Madison Conference - Day Two

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

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

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

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

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

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.