April 21, 2015
Michelle Hellinger, "Robbie the Camera Chick"
The Kitchen Witches

I am so excited to be making my stage debut here at Market House Theater. I’ve wanted to get into theater for years, but I’d been too chicken to audition. One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to begin going to auditions. Then somehow the stars aligned and provided me with The Kitchen Witches which had the perfect role for me to ease into theater. Val and Renie (the show's co-directors) were kind enough to take a chance on me and it’s been an amazing experience.

Though I didn’t have much trouble memorizing my one line for the show, I got more than I bargained for in the props department. With at least 100 props (I haven’t officially counted), and many of those including real food that must be replaced and re-plated every day, it has been a challenge that I have really enjoyed. I’ve also enjoyed watching the veteran actors go through the process from reading their lines to stumbling through their lines with no script to becoming their characters on stage. I can’t wait to do this again!

If you haven’t seen The Kitchen Witches yet, you don’t want to miss it!

April 15, 2015
Renie Barger
Co-Director of The Kitchen Witches

Whenever I begin working on a play I think about how much it is like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together.  You begin with a bunch of puzzle pieces and an idea for the "Big Picture."  The actors add their pieces as their characters evolve during the rehearsal process.  Then the set, props, costumes, lights and sound pieces are added.  After weeks of putting the pieces together through their time and hard work the cast and crew of The Kitchen Witches have assembled all the pieces except one - the audience.  I hope that you will join us as the final piece of our puzzle.  I think you will enjoy your time with this wonderful cast - I know I have!

(Renie Barger giving the cast of The Kitchen Witches notes after a rehearsal last week)

April 14, 2015
Sue Fletcher
"Dolly Biddle" —cast of The Kitchen Witches

Well, the time has arrived—"Witch #2" reporting! 

Play practice for The Kitchen Witches has been a blast, but also hard work. Sally and I have many verbal encounters, and it has taken a lot of practice to get it right! I love the small cast; there are only four of us. We get along so well, and there's been no "drama," pardon my pun!! 

Dolly has been so much fun to portray. She and Izzy (Sally's character) are definitely different, but have lots of similarities. Dolly has such a big heart. She truly has a love for cooking and people. But trying to get along  with her nemesis, Izzy Lomax, after several years of avoiding each other, is testing her patience to the max! The zingers and the food flies! The play is entertaining and of course there is a plot twist!  

Come see the play at MHT April 16-26. I don't think you'll be disappointed, and I know you'll be laughing almost the entire show! For a carefree night out, this is the way to go! 

See you in a "witchy minute!" 
Love, Dolly!

April 9, 2015
Joshua Morehead
"Stephen" -- cast of The Kitchen Witches

I’m excited to be back on the main stage at Market House Theatre in this fun comedy about "cooking and dishing some dirt." Being able to share the stage with the actual "Kitchen Witches" has been such a fun experience! You will really believe that Sue Fletcher and Sally Carter are best friends from way back—friends who had a major falling out, and are forced to share a cooking show together just to save their careers. The constant bickering, comedic phrases, and their ability to drive my character "Stephen" crazy will have you laughing in your seats! 

This show is unique, in part due to the small cast, but also the prop list is outrageously long and every item has a purpose. With a four-member cast, and only three of us carrying all but one line of the dialogue throughout, there is little room for error. Most of the show is very conversational, reciting one-liners like, "Well...," and, "Uh…," means that your response to the other actors has to be very quick so that the show moves along and the audience remains involved. This show—within a show for most of the play—is very engaging and allows us many opportunities to connect with the audience.

As an actor, and a lover of live theatre, I enjoy the fact that playwrights are making use of the audience; utilizing them in aspects that help create a unique theatre experience. If you had an opportunity to see Becky’s New Car then you already know what I mean. The Kitchen Witches allows us to involve the audience several times throughout. There is a particular scene where we will utilize a member of the audience in our kitchen and what ensues at that moment in the show will have everyone—including our special guest—laughing! 

The idea of a more immersive theatre experience is now sweeping many of Broadway’s current shows, and I’m glad to see Market House Theatre embracing that culture. You can experience that for yourself when all of you theatre goers flock to MHT for The Kitchen Witches, opening on Thursday, April 16. Until curtain!

A grand experiment

April 2, 2015

by April Cochran

Market House Theatre Education Director 

Footlights had their performances this weekend...three shows put on by Early Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle school troupes (we really MUST come up with zippier names for them...I’m open to suggestions!) This year was a grand experiment...for the first time, we opened our Footlights enrollment to kindergarten students.  

Katie and I realized we had created a disconnect between preschool PlayShops and Footlights (which formerly was open to grades 1 and up).  I had previously taken a few outgoing kindergarten kids on a case by case basis- but this year we formally added that grade to Early Elementary.  Which worked fairly well - until we hit the performance session.  It’s a huge challenge to rehearse a show when a good third of the actors can’t read, tire easily and reaaaaaaalllly are not fans of rehearsing the same bits over and over as one does when perfecting a performance! I learned to switch things up a lot! But the biggest challenge - learning their cues!  

The kids really did a super job of learning their lines...but knowing when to say them was beyond many of them.  Heck - that’s a hard thing for many adults to grasp, much less a 5 year old!  Thus - I added three of my wonderful teaching assistants into the show.  The beauty of the script we used (“Once Upon a Shoe’) is that everyone is onstage virtually all the time.  It was fairly simple to insert three large “kids” into the mix - spread out among the group.  Those three TAs (Hadley Pierce, Martha McHaney and Kathryn Johnston) had approximately 1/3 of the cast as their responsibility.  They memorized which one of their charges had a hard time remembering when to speak and would simply reach over and either touch, nod or nudge the young actor to remind them it was their turn.  Eventually - most of the young actors learned their cues without the reminders, but their backups were in place in case of distractions. And being in a show on a large stage with bright lights and a packed audience is definitely a BIG distraction!

Show time!  Excitement!  Nerves! 

“I can’t do this!”  

“I have to go to the bathroom” 

“My costume’s not where I put it”  

Eyes shiny with unshed tears, bouncing kids in their backstage chairs....

I was about as nervous as they were.  Dress rehearsals had gone very well, and if the kids could just ignore the audience they would be awesome.  But could they restrain their urge to shade their eyes and peer out in search of moms and dads?  Would they glance out - see the hundreds in attendance and freeze up?

They...were....awesome!  Their performance Saturday afternoon was nothing short of magical.  Virtually every voice rang out with confidence and clarity!  We had worked hard on projection and gesturing...and we had both in abundance.  I was so proud of those young actors who gave it their all!  And not a single “Hi mom!” in sight!

All three of the FOOTLIGHTS troupes did a super job.  I am very proud of each and every one of them!  But I am especially proud of the 35 kindergarten through 3rd graders who entertained their friends and families with such confidence and spirit!  I hope to see ALL of our Footlighters back for our next session which starts April 11.