from the desk of Michael Cochran

It’s hard to believe that summer camps are already over and we are heading into fall with the first show of our 58th season, Always...Patsy Cline, opening in just a couple of weeks. This summer has seen some great successes with our performance camps and many Playtime offerings.

Masking Back Up

In our education programming, we are preparing for the fall and ways to handle the latest surge of Covid cases in our area. Our first priority is to make sure that our programming follows the guidelines set by the CDC and our state and county health departments. All staff and teachers at MHT have been vaccinated. Effective with our fall classes, we will be going back to masking of students and teachers for those classes regardless of vaccine status. This is line with the public school systems in our city and county. Our goal is always to reduce any possible transmission of Covid among our students and staff. We understand this may not be popular with all parents and students, but we feel strongly that protecting unvaccinated students is our first priority. We will also be requiring all audience members to remain masked while attending Always....Patsy Cline regardless of vaccine status. This will help audiences feel comfortable coming to the theatre and allow actors and band members to perform without masks. Many of the professional theaters in New York and around the country have already required proof of vaccine or negative tests and masking for audience entry to the shows. We are in communication with other venues in Paducah to constantly review our policies and focus on the safety and health of our performers, audience, and volunteers.

The Next Stage Update

The Next Stage progress continues as we have rebuilt and renovated the exterior of the back half of the 200 Kentucky Avenue Building. Ray Black & Sons is beginning the work to complete the enclosure of the back space and will be working on the interior as soon as the space is dry. It is exciting to walk in and see the new studio theatre taking shape in the back area. It will be double the size of the current studio theatre and will give the theatre many new opportunities for dance and educational showcases and performances. It will also contribute to enhancing our murder mysteries which have been on hiatus with the construction of the building and with Covid.

Welcoming New Staff

MHT is pleased to announce that we have hired a new Technical Director, Jerome Veit who will begin work in late August. Jerome is a graduate of SIU in technical theatre and has a background in construction, sound, and lighting and will be a wonderful addition to the theatre staff. His addition was made possible in part from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant the theatre recently received. This season you’ll start to see many changes and new faces with our programming as we finish up the Next Stage project and move into being able to program with our new spaces.

Even with all of the challenges still facing us it is an exciting time for MHT as we kick off our 58th Season and continue to innovate and develop new programming for the future.