My daughter leaned toward the stage in wonder as she watched the flying monkeys, dazzling witches, smoking wizard, and the straw man who could talk! She was three years old and experiencing the wonder of live theatre for the very first time. It was the year 2009 in Mount Vernon, Ohio and a moment that the two of us will always treasure. Even now, eight years later, she remembers that show. Over the years, Mount Vernon’s community theatre has continued to ignite her imagination and has brought the experience of Broadway to our small town. At MTVarts, everyone is a volunteer. Countless hours are put into these shows to bring beauty to life for the enjoyment of our community. Why… Read More

Opening night! It is usually quite a stressful time for me. The long months of planning by the production team and the many, many hours of often tedious, detail-laden rehearsal are over. The orchestra has worked hard over the dress rehearsals to get everything together. At this point, my score is usually layered in pencil markings—noting repeats to be taken during complex scene changes, blocking details, and etc. As the crowd arrives and the house crew does their thing, I usually find myself in the pit, reviewing my responsibilities, contemplating what can happen. What if an important prop is not in its correct location? How efficient have the scene changes been? Where are the critical costume changes that might need… Read More

The beaming kids in Arabian shirts With messy veil-worn hair forget the too-tight shoes that hurt And the itchy socks they wear The lights burn bright on my smiling face The butterflies in my stomach do flips Looking into the crowd, my heart starts to race But my nervousness slowly slips The glasses glare from the guy in row c Is the only thing in sight From the great big mass of people in the theater tonight The notes from the night before are running through my mind and that plot twist in scene four gets the audience from behind Intermission comes and goes A game of mafia backstage Grandma's opening night rose Wilts. Showing how we've turned the page… Read More