It’s an exciting week for Theatre Huntsville.

Friday, November 12th, marks Theatre Huntsville’s return to the Von Braun Center Playhouse for the first time since March of 2020 when Silent Sky had to be cancelled mid-run due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s been a rough road since, and a period of difficulty for those who live for live performance.

While Theatre Huntsville first started back on stage in August with Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, the rollout involved careful consideration and baby steps. The August show had been selected for its monologue format and presented at the smaller Studio Theatre venue at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. The box office sold tickets at limited capacity to allow the organization to experiment with live performance before a smaller audience, first.

Winter Wonderettes in contrast is a full-scale production presented at the Von Braun Center Playhouse, with ticket availability at full capacity. This show too, however, required careful, baby-step planning.

The cast of the show is a reunion of the cast from Theatre Huntsville’s 2018 production of The Marvelous Wonderettes, a well-received show by Roger Bean that prompted many patrons to request bringing some of the sequels to Huntsville; in particular, the Christmas Show of the series, Winter Wonderettes.

”We thought…. the Wonderettes would be great, because we knew the girls wanted to come back, and we liked that sense of continuity,” explains Executive Director, Leslie Gates. “With the uncertainty of the season, we’d be able to cast this season opener show without worrying about how soon we could safely host public auditions. We were able to start right away with things like learning the music to tracks, and remotely learn choreography with video. And since the girls already had worked together, they just slid right into it.”

”We’re so lucky to have all of them back again,” says show Director, Jacinda Swinehart. “We’ve got Sonja Eames… a performer that’s been doing this for a long time. We’ve got Elisabeth Sikes and actually, this was her very first role… and we’ve just been blessed to get her. We’ve got Amy Lawson, who is just so quietly, hysterically funny. And then we have Miss Megan Phelps, who is very out-loud funny. They are just brilliant together.”

See some glimpses of our sitzprobe rehearsal on YouTube, and join Director Jacinda Swinehart and Theatre Huntsville Executive Director Leslie Gates for a discussion about what makes this play special. November marks not only a return to stage for Theatre Huntsville, but for the Wonderettes themselves!

‘Winter Wonderettes' will be presented November 12-14, and 18-20, at the Von Braun Center Playhouse. The show is a seasonal celebration that finds the Wonderettes entertaining at the annual Hardware Store Holiday Party. When Santa turns up missing, the girls use their talent and creative ingenuity to save the holiday party! Featuring great ’60s versions of holiday classics such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” and “Winter Wonderland,” the result is, of course, marvelous! This energetic and glittering holiday package is guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages.

Tickets are available at THtix.com, or at our box office at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, 12-6 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, or by calling 256-536-0807. Tickets are $22 for Adults and $20 for Students/Seniors/Active Duty Military. Group rates are available and questions may be emailed to tickets@theatrehsv.org.

Masks are still required for audience members, staff, and crew, for this show. The cast is unmasked but fully vaccinated. Theatre Huntsville’s policy is based on an ongoing evaluation of the recommendations by local and national public health professionals.

’Winter Wonderettes’ is presented by special arrangement with Stage Rights (www.stagerights.com)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has arrived at the Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, and it’s a cult classic to its core. The strange, over-the-top, and completely shameless sci-fi/horror musical/gender-bending rock opera is a true, undeniable legend of cinema.

But at the core of its cult following, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is really more about its followers than it is about the film… especially when it comes to audience participation!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has screened in theaters every single weekend all over the US with an enthusiastic and loyal following that has become as infamous as than the highly-controversial film itself.

During a showing of “Rocky” a group of loyal fans will often do a Shadowcast (as in, literally dress up in the costumes and act out the film as it’s being shown) while the rest of the audience will engage in pre-planned shenanigans and hurl hilariously insulting lines at the film and each other. First-timers are referred to as “virgins” and are playfully teased, and most importantly by being marked with a “V” courtesy of lipstick to the forehead.

It’s always a really fun, entertaining, and memorable experience.

But with an experience this grandiose, it can also be confusing. As Theatre Huntsville’s attempt to bring Rocky to Huntsville is a first-time-in-a-long-time endeavor, we won’t have a formal Shadowcast, and it won’t be a precise recreation of the Old Times, but we do hope the magic can be recaptured as closely as possible.!

For your part, as an audience member, you may choose to make yourself familiar with the “call out” script, for audience participation. It’s a lot, so don’t worry if you are new and only remember a few parts of it. And no pressure - it’s all about having a good time!

PLEASE NOTE: the following contains very strong language, highly suggestive themes, and very insensitive dialogue. It is absolutely NSFW, children, or anyone easily offended. It is presented in its original, unedited form, and many of its contents are undoubtedly offensive. With this understanding, click below if you are inclined!

The 2021 Rocket City Playwrights’ Series is just around the corner, and we and our friends at Evil Cheez Productions are excited to tell you more about this year’s playwrights.

The Rocket City Playwrights’ Series is a a program to support the creation of new works by local writers. We believe that locally written and created productions can be a unique cultural opportunity, providing a direct lens into the identity of our local community and the surrounding communities of North Alabama. TH & ECP are committed to investing in and supporting our local storytellers and theatre artists who are interested in the creation of new live works.

This year on September 25th at 7 pm, the following five playwrights’ work will be presented to the public. The audience will vote on their top three, which will be awarded cash prizes. Tickets are $10 and are available at THtix.com.

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Joe Conway was born and raised in Delaware County, PA, but has made Huntsville his home for the last 10 years. He is a professor of American Literature at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where several times a week he can be seen performing for crowds of English students to generally mixed reviews. He writes things about money, pop culture, and long dead writers. He loves his wife Kat and together they live on a very big hill with one cat who is crazy and another who is lazy.

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Mercedes George lives in Madison, Alabama, and has a BA in Technical & Scripted Writing along with a BS in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Her short play “Storms Ahead” was featured in UAB’s 2019 Festival of Ten Minute Plays. She currently works as a System Engineer in Huntsville's Research Park and is in graduate school at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

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Pamela Manasco is a writer and English instructor living in Madison, Alabama. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a BA in English from the University of Alabama. Her nonfiction, fiction, and poetry have been published in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, American Literary Review, Descant, and others.

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By her own account, Sarah Sizemore spends way too much time in fictional worlds. She studied English literature in college, which means she not only read hundreds and hundreds of stories, but also tried her hand at writing them. She currently teaches high school English, but also used to be in charge of the theatre program. She has enjoyed writing in her free time, so when looking for ways to save money for the theatre program, she tried her hand at writing plays and found she really enjoyed it. She loves seeing stories brought to life by the power of the performed word, and hopes playwrighting continues to be one of her ways to escape into the possible and the hopeful.

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Joy Whitt is a writer, actress, and barbecue cook. She won 3rd Place in the 2019 Rocket City Playwright Series and 1st place in the 2021 Rocket City Short Screenwriters Competition. She has appeared in numerous plays with the Bank Street players in Decatur, has teamed up with Theatre Huntsville folks on several projects over the years, and has just joined the Evil Cheez gang, which she is especially excited about! Currently she's writing and filming a comedy series of shorts with BrownWood Production Company called "Leggtown."

Due to the rising incidences of COVID-19 in the Madison County area, Theatre Huntsville will enact changes in order to protect everyone who enters our theatre space. We are monitoring the CDC and State Health Department for news and guidelines, and will follow their best recommendations. Theatre Huntsville will also follow any regulations enacted by Lowe Mill or the Von Braun Center.

Effective 8/11/21, the following protocols will be implemented:

o   All Theatre Huntsville staff and contractors will be required to wear masks while on duty in any capacity. 

o   All volunteers will be required to wear a mask in any Theatre Huntsville facility, regardless of vaccination status. This includes auditions, meetings, rehearsals, performances (when not on stage), volunteer calls, ushers and box office personnel.

o   Any volunteer that is exposed to covid-19, regardless of vaccination status, should quarantine for the recommended amount of time. We recommend that they get tested, to ensure they are not infected.

o   All visitors to the Theatre Huntsville office will be required to wear masks as well.

o   All patrons, volunteers and staff will be required to wear masks when attending Theatre Huntsville performances.

Seating in the Studio Theatre will be reduced and spread out to accommodate social distancing. Seating will also be moved back from the stage to increase the distance from the actors. Concessions will be limited to prepackaged items only. At this time, we do not anticipate any cancellations.

We apologize for the disruptions that these changes represent, and ask for your patience and understanding.  We strive to honor our mission of bringing high-quality theatrical performances to our community while protecting the health and well-being of those who support us with creativity and patronage.

According to legend, a simple light called a “ghost light” is left on in a darkened theater either to give theatre ghosts a chance to perform or to keep them from causing mischief.

Though its origins are supernatural, its use is practical; to keep a theater safe and navigable for staff and crew when the stage remains dark. We had this in mind when entitling our October 2020 YouTube readers’ theatre series, “Stories by Ghost Light” - a way to present theatre in the dark. But we’ve also thought of it in symbolic terms about our supporters sustaining Theatre Huntsville during the pandemic, and illuminating our darkness with love and light for the nearly year and a half we’ve been unable to perform.

And with the spotlight returning in August after nearly a year and a half of darkness, we need your support now more than ever.

With that in mind, we’re absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of the Theatre Huntsville Ghost Light Society!

The Ghost Light Society is our way of expressing our heartfelt gratitude to our most generous theatre patrons. When you join the Ghost Light Society, you aren’t just helping sustain community theatre; you’re entering a community of exclusive patrons. Membership comes with perks such as backstage tours, invitations to VIP events, acknowledgements at the Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment, and more. You will also receive a membership pin, which we hope you will proudly wear when you come to our shows, so that we can thank you in person as well.

Membership starts at just $500 annually, and we offer both Private Member and Corporate Partner options, with perks catered to each. Payment plans are available.

Of course we value all of our donors. Even if you can’t join the Ghost Light Society, every donation counts. We still offer thanks and acknwoledgements for Donors, Fans, Friends, and Family.

To learn more, please visit our the Ghost Light Society page on our web site, and thank you for supporting Theatre Huntsville!

Theatre Huntsville is pleased to announce  the official addition of Melissa “Birdie” Jones and Josh Phillips to its staff, where they will serve as Production Manager and Technical Director respectively. 

These positions are made possible by a grant awarded by the Daniel Foundation of Alabama. The Daniel Foundation of Alabama’s mission is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for citizens from all regions of Alabama.

The addition of Jones and Phillips grows Theatre Huntsville’s professional staff to a team of four as they join Executive Director Leslie Gates and Marketing Manager Jennifer Johnson. Theatre Huntsville hired its Marketing Manager in 2019; another position previously made possible through the generosity of the Daniel Foundation of Alabama. 

This staff growth is essential for Theatre Huntsville as it positions itself to resume performances this summer, including its management of the Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment. Theatre Huntsville assumed management of the theatre space in January of 2020, and through careful management, relief funding and grant support, has been able to sustain operations in spite of its inability to perform live due to COVID-19.

With these new staff additions and the upcoming launch of its new patron organization, Theatre Huntsville is very well-positioned to achieve full recovery from the pandemic.

Birdie Jones, Production Manager

Josh Phillips, Technical Director

Theatre Huntsville and Evil Cheez Productions annually present the Rocket City Playwrights’ Series, a program to support the creation of new works by local writers. At some point every famous playwright was an unknown, struggling to get that first play read, produced and published. Someone had to take a chance on the unknown, and that is what the Rocket City Playwrights’ Series is all about.

For 2020, while we can’t present a performance to a live audience of these plays, we we will be proceeding with a Livestream performance on Twitch! The public is invited to join us online on November 21st a 7 pm. The live audience will vote to determine our winners, which will be awarded cash prizes.

Without further adieu, introducing our playwrights for 2020:

Pamela Manasco is a writer and English instructor living in Madison, Alabama. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a BA in English from the University of Alabama. Her nonfiction, fiction, and poetry have been published in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, American Literary Review, Descant, and others.

Her play The Undertakers will be presented at RCPS 2020.

Jacob Lorrin Buechler is an avid reader, writer, and a tireless victim of podcasts. Between working on novels that he will never finish due to extensive creative procrastination, Jacob likes to take part in a heavily fitness oriented lifestyle, eats as clean as his palate will allow, and completes his day chasing his crazy cat Tweek around.

During the work day Jacob can be found teaching in the English Department at the Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University. His favorite genres are: Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. His love languages are: Regret and Bitterness.

His play Bleach will be presented at RCPS 2020.

Tommy Walker grew up performing in community theatre in Huntsville, Alabama and is now a theatre teacher in NYC. He has directed and choreographed over 50 productions over the past decade as a theatre educator. As an actor, he most recently appeared Off-Broadway as Chef Bruno in Truffles! (GBTC Productions) and in the national tour of A Christmas Carol as Jacob Marley. Some of his favorite appearances as an actor in Huntsville include Bobby Strong (Urinetown, Renaissance Theatre), Dr. Frank-n-Furter (Rocky Horror, Renaissance Theatre), and Ugolin (Puss in Boots, Fantasy Playhouse).”

His play Doodlebug will be presented at RCPS 2020.

Halley Proctor works for the government and has written many things down. She obtained one degree over the course of many schools, as well many degrees from one school. If you would like to know more, she will politely change the subject.

Her play The Clamorer Grew Still (inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s Cask of Amontillado) will be presented at RCPS 2020.

We at Theatre Huntsville and Evil Cheez Productions believe that locally written and created productions can be a unique cultural opportunity, providing a direct lens into the identity of our local community and the surrounding communities of North Alabama. We are committed to investing in and supporting our local storytellers and theatre artists who are interested in the creation of new live works.

Again, we hope you’ll join us on November 21 at 7 pm on Twitch to appreciate and support these local playwrights.

A big ‘thank you’ to all respondents of our COVID-19 survey. We at Theatre Huntsville take your health, comfort, and safety seriously. With this in mind, we will not resume in-person performances until we have both strong indication of patron comfort, and can perform compliant with health official recommendations to minimize risk to audience, cast, and crew.

We had 587 patrons respond to our survey. Of those, 95% have attended at least one Theatre Huntsville production.

Of particular note, 59% of our respondents are over age 55. Given the higher rate of comorbidities present among older adults in relation to COVID-19 complications, it stands to reason that a larger percentage of our patronage chooses caution under pandemic conditions. This shared data should be viewed with that in mind.

Precautions for Live Performance

It is clear from responses that once we do resume in-person performances, our patrons largely feel it is ‘somewhat important’ to ‘very important’ to take most precautions listed below. We hear you, and we certainly plan on doing so long as this virus remains a concern:

Crowd Thresholds for Live Performance

Responses also indicate higher public higher levels of comfort with smaller crowd sizes. With this is mind, a return to the Von Braun Center Playhouse will likely be delayed until at least the 2021/22 Season. The Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment allows us to better serve smaller crowd sizes and arrange flexible seating. Additionally, the Studio Theatre allows us scheduling flexibility during this ever-changing pandemic landscape. Our first live slows will almost certainly be presented in this smaller and more flexible space.

Timing for Live Performance

Responses also indicate limited probable attendance prior to early 2021, and attendance is key to running a sustainable show. With these preferences in mind, our first attempts at live performance are unlikely to occur any sooner than early 2021. Again, first performance will likely take place in the Studio Theatre where our staff can operate with greater flexibility and present programming to smaller, socially distanced crowds.

In the Meantime

We at Theatre Huntsville are wasting no time during this prolonged ‘intermission’. Renovation work continues at the Studio Theatre and our staff is working hard behind the scenes to do as much as we can to endure through this pandemic as a strong and thriving performing arts organization. In addition to upgrading the Studio Theatre physically, we have also added livestream capabilities on Twitch. We aired our first livestream in August, and will be holding our livestream panel discussion, “Race Issues in Horror” on October 17th as part of Huntsville Arts Week with with Arts Huntsville. Throughout October, we will be uploading to our YouTube channel four “Stories by Ghost Light” exploring the historical ghosts of Alabama. Rocket City Playwrights’ Series is currently accepting entries, and we will be livestreaming the finalists in November.

Of course, these survey results represent a snapshot in an ever-changing situation. You will likely be asked to participate in another survey in the future as we continue to evaluate the timing and logistics of our return to live performance. Your voice matters!

Please continue to support us by following us on all social media channels theatre opportunities! And now more than ever, consider donating to Theatre Huntsville, or join us at Friends of Theatre Huntsville on Facebook to remain apprised of ways to help us come out of this pandemic stronger than ever.

Theatre Huntsville Friends, Patrons, and Volunteers,

We have missed you all during this time of uncertainty. Please know that we continue to work towards navigating the coming season as best we can given the limitations of COVID-19 guidelines and the implementation of safety constraints at the VBC Playhouse and The Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill.

We recognize that you are the backbone of Theatre Huntsville and want you to know that we hope to share with you vibrant and exciting local theatre this upcoming year. We will provide you information as soon as we can and updates on our progress in the interim.

In that vein, while we recognize that our 2019-2020 season included On Golden Pond in July, we unfortunately have to postpone the production to a future date. The decision to postpone our productions has been difficult; we want to be on our stages for you more than anything.

The rest of 2020 is also uncertain – we are not sure of what dates we can postpone to, and may not for some months to come. Because of this if you have tickets to On Golden Pond or the previously postponed Things My Mother Taught Me, we can offer you the following options:

• A gift certificate to apply towards any future single ticket sale

• A gift certificate to apply towards any future season ticket purchase

• A refund of your ticket price

You may also consider donating the cost of your ticket to help Theatre Huntsville weather this crisis. Please email us at tickets@theatrehsv.org or call us at 256-536-0807 if you would like to take one of these options. Our offices are still closed, so please leave us a voicemail and we will call you back.

The sale of Season Tickets for the 2020-21 season has also been postponed as we do not know when we will be able to reopen in a way that is both safe and fiscally responsible.

I do want to share some good news with you. During our down time, our staff and volunteers have been working on renovations to The Studio Theatre. We have been following all regulations regarding social distancing and have enjoyed showing each other our mask collections. When we reopen this facility, you will see a rebuilt stage, changes in the lighting and sound system and our new office space. Fortunately, we had funding for the basics prior to the shutdown. Some of the additional upgrades will have to wait, but I am still very proud of or folks for their dedication and hard work.

Additionally, Theatre Huntsville is grateful to receive a $10,000 grant from the Alabama State Council for the Arts, as part of the CARES package, and funded through the National Endowment for the Arts. We have also received some funding from the Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Plan to ensure our staff can keep working during this time. And as I write this, we have been awarded an additional grant from Neighborhood Concepts, Inc.

These grants in addition to the generosity of our donors will help us get to the light that we know is at the end of this curios tunnel. We thank and appreciate everyone for their support of and faith in Theatre Huntsville.

Thank you all again for being part of our family and we hope to see you all soon at the theatre.

Sincerely,

Leslie Gates
Executive Director
Theatre Huntsville

There's a saying in the home renovation world when one encounters an old house that is sturdy, but needs - not just updates and upgrades - but for someone to live in it and love it a little.

They say, "This house has good bones."

It’s said to ease the concerns to the person renovating it; to suggest the work won't be too hard. The foundation is laid. The walls are strong. It's a house that's ready to be turned into a home.

That was my solid impression of the Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill back in February 2020 when our Technical Director, Josh Phillips, invited me to tour the place with a few other Theatre Huntsville folks. Mostly he wanted me to come cast an eye over the lights and give some suggestions about possible improvements, but I'll be honest - I just wanted to see the place. 

I like theatres. I like the theatre arts, of course, but I mean the actual buildings themselves. They feel alive to me, much like I imagine historical houses sometimes feel to renovators. There's an energy, a story, and there's a history there as well as potential. And this felt doubly true for the Studio Theatre. Not only has it played host to multiple theatre companies throughout the years as well as musical acts, comedy shows, and even a group of swing dancers, but its first life had been as a part of the greater Lowe Mill building. First as a textile mill and then as a shoe factory. Quite a history to say the least. 

You could feel it as we walked through the theatre, looking at the infrastructure and just breathing in the air (and probably some dust that carbon dated to the Carter Administration). I remember having that very thought I mentioned earlier as I listened to my feet on the worn hardwood floor and looked over the hodgepodge of decor and equipment left by the different groups that had called this place home over the year.

Setting lights for Love, Loss, and What I Wore, the first production in the new space, prior to stage renovations.

This theatre had good bones.

Sure, I saw no shortage of work to be done. The green room needed cleaning. The stage needed some extensive work. The electrical system had to be stripped and re-wired to accommodate some of our more advanced fixtures. The shop needed to be re-organized to make room for our equipment and supply storage, and so on and so on.

All of that aside, one thing was still true. This was an old theatre with good bones, and would prove a great home for Theatre Huntsville. And even pre-renovation we were able to put on a fantastic, nearly sold-out run of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. The Studio Theatre had already started to feel like home.

When the papers were signed and arrangements finalized, we spent a lot of time talking about the plans for the Studio Theatre. The trick was going to be figuring out how to get all the necessary updates and renovations done while also finishing out our current season and spinning up the next one to partially utilize the Studio Theatre as a performance space. A tall order for our small technical team to manage. Even with the Studio Theatre having its own shop, we ran serious risk of getting spread too thin. We scratched our heads as to how we would have time for it all.

Want to know another saying that's popped up lately?

Be careful what you wish for.

March arrived, and with it the sudden onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Seemingly overnight, everything closed up tight. No more shows. No more rehearsals. No more anything. The slate of all our planning had been wiped clean.

Half the fun of cleaning out the theatre was all the fun art and doodads found from the previous owners.

But we had one thing going for us. We had the Studio Theatre, with its good bones and laundry list of renovations. And though our budget has become tighter than ever, we had a treasure trove of potential supplies and materials, and the time to salvage them. It would be slow going, sure. We couldn't have crews of more than two or three people at any one time, each working separately as much as possible. Supplies were not easy to come by since shopping trips had to be limited. But there was work to do, and while we might not be able to do it the most efficient or effective ways, we could do it. Especially since time was on our side again.

I hesitate to say we were lucky. Luck implies that good had been caused by the pandemic, and that's not at all the case I wish to make. But the crisis did find us in a fortunate spot. Our only option wasn't to lock the door and turn out the lights and wait for everything to blow over. There was work to be done that wasn't performance-related. So work we did.

With virtual content coming front and center, we decided the stage should be the primary focus so we would have a nice filming space. Pulling the old stage proved challenging. We dealt with dust and dirt, yes, along with lost guitar picks, drumsticks, and costume pieces, but the biggest surprise was the GLITTER! We found it everywhere! I've never seen so much glitter, and I used to work at a ballet company. We swept and swept and more just seemed to well up out of the cracks. I felt like a sparkly Sysiphus with a broom.

But even clean (or as clean as we could get it without having a glitter-induced psychotic break) the floor itself still presented a problem. It bowed heavily in the middle of where we wanted to build the stage. We hypothesized some piece of machinery once sat there causing the wood to sag. With no way to support the floor from underneath, we opted to built a support system on top and shim it to be level.

The original stage's construction was clearly solid, seeing as it stood for so many years. But Josh designed a great many improvements to help with stability, evenness, and noise level. One of which is the smaller square supports in addition to the larger supports. These help distribute the weight of the platforms and decrease rocking and noise.

While Josh and his assistant Cuinn worked in the shop both reorganizing the lumber storage and building new stage supports, I handled the leveling job. Along with our friends and colleagues Cynthia and Richard, we spent days with a level, string, straight-edges, and wooden shims of every size. Every single one of the supports had to line up with all the ones around it, on a floor, I'll remind, that wasn't level to begin with. The task felt like one of those puzzle-based video games where you have to get everything aligned just so and the door will unlock. I felt frustrated beyond belief. With much cursing and laughter, we got it done.

Next, we laid platforms to make the stage floor. One of the previous issues with the old stage was that the platforms had migrated around on their supports. This rendered the stage uneven and wobbly. Josh planned to correct this with a series of braces meant to hold the platforms flush together and prevent them from scooting around on their supports. This resulted in a much sturdier structure even though we built very few things from scratch. We modified the platforms likewise, with some minor repairs. We addressed the supports next with a few new pieces of hardware. The only things built from scratch were the small square supports and the braces, and we even used salvaged wood in some cases. But I can attest as someone that walked on the stage before and after the renovation, the difference is night and day. 

After the meticulous and hard work of building the stage, with the minute leveling details and the platforms that took no less than three people to move, everything else felt like a breeze. The stage walls were next, also built using salvaged flats from both from the old stage and from previous Theatre Huntsville productions. A few clamps and screws later and we had a nice, tidy box. All it needed was a healthy coat of black paint, and presto! We had a black box theatre ready just in time for Nina Soden to come film her production of The Belles of Whitechapel!

Installing new default stage flooring donated by Michael Anders.

I started off talking about good bones because one of the best feelings about this renovation was being able to look at that shiny new stage and think, “We built that from the ground up, but at its heart it's the same stage. All we did was fix it."

Certainly, some heavy fixing sometimes. I felt sore for days after laying those platforms and if I ever have to sweep up glitter again, I might have a dissociative episode. But while there's a new stage, it's the same theatre. The bones are still the same bones.

That's important to me, and I don't think I'm alone in that. We've had people who worked in the theatre before come through "just to see" and they all have a story about this place… a concert, or the burlesque show, or other events stretching back decades. And it means so much to see them smile and say, "Wow! You guys are really fixing this place up! I'm glad it's in good hands." Because they still recognize the "house" as the one they knew and called home.

I like that we aren't just moving into an empty space, but rather we are being given the responsibility of carrying on a tradition of meaningful art being joyfully made in this place. It's played home to so many artists, all of whom left their mark in some way, be it a cabinet full of audio equipment, or all the weird and wacky signs and art we've found backstage. And now it's our home too. A place where we can create, and invite others to create too. Collaboration is at the heart of theatre after all, and it's amazing to not just collaborate in the here and now, but to work with those in the past whose performances I never saw and whom I might never meet. 

I'm grateful for our new home. I love its potential. I love the work it's given us to do, which has no doubt kept us all sane during the pandemic. And I love that it weaves Theatre Huntsville even more deeply into the long and wonderful traditions of the arts here in Huntsville.

But for now, you'll have to excuse me. I hear a lightboard has been delivered to our booth so I'm going to go play with some of these old instruments, along with our fancy new moving lights. 

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Melissa ‘Birdie’ Jones is Theatre Huntsville’s Production Manager. She has worked with Theatre Huntsville in recent years as stage manager, lighting designer, and combat choreographer.

Monday Night at the e-Theater is seeking original plays of any length for a new play reading series.

Casts may be any size up to eight (8), however, smaller casts are preferred.

By submitting, you would be allowing us to read, record, and publish video to Facebook and other social media platforms. We know there is a lot of great work out there, and this is an opportunity to hear it read by experienced actors. Each reading will be followed by a Q&A with the playwright for feedback.

Submissions should be sent to: playwriting@theatrehsv.org

Monday Night at the e-Theater is the collaborative effort of five separate community theatre organizations in North Alabama, dedicated to keeping theatre alive while we are all shuttered. At each Monday reading, a different community theater will be featured, and donations will be collected for them to help keep theatre going throughout the region.

The first reading is scheduled on Monday, May 25 at 7:30 pm. We will continue each Monday after that for the foreseeable future.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
• A full copy of the script in a 12 point font, Times New Roman or Courier
• Character breakdown
• A brief description of the play (to be used for promotion)
• If possible, highlight any stage directions that you, as the playwright, feel MUST be read
• PDF format preferred
• Cover sheet including play title and playwright name and contact information

Thank you for your interest. We can’t wait to read the submissions!

Thanks for checking in on us! How are you doing?

It’s OK if you’re struggling. It’s also OK if you’re not. We’re all handling this in our own way, and we at Theatre Huntsville are finding our way. Theatre is by its nature a social activity, and social distancing presents new challenges for us to consider and overcome.

But even now, the show must go on, even if it means redefining the show!

We’re proud of our resolve through this situation and wanted to share with the public and our theatre family some of what’s going on with Theatre Huntsville.

First, if you haven’t already done so, please check out this video greeting from our Executive Director Leslie Gates. She has some honest words for our patrons about how we’re managing plans for upcoming performances and the coming season. Spoiler alert: like the rest of the world, we as of yet have no long-term answers, but the remaining planned shows for this season, Things My Mother Taught Me, On Golden Pond, and Red, will not proceed as scheduled. We are, of course, constantly evaluating our options for future performances and will update you as soon as we have answers.

On the home front, we can report that our Production Manager Josh Phillips and several awesome volunteers have wasted no time using this opportunity to continue to revitalize the the Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. With strict adherence to social distancing of course, progress has been made to rebuild the stage, deep clean the green room, and revamp the on-site scene shop. This is a bright silver lining to all the lost rehearsal, audition, and performance time. We’re looking forward to this theatre seeing use again when it’s safe to do so. As some experts are predicting that the relaxation of social distancing will happen gradually, we’re hopeful that this smaller venue may be able to be among the first to safely present performances to the public. Fingers crossed!

We are also increasing our presence on YouTube during this ‘intermission’ for Theatre Huntsville. Of particular note is our launch of The Lockdown Lounge. We’re inviting members of our theatre family to record script readings, monologues, songs, original work - anything to keep community theatre alive while social distancing restrictions are in effect. While online content to consume is nearly without end, we know people in our community want to see their local friends being creative and sharing with each other! Video editing assistance is available for submissions, so we encourage you to submit what you can. Questions and content may be emailed to lockdownlounge@gmail.com.

Finally, for those of you who are able, remember that Theatre Huntsville will need your support during this time. We intend to keep producing as much creative, local content as we can under the circumstances, and we know all of us will be aching for some live entertainment once this is all over! In the meantime, please do consider support of your local artists. Social distancing protects our bodies, but we still need the arts to nourish our hearts and souls. Donations can be made to Theatre Huntsville here, and please keep an eye out for future creative opportunities to offer your support.

We look forward to hearing from you, and to sharing the creative shenanigans of our theatre family with our patrons very soon!

Theatre Huntsville Friends, Patrons, and Volunteers,

We at Theatre Huntsville have closely followed COVID-19 news and guidance from the CDC, the State of Alabama, and local organizations in regard to the appropriate response to the pandemic. Our priority is the safety and health of our theatre community. TH and the VBC have thus far followed all CDC recommendations regarding cleaning and hygiene during our approved events attended by fewer than 250 people.

However, as of now, the CDC is recommending all events with 50 or more people be cancelled. Based on that recommendation, we have made the decision to cancel remaining performances of Silent Sky, and postpone the upcoming auditions for On Golden Pond. Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, our administrative offices at Lowe Mill will also be closed as Lowe Mill is now closed to the public.

If you have tickets to Silent Sky, we can offer you flex tickets to a future show or we can process a refund. You may also consider donating the cost of your ticket to help Theatre Huntsville weather this crisis. Please email us at tickets@theatrehsv.org or call us at 256-536-0807 if you would like to take one of these options.

Please understand that we didn’t make this decision lightly. In the end, we felt it in the best interest of our theatre family to err on the side of caution. I read this on a friend’s Facebook page and I think it sums things up pretty well: “In the end, it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be quite apparent if we under-reacted or did too little.”

We don't know what the next few weeks will hold or how future productions will be affected. We will keep you up to date as the current situation unfolds via email and social media.

Thank you for your patience and support. We will all overcome these challenges and continue to create great theatre for our community. Looking forward to seeing all of you again soon!

Sincerely,

Leslie Gates

Executive Director

Theatre Huntsville is pleased to present its premiere Studio Series production at its newly-acquired Studio Theatre starting March 5th at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment Center.

Debuting just in time for Alabama’s Fashion Week, Love, Loss & What I Wore follows fragmented stories about the nostalgic power of women's clothing. A starry cast of women enrobed in chic black sit on stools and tell funny, wistful and universal memories about their families and loved ones through the prism of their closets.

“This is the third time I’ve directed this play in the last few years,” says Director Sam Marsh, “the most recent being with the Bank Street Players of Decatur in October of last year. I love the script - I love the dialogue. While it certainly deals with issues that women of all walks of life deal with, I think it speaks to all of us, male and female. There’s a lot we can all learn from it. And I get to work with six smart, talented, creative actresses.”

The talented cast for Theatre Huntsville’s production of Love, Loss, & What I Wore’

The show is a series of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, fashion and memory covering all the important issues: mothers, prom dresses, boyfriends, mothers, first bras, purses, mothers, husbands, wearing black . . . and mothers.

Love, Loss, & What I Wore will be presented every evening at 7:30 pm from March 5th-7th at the Studio Theatre, with a matinee performance presented on March 8th at 2 pm. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.THtix.com or by calling  (256) 536-0807.

The March production of ‘Silent Sky’ and future Theatre Huntsville Main Stage shows will continue to be presented at the Von Braun Center Playhouse. Showtimes, ticket prices, and locations can always be confirmed at theatrehsv.org or THtix.com.

On January 17th, Theatre Huntsville opened its third play of the season, Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. In this retelling of the ultimate Victorian whodunit, a nimble cast of five takes on nearly forty characters, darting on and off stage almost as quickly as the twists and turns of this delightfully complex plot. Holmes and Watson race against time to crack the mystery of The Hound of the Baskervilles before a family curse dooms its newest heir. The intrepid investigators’ search for the truth comes complete with a dizzying web of clues, outlandish accents, disguises, and deceit.

All three shows of the opening weekend boasted strong attendance, with audiences delighting in the on-stage antics of Sherlock Holmes (Ethan Mitchell), Doctor Watson (Christopher Maynard) and the rapid-fire trio of supporting actors (John Masterson Coleman, Michael Bradley, and Meredith Johnson).

The Theatre Huntsville cast of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

We’re pleased to share just a few of the glowing, unsolicited reviews from our theatre-patrons:

“LOVED THIS SHOW!!! You outdid yourselves! It was so much fun to watch.” -Laura Rankin Wiggs

“Loved this play! Wish it was available on DVD. Would love to see it again.” -JC Mullins

“Saw the play last night. They were amazing! One of the best plays. I recommend everyone go see it. Very entertaining!” -Anne Johnson

These performances also debut the use of Theatre Huntsville’s new digital projector. Made possible by generosity of supporters to our Digital Projector Campaign (kicked off on Giving Tuesday 2019), Tech Director and Production Manager Josh Phillips researched and selected this piece of equipment as the latest addition to TH’s toolbox. Baskerville’s projection design is by Alex Hillgartner.

Theatre Huntsville’s new digital scenery projector gets its first chance to shine.

The play is slated for a second weekend of performances at the Von Braun Center Playhouse from January 23-25th. Showtimes are 7:30 pm on Thursday 1/23, Friday 1/24, and Saturday 1/25, along with a 2:00 matinee performance on Saturday 1/25. Tickets are $22 for general admission, $20 for students, seniors (65+), and active duty military. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.THtix.com, at the VBC Playhouse box office 1 hour prior to showtimes, or by calling (256) 536-0807. Group rates are available by calling or emailing tickets@theatrehsv.org.

Exciting news for the new decade!

Effective January 1st, 2020, the theatre at Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment is under management by Theatre Huntsville. Formerly known as the Flying Monkey Theater and Barking Dog Arts Theater, the performance space is being renamed The Studio Theatre at Lowe Mill.

The Studio Theatre will be used for both our in-house artistic productions, as well as rented out for community events and performances.

In-house productions will include programs such as the Rocket City Playwrights’ Series and a variety of novel community theatre productions intended for smaller audiences. We additionally look forward to continuing relationships with community organizations that have a history of using the space, such as Out Loud HSV, Epic Comedy Hour, and weekly swing dances. Please follow us on social media for important updates regarding these programs.

Additionally, we look forward to establishing our office space just outside the theatre. During public Lowe Mill hours, visitors will be able to come by our box office to purchase tickets or to inquire about auditions and volunteer opportunities.

Theatre Huntsville will continue to present our Main Stage Season at the Von Braun Center Playhouse for the current season and the foreseeable future. Please follow us on social media to remain updated on events, performances, and rental availability.

Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment is the largest privately owned arts facility in the southern United States. With a focus on visual arts, this huge historic factory building has been redeveloped into 152 working studios for over 200 artists and makers, 7 galleries, a theatre, community garden, and performance venues.

We’re sending out a call to all community actors (and inspiring actors) for auditions for our production of Things My Mother Taught Me, by Katherine DiSavino, to be performed in May.

Auditions take place at Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre on January 20th and 21st at 7:00 pm. Candidates will cold read from a script and can show up for either one or both days.

SYNOPSIS

Olivia and Gabe are moving into their first apartment together. They've just packed up all of their belongings and driven halfway across the country to start a new life together in Chicago. Their moving day doesn't go exactly as planned, though, and things become slightly more complicated when all of their parents show up to help! Can a two-bedroom apartment contain all of the love, laughs, worry and wisdom that's about to occur?

This play takes a generational look at relationships, and how sometimes parents are passing their best lessons on to their children without even meaning to. It's a comedy in which three couples love each other and value the things that make their partners special.

TIME PERIOD: Present Day
SETTING: An empty apartment in Chicago. At the top of the play, a very large armchair is stuck in the front door of the apartment.

CAST (3m, 3f, 1m or f)

OLIVIA KEEGAN - mid-late 20s; energetic, neat, slightly OCD; an architect.

KAREN KEEGAN - mid 50s-60s; free-thinker, open-minded; Olivia's mother.

CARTER KEEGAN late 50s-60s; distracted, a cell phone app fanatic; Olivia's father.

GABE LAWSON - mid-late 20s; good-natured, a planner but forgetful; a writer.

LYDIA LAWSON - mid 50s-60s; idiosyncratic, a clean-freak; Gabe's mother.

WYATT LAWSON - late 50s-60s; 'hail fellow, well met;' Gabe's father.

MAX MIROWSKI - mid-late 50s; Polish accent; understands more than lets on; good-hearted; building Super (man or woman).

Auditions will consist of readings of selected partial scenes from the script. No prepared material is required.

REHEARSAL and PRODUCTION NOTES

- Rehearsals will start on or about March 9th, 3 times per week for about 3 hours per rehearsal, and run through April 30th. Rehearsals take place at TH's rehearsal facility at 500 Plummer Road.

- Move-in to the VBC Playhouse will take place the weekend of May 1-3.

- Tech Week rehearsals will take place every night, Sunday through Thursday, May 3-7.

- The show will open, Friday, May 8, with additional performances Saturday evening, May 9, and Sunday afternoon, May 10. After a couple of days off and a Wednesday, May 13, brush-up rehearsal, performances will resume on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, May 14-16, with a matinee also that Saturday. Following the Closing Night performance, we will strike the set and move everything back to the rehearsal building.

You'll then get to enjoy the upcoming Memorial Day holiday and your summer vacation!

For more information, please contact the show's Director, John Hancock at John.Hancock@theatrehsv.org, or the Theatre Huntsville office at auditions@theatrehsv.org or 256-536-0807.

If you're looking for a little counter-Christmas entertainment this year, do we have the show for you!

In The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, THE eight reindeer will dish about the real Santa. All those rumors you've heard about him and the elves? About Rudolph's little secret? About Vixen's story that was leaked to the press? All true.

Yes, the reindeer finally speak up and - believe us - they do not hold back!

This is an adult comedy performance for ages 19 and up only.

This is a one-night only performance on December 18th at Stand Up Live. Proceeds for this event support Theatre Huntsville. Doors open at 5:30 with the performance beginning at 7 pm. There is a two item minimum food and drink purchase required per patron.

CAST:

Jeremy Woods
Tanja Miller
George Kobler
Art Walthall
Raye Bonham Carter
Megan Tompkins
Byron Turner
Haley Loveday

Photo Source: TheaterCNU Photography: Alan Skees

For #GivingTuesday 2019, we launched a campaign to obtain our own digital projector!

Digital Scenery is also known as video projection technology. You’ve probably seen it already with many of the larger touring shows that have come through town, and a few local places are using it on a smaller scale. Theatre Huntsville wants to add this to our arsenal, so we can use projections for shows such as the March production of Silent Sky.

Projections don’t replace scenery, but enhance it. We can add texture and movement to walls and drops, create locales that would be otherwise inaccessible for a small stage, such as the Von Braun Center Playhouse. Much in the same way the Romans added hydraulics to drop mountains and flood the stage or the how Greeks studied the science of architectural acoustics, theatre has been constantly changing since the day it was invented. We just want to keep up!

Our goal is $15,000 for the projector, mounting equipment and training for our technicians. The equipment is an investment not only in Theatre Huntsville and our mission, but will be available for the entire arts community.

We hope you will join us on this exciting journey into the future. The first step is here!

This Thanksgiving, we’re so thankful for all our patrons! In partnership with Arts Huntsville’s Tis the Season to Be Artsy campaign, we’re pleased to announce our Flex Ticket Special, available to the public Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

For just $60, you can purchase a Friends & Family Four Pack. This pack includes 4 tickets that can be used in any combination for any show of the 2019/2020 Theatre Huntsville season. For example; you can use all four for one show, two for two different shows, or one each for four different shows!

These tickets are $7 off each when compared to our usual ticket prices, and you can purchase as many packs as you’d like! What a steal!

Tis the Season to Be Artsy is a local campaign supported by Arts Huntsville to encourage the gift of the arts this holiday season. We here at Theatre Huntsville support this campaign and encourage YOU to support your local artists and performance when purchasing gifts for your loved ones.