Hey all!
First I want to thank everyone involved with “Birth and Afterbirth” for all of your hard work on the show. Attendance was a bit low, but we are just getting going so I foresee that getting better, especially after the fundraiser. I would like to hold a “post-mortem” meeting for the show. This is for anyone involved with the show in any capacity, and I would like to do this within the next week. I know that you have all been hard at it for the past couple months, but I think is very important. I want to have this same meeting after EVERY show we do for the foreseeable future. I want you all to come up with a list of what you saw that we did right, and what we need to improve upon. Also, this is a BLAME FOR ALL, PRAISE FOR ALL opportunity. We all had a hand in this, and we all share the triumphs and failures together. Let’s please keep our egos out of this, so we can get an honest assessment on how we can make ALL of our future shows better than the last ones.
Next, we will need to meet Wednesday at 7 pm at the church in regards to the fundraiser and Picasso. We can, if necessary, hold the post-mortem afterwards.
Dee got us a dumpster for this weekend, so we need to get a work party in the theater on Saturday and maybe Sunday. Check with Mike on details, please. I will be available for part of the day, but will also have rehearsals.
Speaking of which, my rehearsal schedule is now posted thru March 15th on the calendar at the bottom of this blog page. Anyone not in the cast please let me know if you want to come to a rehearsal. Some sessions will be closed (mainly for space concerns).
Thanks
Brian
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Jan 31, 2010
Hey all,
Saturday work call had 6 of us show up. We got the marquee down and will need to find a way to clean up the front of the overhang – paint, trim, etc. After finding the building plans we were able to curtail the measurement party. If Phil needs any more numbers we can still get those. Wally & Charlie (?) worked on the basement some more. Mike D, & Dee (D&D, get it?) worked out ideas for the B&AB set. We also planned out what meeting on Wed this week will cover:
1. Building plans
a. For anyone who won’t be making this meeting who has any ideas for what we want the bldg to look like, please forward those ideas to a bldg cmte member prior to the meeting.
2. B&AB
a. Progress reports – Mike D. and Bruce please
3. DBD
a. Fundraising reports – Kate
b. Progress, concerns, etc
One concern from Saturday. When Mike arrived at noon the lights were still on from the last person in the building. We all need to remember (esp. key holders) to turn off the lights before we leave – every time! I’m sure you all remember your dad yelling it at you when you were a kid. It still applies!
Also, please remember to sign in whenever you come in to do any work in the bldg. We need to keep track of how many volunteer hours we are getting for any grants we apply for.
Thanks all!
BC
Saturday work call had 6 of us show up. We got the marquee down and will need to find a way to clean up the front of the overhang – paint, trim, etc. After finding the building plans we were able to curtail the measurement party. If Phil needs any more numbers we can still get those. Wally & Charlie (?) worked on the basement some more. Mike D, & Dee (D&D, get it?) worked out ideas for the B&AB set. We also planned out what meeting on Wed this week will cover:
1. Building plans
a. For anyone who won’t be making this meeting who has any ideas for what we want the bldg to look like, please forward those ideas to a bldg cmte member prior to the meeting.
2. B&AB
a. Progress reports – Mike D. and Bruce please
3. DBD
a. Fundraising reports – Kate
b. Progress, concerns, etc
One concern from Saturday. When Mike arrived at noon the lights were still on from the last person in the building. We all need to remember (esp. key holders) to turn off the lights before we leave – every time! I’m sure you all remember your dad yelling it at you when you were a kid. It still applies!
Also, please remember to sign in whenever you come in to do any work in the bldg. We need to keep track of how many volunteer hours we are getting for any grants we apply for.
Thanks all!
BC
Monday, January 11, 2010
Latest change to the previous latest changes…
I’m not going to try to repeat all of the things going on that have been covered in the emails going around this week, but I want to discuss the high points for Great Falls. Starting with last weeks’ meeting, we reset dates for ‘Birth and Afterbirth’ to open February 12th and ‘K2’ to open March 12th. Both shows would run 2 weekends and be performed (as long as the venue was open) at the Chapel Theater. Also, ‘Death by Dessert’ would take place on March 6th at the Chapel Theater pending approval by the MAT board. Two different groups took pictures to show the out-of-towners what it looked like, while I spoke to Colleen of Colleen’s Restaurant about the catering. At the same time I checked with Marie (who holds the calendar for the Theater) about dates in the space for our shows. Saturday Feb 13th is iffy, as there is a group in there that morning, but we should be able to work it out. I was quoted $400/nite, but we may be able to work a better deal. Looking at the Chapel again (I haven’t been in there in years) I remembered how nice the space was. It is easily accessible (2nd floor, right off the elevator), has plenty of parking, and it looks good. The only problem I still have is the acoustics, but we just can’t have everything…
Thursday and Friday we held auditions for ‘B&AB’ and the entertainment group for the fundraiser. For ‘B&AB’, Bruce will complete his casting this week and begin rehearsals on Thursday (he has selected Jean as SM), while Glen has settled out his group and will commence rehearsals soon (TBA).
On Saturday Drew and I drove to Havre for the Strategic Planning meeting, while Dee, Bruce and Wally Skyped in. Check the montanaactors@yahoo.com account for the minutes. The first thing discussed was the need for all of us to put the company first, before our own desires or what we want for our local chapters.
Much of the first part of the meeting covered what we want to do with the building. The upshot is that I am getting in contact with at least 4 former board members of CSC to get signatures for a corporate resolution to transfer the building to MAT. We do NOT need to go through CSI. It will only add another layer of hassle and paperwork, and it is really not necessary. More to come on this.
We will also be getting the building open SOON. It looks like we will be paying off the utilities (this week?) and getting the lights and heat turned back on so we can get in to survey the damages. After that, we can start cleaning up EVERYTHING and getting ready for the facelift. HERE IS WHERE WE WILL NEED HELP FROM EVERYONE. Drew and I will draw up a prioritized list of what we need to get done. We will need to get all of this completed before February 5th, because that weekend volunteers from Havre and Missoula are coming in to help us get the renovations started! Let Drew or me know when you will be available to help out.
We then discussed the short- and long-range plans for the company. We worked on figuring out responsibilities for board members and officers, and the possibilities of adding local associate board members. There will be more discussion on this during a company-wide meeting in Great Falls on Feb 27th. We will be discussing such topics as education, touring, expansion and funding.
Toward the end of the day (6 hours later) we got around to our season. First off, we discussed our season opener. Both Jay and Dana insisted that we need to open the season with a big show in our own space the weekend after the fundraiser. My thinking is that we don’t need a big name show to kick the season off. Grant agreed and said that a lot of their success in Missoula comes from the fact that they do NEW shows with new ideas. ‘Rugburns’ has been a great success in both Havre and Missoula and performing it in GF will really cement the relationship between the chapters. ( if we can’t get a good crowd into the theater our week after our fundraiser, we never will) Then Havre offered to bring ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ after Easter, followed by ‘A Midsummer Nights’ Dream’ from Missoula. Check the calendar below for dates. I know that we are preempting ‘K2’ (again), but, as previously stated, we need to put what is best for the company first. The three shows from the three different chapters will show that we are no longer a community theater; we are part of a much bigger entity! We need to find a different place on the calendar to put it up, and we may be able do it in CS. Let’s work on it Wednesday at the artistic meeting.
Speaking of which, anyone interested in being on the artistic committee please show up at the church on Wednesday at 5:30pm. We will be discussing future shows. Please either email me your forms for proposed shows by Tuesday night or bring them with you to the meeting. Please have a few copies handy for others to read.
Well, I hope I have covered everything satisfactorily. And I hope I haven’t put you to sleep. But if I have, nitey-nite…
Thursday and Friday we held auditions for ‘B&AB’ and the entertainment group for the fundraiser. For ‘B&AB’, Bruce will complete his casting this week and begin rehearsals on Thursday (he has selected Jean as SM), while Glen has settled out his group and will commence rehearsals soon (TBA).
On Saturday Drew and I drove to Havre for the Strategic Planning meeting, while Dee, Bruce and Wally Skyped in. Check the montanaactors@yahoo.com account for the minutes. The first thing discussed was the need for all of us to put the company first, before our own desires or what we want for our local chapters.
Much of the first part of the meeting covered what we want to do with the building. The upshot is that I am getting in contact with at least 4 former board members of CSC to get signatures for a corporate resolution to transfer the building to MAT. We do NOT need to go through CSI. It will only add another layer of hassle and paperwork, and it is really not necessary. More to come on this.
We will also be getting the building open SOON. It looks like we will be paying off the utilities (this week?) and getting the lights and heat turned back on so we can get in to survey the damages. After that, we can start cleaning up EVERYTHING and getting ready for the facelift. HERE IS WHERE WE WILL NEED HELP FROM EVERYONE. Drew and I will draw up a prioritized list of what we need to get done. We will need to get all of this completed before February 5th, because that weekend volunteers from Havre and Missoula are coming in to help us get the renovations started! Let Drew or me know when you will be available to help out.
We then discussed the short- and long-range plans for the company. We worked on figuring out responsibilities for board members and officers, and the possibilities of adding local associate board members. There will be more discussion on this during a company-wide meeting in Great Falls on Feb 27th. We will be discussing such topics as education, touring, expansion and funding.
Toward the end of the day (6 hours later) we got around to our season. First off, we discussed our season opener. Both Jay and Dana insisted that we need to open the season with a big show in our own space the weekend after the fundraiser. My thinking is that we don’t need a big name show to kick the season off. Grant agreed and said that a lot of their success in Missoula comes from the fact that they do NEW shows with new ideas. ‘Rugburns’ has been a great success in both Havre and Missoula and performing it in GF will really cement the relationship between the chapters. ( if we can’t get a good crowd into the theater our week after our fundraiser, we never will) Then Havre offered to bring ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ after Easter, followed by ‘A Midsummer Nights’ Dream’ from Missoula. Check the calendar below for dates. I know that we are preempting ‘K2’ (again), but, as previously stated, we need to put what is best for the company first. The three shows from the three different chapters will show that we are no longer a community theater; we are part of a much bigger entity! We need to find a different place on the calendar to put it up, and we may be able do it in CS. Let’s work on it Wednesday at the artistic meeting.
Speaking of which, anyone interested in being on the artistic committee please show up at the church on Wednesday at 5:30pm. We will be discussing future shows. Please either email me your forms for proposed shows by Tuesday night or bring them with you to the meeting. Please have a few copies handy for others to read.
Well, I hope I have covered everything satisfactorily. And I hope I haven’t put you to sleep. But if I have, nitey-nite…
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Thanks!
All,
I wanted to thank everyone again for all the work you are doing on the fund raisers. Having so many volunteer for key positions at the last meeting was VERY refreshing. A lot of people have been asking about what they can do, and it was great to be able to give out important responsibilities to folks.
We have a couple of new developments in the works. First off, because of their restrictive catering rules, we will not be able to use the Heritage Inn for our ‘Death by Dessert’ fundraiser. We are looking for a different venue now, but we would like to make it happen on March 6th. Please save the date on your calendars. As soon as we have a firm date for opening the theater and a good location for the fundraiser we will get started selling tickets & tables, and start contacting businesses to invite them.
Next, I have spoken to a couple of our people about directing shows. Janelle Munson has graciously offered to ‘uber-direct’, oversee and instruct the sub-directors for the one acts, our planned second season show. Anyone who is interested in directing a show in the near future (this season or next), please get in touch with me so I can put you in the pool for directing one of these one-acts. (this is not the only way to get to direct a show of your own in the next year or so, but it will go a long way!). Also, Eva Wright Burroughs accepted my offer to direct Bob McKinnon’s children’s show this summer. I will be getting with her and Bob shortly to cuss and discuss to particulars.
Remember that our next meeting will be Wednesday Jan 6th at the church again. See you there!
BC
I wanted to thank everyone again for all the work you are doing on the fund raisers. Having so many volunteer for key positions at the last meeting was VERY refreshing. A lot of people have been asking about what they can do, and it was great to be able to give out important responsibilities to folks.
We have a couple of new developments in the works. First off, because of their restrictive catering rules, we will not be able to use the Heritage Inn for our ‘Death by Dessert’ fundraiser. We are looking for a different venue now, but we would like to make it happen on March 6th. Please save the date on your calendars. As soon as we have a firm date for opening the theater and a good location for the fundraiser we will get started selling tickets & tables, and start contacting businesses to invite them.
Next, I have spoken to a couple of our people about directing shows. Janelle Munson has graciously offered to ‘uber-direct’, oversee and instruct the sub-directors for the one acts, our planned second season show. Anyone who is interested in directing a show in the near future (this season or next), please get in touch with me so I can put you in the pool for directing one of these one-acts. (this is not the only way to get to direct a show of your own in the next year or so, but it will go a long way!). Also, Eva Wright Burroughs accepted my offer to direct Bob McKinnon’s children’s show this summer. I will be getting with her and Bob shortly to cuss and discuss to particulars.
Remember that our next meeting will be Wednesday Jan 6th at the church again. See you there!
BC
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