Yes, we (Carmel Community Players) worked our asses off. And,yes, that’s pretty blunt – but it’s true. And we are both proud of our accomplishments and humbled by the support of the Indianapolis-area theater community.
Sure, there were several times over the past few months that I sat and cursed at Sue Smith for dragging me back into CCP during auditions for Little Women. I had pretty much stayed away from CCP for various reasons. But my daughter, Karli, wanted to audition for Little Women and so I took her, vowing to my wife as I walked out the door, “I am not going to audition.” She smiled because she knew I would. I did.
But it wasn’t until Sue called to offer me the part of “Boss Troll” that I learned that a split had taken place and that CCP had lost it’s funding from the City of Carmel…and was losing it’s home at Studio 15. I didn’t know anything about the struggles that CCP had gone through at the end of 2008 into 2009.
I am one of those people who believe things happen for a reason. So, I took on the challenge of helping CCP find a new home and a new, energetic will to survive. As a marketing & PR professional,I saw this as a great opportunity to lend my talents to help a first-class organization get back on its feet. And yes, it’s been a challenge. I will admit that I almost gave up somewhere in the middle of everything . Fortunately, members of the Board talked me down off of the ledge. This has not been easy for me… or for anyone involved. We even had a few casualties along the way; but you’ll have that when people don’t adapt well to change. You can’t even imagine what our little community theater has gone through since receiving the keys to our new space on August 15th, 2009. But, I wouldn’t change this experience for the world.
In just 60 days, we built a theater – and a damned nice one at that. One of our reviewers commented that our theater will be a challenging space to work in. Maybe, maybe not. But outstanding directors like Ken Klingenmeier will find a way. It’s intimate. But it’s a hell of a lot better than that little cracker box called Studio 15. Our stage at the Playhouse is actually 4 feet wider than the old building. The Carmel Community Playhouse is functional and classy. It is what it is and you work with it.
Once opening night came, we could do no more. Up until then, we marketed the snot out of the Playhouse at Clay Terrace. We lined up sponsors and advertisers. We built. We painted. We cleaned. And we let the director and actors work their magic with a wonderful script. Then… we just sat back and watched.
I attended opening night and the Friday night show before leaving for week-long fishing trip to Kentucky Lake. I vowed to leave CCP and the Playhouse back in Carmel. I told my wife, “I am not even thinking about CCP while I’m gone.” Again…she smiled because she knew I couldn’t resist the temptation. I didn’t. While fishing for largemouth bass, I frequently monitored ticket sales on my crackberry, called and texted for updates, and even did an interview with an Indy Star reporter from my boat. So much for leaving it all behind.
But the one thing I didn’t do while I was gone was read the comments and reviews. So, over the past couple of day’s I’ve taken the opportunity to read the reviews on Indiana Auditions, Facebook and emails from some friends that attended the show. All I can say is that all of us at CCP are flattered and humbled by the support and kind words. It’s nice to know that the hard work (more than 2,000 volunteer hours) put in by so many people did not go unnoticed.
Thank you to those of you who came to see “Rabbit Hole”. For those of you who didn’t, we hope you will support ATI’s “My Way, a Music Tribute to Frank Sinatra“, opening November 4th at the Playhouse. CCP’s next show for the 2009-10 Pulitzer Prize-winning season is “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof”, directed by Brian Noffke in February.
Indianapolis has a vibrant theater community and CCP is proud to be a part of it. Again, thank you for your support.
