing in the balcony. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to assist you with your ticket purchase - (432) 570-4111 or visit us online and check out the Summer Mummer page.

This is the final weekend for KNOCK KNOCK, the 2008 McLaren winner. There are performances on Friday and Saturday night - come see the show and support our great volunteers and this wonderful new comedy!

Memorial Day weekend

2009-05-26T08:28:00.003-05:00

I hope that everyone had a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

This past weekend, we had a reunion of the Les Miserables cast - we cooked burgers and hot dogs and shared memories and talked about our experiences with the show. One of the joys of community theatre is the feeling of family that exists within the volunteers. Les Miserables was a unique experience for our theatre - the cast worked together for many months to learn the music and the blocking and then performed it for six weekends. Gail Theobald summed it up best when she said that there were many musicals she had performed in the past where she would have been happy to never hear the music again, but Les Miserables was a show that she could have kept performing and hearing even after it closed. Many thanks to all the great volunteers - both onstage and off - that helped make this a wonderful opening to our 2009 season.

Knock Knock continued performances this past weekend and the crowds have been enthusiastic and full of laughter. We have a three show weekend coming up - Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Finally, many people have been asking me about Summer Mummers recently - the show opens on June 12th and runs through September 5th. Laura Abbott in the Box Office reports that sales are actually stronger for the first 1/2 of the season than the second half. Group sales have been going on in April and May, and the Box Office will open for single ticket sales on Wednesday, May 27th at 10 a.m.

McLaren winner

2009-05-18T14:01:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, MCT opened the fourth production of our 2009 membership season - KNOCK KNOCK. The cast and crew did a great job with their two performances this past weekend, and we are looking forward to entertaining audiences with this brand new comedy. If you have not already made your reservations, contact the Box Office at 570-4111 or visit the website for tickets.

Several members of the cast and crew of MCT's version of RENT were in Austin this past weekend to see the national touring production of RENT. It's great to see that the volunteers involved in this show remain so passionate about this wonderful musical. Congratulations to the cast and crew of MCT's RENT - you guys rocked!

Finally, many thanks to all the great MCT volunteers that assisted MCT with the load-in for Summer Mummers on Saturday morning at the Yucca Theatre along with the volunteers who worked Celebration of the Arts in downtown Midland. MCT has an outstanding group of volunteers - we couldn't do it without you!

What's Up?

2009-05-13T11:18:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently - it was easier to provide information as the director of a production (i.e. Les Miserables). As producer, I am less involved in the day-to-day rehearsals of recent or current MCT shows, so I have less "backstage" information that this blog was intended to provide. However, I want to keep you updated on the news at MCT.

On Monday night, I attended the first dress rehearsal for KNOCK KNOCK!, which was the winner of the 2008 McLaren competition. During my 12 years in Midland, we have been pleased to support original works by conducting the annual competition for comedy plays, and by producing winners (or finalists) in future seasons. Director Tracy Alexander and her cast have worked hard on this comedy, and it's shaping up to be a good one. Intern Josh Cooney has designed the scenery, and he's done good work in capturing the necessary space for these events to take place in the confines of our smaller theatre (Mabee Theatre II). The playwright will be in Midland this weekend to attend the final dress rehearsal along with opening night and the Legacy Society reception on Saturday night. If you have not made reservations, contact the Box Office for ticket - (432) 570-4111 or visit the MCT website. KNOCK KNOCK runs May 15 through June 6.

Summer Mummers is in full swing for rehearsals - the melodrama and olio are hard at work at the Cole Theatre, and load-in will take place on Saturday, May 16th starting at 8 a.m. for the SM set at the Yucca Theatre. Starting on Monday, May 18th, the cast and crew will move down to the Yucca Theatre to get ready for their opening on Friday, June 12, 2009. Single tickets go on sale on Wednesday, May 27th - visit the SM website for more information.

Last Chance for RENT

2009-05-07T09:12:00.002-05:00

The incredible cast and crew of RENT have done two weekends of great performances, and you have one more chance to see our 2009 Yucca musical.

Saturday, May 9th at 8 p.m.

For tickets, call (432) 570-4111 or visit www.mctmidland.org

RENT Extended!

2009-04-28T15:12:00.002-05:00

Due to audience demand, we have added an extra performance of RENT to the run of public performances. This is going to be a one night only, last chance to see it, better buy your tickets now and come see the show performance. There will be no other shows added to the run of our production, so take advantage of your last chance to see it.

Saturday, May 9th at 8 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre

Tickets: (432) 570-4111 or visit the website

Congratulations to Director Carl Moore, Choreograher Misti Tytanic, Musical Director Bert Bostic and the cast, crew and band on a great show!

Pickwick Auditions

2009-04-27T10:03:00.002-05:00

If you know someone going into the 7th grade and up who might be interested in auditioning for Pickwicks, the auditions will take place on Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd at the Cole Theatre. At these auditions, youth will be asked to perform a memorized monologue (that you must prepare yourself) and then asked to sing and dance. If you would like more information about times and other details, contact Pickwick Director Bill Williams at 682-2544, extension 3023 or bill@mctmidland.org

RENT Opens

2009-04-25T18:36:00.002-05:00

Rent opened at the Yucca Theatre on Friday night - congratulations to the cast and crew on a great and energetic performance. There was a good crowd for the show, and hopefully they will "spread the word" on this wonderful production and tell friends and family to attend our upcoming public performances. There are still three public performances - April 25th, May 1st and May 2nd at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door (Box Office opens one hour before curtain) and through the website or by calling the Box Office (570-4111) during Box Office house (10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday).

Break a leg to the cast of Rent for their Saturday night performance!

The West Texas View

2009-04-23T14:35:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday morning, I was invited to KWES (NBC) to tape an episode of The West Texas View about Midland Community Theatre. Johnnie Lou Avery was an extremely gracious host, and we sat down to tape one episode of her show with her asking questions and me talking about our community theatre. The program airs on Sunday mornings at 6 a.m. (you can tape it!) and we talked about the history of the organization, how we select a season and volunteer opportunities. Before we knew it, we had completed three 8 minute segments for one show, and she asked if I would stick around and do another show - so we tape three more segments and talked about Summer Mummers, working with the Symphony and the college, and other aspects of MCT.

I really appreciate this opportunity to showcase MCT to the community - thank you, Johnnie Lou - and encourage you to consider taping these shows. MCT will be highlighted on May 3rd and May 10th at 6 a.m. on KWES (Channel 9).

RENT Update

2009-04-21T16:50:00.002-05:00

Last night was first dress rehearsal at the Yucca Theatre. All weekend, the cast had been working on the scenery, lighting, sound and prop issues, but they added the element of costumes last night. In my experience, this is a somewhat stressful night for the actors - certainly, it's not the first time they have seen their individual costume (they saw them in their costume fittings) but it's the first time they've seen the other costumes and they also have to work through all of the costume changes that take place throughout the show. Fortunately, we have a wonderful crew of Dressers who patiently work with the actors to make these changes work. Overall, the cast did a good job this past weekend adjusting to the technical elements, and they are working very hard to put on a great show starting on Friday night.

Since we are in tech week of RENT, let me also tell you about the work of our designers. We've been talking about costumes, and Rebecca Crow has been a fantastic Costume Designer for our community theatre. She's extemely talented, organized and hard working while also understanding the complexities of a volunteer actor - she's very good at soothing their egos while following through on her vision. Her costumes reflect the characters and the original feel of the Broadway production, but are unique for our particular actors. Eddie Taylor, our Lighting and Sound Designer for many years who has also taken on the role of Technical Director, is a talented and tireless worker. His lighting and sound designs are great within the confines of our limitations (space, budget, instruments) but he's also worked to make sure that all of the scenery for this show is completed in a professional manner and within our budget. Finally, this is the final production at MCT for our Scenic Designer - Eric Beeck. From his initial model, we knew that Eric had a great idea for this show, and it's working very well at the Yucca Theatre. In his two years, Eric has done many great sets for us, and we will miss him and wish him all the best.

RENT tickets - call 570-4111 or visit www.mctmidland.org

ESTA - Region II festival

2009-04-20T15:49:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, I was the AACT (American Association of Community Theatre) rep for the Region II festival held outside Baltimore, Maryland. What's the AACT rep? I am the independent person sent in to be present for all tech meetings and all performances, work with the host and the adjudicators and make sure that everyone follows the rules set forth by the AACT guidelines. Last month, I was an adjudicator for the Region I festival in Boston. It's much easier to be the adjudicator - you just show up for the performances, make some public comments and vote on the winner. When you're the AACT rep, you have to be there for every technical rehearsal - each company has a 20 minute meeting to review the space and all of the rules and regulations, then an 80 minute "rehearsal" to work on scenery placement, lighting and sound cues and run anything they want.

My weekend started with flying to Baltimore on Thursday - I left around 8:30 a.m. and landed in Baltimore at 4:45 p.m. Since my work was starting on Friday morning, I decided that if I landed on time I would head into Washington to see the new Nationals baseball park. We landed on time and I drove down and saw them play the Phillies. After the game, I drove across the Bay Bridge to Grasonville, MD and was in my hotel by 11 p.m. The tech day started at 7:30 a.m. with meetings and rehearsals by six of the companies. There was a piano concert in the performance space on Friday night, so we were done by 4:30 p.m. and then had to be out of the building until 9:30 p.m. After dinner, I was back for a seventh meeting and rehearsal and then done at 11:30 p.m. Then, I was back on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. for the eighth (and final) meeting and rehearsals. The first performance block was at 10 a.m. (2 shows), then a 1:30 p.m. performance block (4 shows) and finally an 8 p.m. performance block (2 shows). I met with the adjudicators after the final performance to determine the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place shows as well as some acting and technical awards. The afterglow party was held at a nightclub on the waterfront, and everyone at the event had a great time.

Congratuations to M&M Productions from NY and their original production of GORNISHT that will advance to the national AACTFest in Tacoma, Washington in June 2009.

Rent Rehearsal

2009-04-14T15:53:00.002-05:00

Last night, I had the chance to watch a rehearsal of Act One of RENT at the Yucca Theatre. The cast has just moved into the space, and they were working with director Carl Moore to adjust to the set and spacing at the Yucca Theatre after rehearsing the show for four weeks in the basement of the Cole Theatre. Despite the challenges of the adapting to the new space, you could sense the excitement and drive within the talented cast. They have been working hard to create their characters and learn the songs, and the work is paying off with good performances even though we're still 10 days out from opening night. This is a very youth cast, and they have been working hard to put on a great show. Tonight, they will run Act Two, repeat the process on Wednesday and Thursday night and then run thrus of the whole show through opening. Tech rehearsals will start this weekend - adding lighting, sound and props - and then dress rehearsal on Monday night. I will be back in on Monday to check in on the show and watch the dress rehearsal, and update you again next week in the blog.

RENT will be performed at the Yucca Theatre on April 24, 25 and May 1, 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through the MCT Box Office at 570-4111 or by visiting the MCT website - www.mctmidland.org. If you're on the MCT mailing list, you will be getting a Cue Card this week in the mail.

I will not have another update this week - I am departing for the Region II AACTFest in Baltimore on Thursday morning to serve as the AACT rep and I will not be back until late on Sunday night. As the AACT rep, I am the "referee" for any problems with the festival. I will run all tech meetings with the performing companies, and settle any disputes. Prior to the festival, I have already been dealing with e-mails regarding companies complaining about the performance schedule and questions about changing set pieces based on adjudicators comments at the state level. It should be a fun weekend!

Rent at the Yucca Theatre

2009-04-07T08:57:00.003-05:00

I remember seeing the Broadway produciton of RENT in New York. I didn't have the best seats - toward the back of the top balcony, if memory serves me correctly. However, I remember how much the performance impacted me. It is not a show about the scenery or the spectacle, but rather about the characters and how much their lives change in the year we see them interact. The music was very powerful to me, and blended modern rock 'n roll music with the sensibilities and needs of muiscal theatre.

Director Carl Beery Moore and the wonderful cast of MCT's production of RENT have been rehearsing for several weeks to get ready for our presentation of this Broadway musical at the Yucca Theatre. RENT is not a musical for everyone - it deals with AIDS, homosexuality, drug use and other tough issues. Therefore, we are presenting this musical at the Yucca Theatre - it is not part of our 2009 membership season. However, I strongly encourage you - and your friends - to attend this production. Public performances will take place on April 24 and 25 and May 1 and 2.

Tickets for RENT will go on sale to the public next week - the Cue Card will be mailing to everyone (10,000 people) on our mailing list. Watch for more information on our Yucca special.

Education and Community Theatre

2009-04-02T08:47:00.002-05:00

One of my first memory of Midland Community Theatre was a presentation by the Pickwick Players when Lisa and I were interviewing for the position of Executive Director in the spring of 1997. One of the reasons that I felt that MCT was a good fit for me - and my work - was the fact that dramatic education played an important role at MCT. In addition to the Pickwick Players and the Theatre School program, we have many outreach programs - Education Directors Bill Williams and Judith Giebler work with MISD Fine Arts teachers to expand their drama cirriculum and they also incorporate Drama Therapy into the programs at Rays of Hope and the Autism program at MISD. Although we have many programs within the walls of the Cole Theatre, we also find ways to move outside of our doors and share the wealth of knowledge and dramatic programs with the community and area youth.

This weekend, you have a chance to support our education program by attending the third production in our 2009 membership season - Pinocchio. Presented by the Pickwick Players, this adaptation of the classic adventure was written by our own Bill Williams and is performed by our Pickwick Players. There are performances on Friday and Saturday evening (8:00 p.m.) and Sunday afternoon (2:00 p.m.) this weekend, and performances the next Thursday evening (7:30 p.m.) and Friday and Saturday evening (8:00 p.m.). There is no Sunday afternoon matinee on the second weekend due to Easter. The show is appropriate for the entire family, and is 80 minutes long with no intermission.

Contact the Box Office for tickets (570-4111) and support these wonderful youth and their hard work, talent and dedication.

Quarter Report

2009-03-31T08:34:00.003-05:00

Today is March 31st, and that means we are 1/4 of the way through our 2009 season. As a calender year theatre, our "season" follows the new year. Many other theatres have a season like an academic year - opening in the fall and ending in the summer. I think that only about 10% of community theatres have a celender year season, which makes us a little unusual.

So far, it has been a good season - especially considering the economic conditions of both the USA and the Permian Basin. Midland had avoided many of the downturns experiences in 2007-2008 across the US due to the high price of oil. Once that price fell in the fall of 2008, we began to experience our own downturn. Many long-time volunteers have lost their jobs in the oil business, and things are certainly changing in the Permian Basin. However, it appears that people want to be entertained. Our January run of "Improv at the Yucca" was a great success with over 800 people attending over two nights - 350 on Friday night and 450 on Saturday night. This blog has already documented the success of our 2009 opening musical - Les Miserables - and our current production of Moonlight and Magnolias has added two performances. The Pickwick Players are opening Pinocchio this Friday night, so we will again have a two show weekend at the theatre. Spring Break's Fine Arts Camp was sold-out, and the Pickwick teachers entertained and educated our 90 youth with a wonderful week of music, dance, art and drama. Finally, although our AACT production of Half a Lifetime did not advance beyond the Texas competition, I have received many positive comments from those in attendance at the festival about our production.

Things coming up in the second quarter (April - June):
-Pinocchio in Davis Theatre I (April 3-11)
-Rent at the Yucca Theatre (April 24-May 2)
-Auditions for Summer Mummers (April 26-28)
-Knock Knock (2008 McLaren winner) in Mabee Theatre II (May 15 - June 6)
-Summer Theatre School (June 1-25)
-61st edition of Summer Mummers (June 12-September 5)