Katie Hamilton
MHT Education Assistant
and director of "HA!" Teen Comedy Improv Troupe

It started with the concept of creating something that would appeal to teen audiences. Creating a performance-based group so teens would have something of their own to come and enjoy on a Friday night. Education Director April Cochran approached me with this idea of starting an all-teen improv troupe and that is where HA! was born! After numerous packed performances and side-splitting moments...this troupe, now in its second season, continues to keep the laughs coming. 

The HA! count has grown from seven to ten members this year. Nine of the ten teens are from McCracken County High School while the lone wolf Nathaniel Henley, hails from Massac County High. Together they form a group of “HA-larious” teens that perform improv shows throughout the school year. What they do is known as Short Form Improv, which can be defined as quick games and scenes that have specific rules and are based on audience suggestion. However, everything the actors say, every character that is seen onstage is made up on the spot by the HA! members. What many audience members don’t realize is the skill and training it takes to be a good improver. These quick-witted students meet once a week to rehearse improv…that’s right…I said REHEARSE improv. Besides providing their director with an hour of entertainment, these students practice being good listeners, accepting their scene partner’s ideas by saying “YES AND”, thinking on their feet, and be able to create quirky characters and voices on the spot. The students don’t know what the audience might throw at them, so weekly I put them in the hot seat to keep them ready for anything that might come their way in a live show. 

So what can you expect from a HA! show? F-U-N! That is goal number one! You will see a variety of kooky characters, outrageous scenarios, and fast-paced action. The shows are always student-led, full of laughter, and audience participation is a must! The most important factor of our show is what the HA members have affectionately named their, “HAudience”. Without YOU the audience - our show could not get started. So we hope you come down to the Studio Theatre this Friday at 7 p.m. to share lots of laughter with us! 

CHRIS BEAL  CAST OF MURDER, COUNTRY STYLE, Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre

At the age of ten, I retired from the theater. I completed a successful run as a preposition in an elementary school play about grammar. Why not end my career on a high note? Well fourteen years later I’m back, country style!!!

I was asked to play piano for the first murder mystery of the current season, Win, Lose, Or Die, and we had a blast!  Murder, Country Style presented a completely different challenge. The Stumpp family’s hit single, Roadkill, came with lyrics but no music! We could buy the musical arrangement or come up with our own.  Kim Yocum, Tony Kitchen, and I teamed up and created a fun arrangement for the song that I think you will enjoy. The song features live instruments including banjo, guitar, and tambourine. Now, I can call myself a country music producer!

Working with the cast has been a rewarding experience. Thank you to Valerie & Renie for your leadership and creative vision. To the cast, you truly amaze me. Not even two months ago, we were sitting around the table reading the script for the first time. You have breathed life into these characters and made them endearing. To the public, please come support the Market House family this weekend. If you’ve never been to a Market House production, this is a perfect way to introduce yourself to the theater. Hope to see you soon. Hi-yee!!!!

Valerie Pollard, co-director, "Murder, Country Style" and  "The Kitchen Witches"

March 5, 2015

Snow, Snow, Snow! While I enjoy a good snow every now and then, it has wreaked havoc the past three weeks with rehearsals and shows for the murder mystery troupe and cast of The Kitchen Witches. Renie Barger and I have teamed up as co-directors of the three Murder Mysteries this season and the next show of the 51st Season — The Kitchen Witches. We have enjoyed the juggling of double rehearsals that are only complicated by Snowmaggedon 2015.

The murder mystery troupe has been in rehearsal since the beginning of January for our third and final show of the season, Murder, Country Style. Our first performance had been set for February 21 at Caldwell County High School. It was cancelled due to snow. It has been rescheduled for April 11— which is tech weekend for The Kitchen Witches and also Spring break for some local schools. Surely, the snow will be gone by then!

Our second murder mystery performance was to have been March 6 as a fundraiser for Relay for Life. Once again, we have lots of snow, and the performance has been cancelled, as well as a scheduled Kitchen Witches rehearsal. I spent my snow bound morning talking with Renie, emailing with the contact for the booking, and texting and emailing the cast of both shows working out the rescheduling details. The murder mystery has been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon and Kitchen Witches will rehearse Saturday afternoon. Whew!  

The rehearsal schedule usually takes time on the director’s part to work out at the beginning due to the cast’s conflicts. The larger the cast, the more the conflicts. However, once the schedule is worked out and shows scheduled, it is mostly smooth sailing.  Not this year! Mother Nature has gifted us this winter with lots of snow—twice in a three week period—causing many more changes. It has been work coordinating schedules.

Renie and I would like to thank the cast of Murder, Country Style—Chuck Wilkins, Audra Hall, Josh Morehead, Kim Yocum, Tony Kitchen, Steve Schwetman, Rachael Jaenichen Chip Bohle and Chris Beal—for their adaptability and willingness to fulfill the commitments of the MHT Murder Mystery Troupe.