Directors' Notes

Get ready to swing with the sounds of big band music with the Beaver Dam area’s own Paddle City Big Band at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 in the BDACT’s Kamps Auditorium.

On the first day of my first acting class in college, the students were asked to think about actors we had heard of or seen on stage, TV or in a film. The question from the teacher was, “Who do you think you are like?”

It will come as no surprise to anyone when I say humans are, by their nature, storytellers. You could spend an entire series of courses at a university studying why that’s true. It all boils down to the telling of stories being as old as mankind itself, and as being an essential way to share information with each other.

Those of you familiar with live theatre will no doubt understand the enormity and complexity of those two words. If you are less familiar with community theatre, allow me to offer a bit of an explanation.

As I write this, I’m between seminars at the American Association of Community Theatre’s Community Theatre Managers Conference. There have been lively discussions on a variety of topics, including Working with the Board of Directors, Legal Issues, Insurance, Season Selection, Burnout and Mental/Emotional Health for Staff and Volunteers, Financing and Marketing. Many more subjects will be discussed in the next few days.

That flurry of activity has been one show after another, back to back, with little to no downtime between productions and concerts. The BDACT Fine Arts Center has been constantly filled with music and set construction noise and rehearsal conversations. Costumes, lights, props, sets, microphones and make-up have been liberally used. The amount of popcorn that we’ve made so far this year has to be some sort of record. The casts, crews, and volunteers have been hard-working. The performances have been wonderful. The audiences have been enthusiastic and supportive. The pace has been hectic!