A Message from the President

Do you remember as children that moment when, after several hours of unsupervised play, mom or dad would come into the room, look around, and exclaim — either in obvious surprise, mild bemusement, or complete horror — “Wow! Just look what you’ve done!” I now say those very words to you, and fortunately do so with happiness and with pride. Artistically you delivered a program of solid productions, receiving a Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable Outstanding Production honor each of these last two seasons, as well as many other accolades. (Two weeks after the season-end event, Curtain Players and Dinner with Friends was the leading award winner at the Ohio Community Theatre Association’s Central Region Festival and earned a bid to advance to OCTA’s state conference later this summer.)

You have won positive regard from members of the Central Ohio theatre community and the interest of local critics and writers. More importantly, you have earned increasing levels of support from already loyal audiences who embraced century-old classics like Charley’s Aunt and Hedda Gabler and meaningful contemporary fare as Mauritius, Boy Gets Girl, and Dinner with Friends. You have done all of this not only as actors but also as directors, designers, technicians, and administrators, proving successful theatre is a collaborative art, not one in which any individual’s star shines brighter than another.

And this year, joining our reading and director selection panels, you have established a new group, an artistic direction committee, which will help enhance the Curtain Players commitment to excellence and to innovation by guiding the company’s artistic vision and by mentoring its directors.

As an organization, you have fielded stronger and stronger leadership teams and have helped its members develop focus areas, building blocks to an ever-stronger “community in theatre.” You have a well-designed and much lauded website, new online ticketing, renewed media outreach, more consistent volunteer engagement, more open auditions complete with advance script review sessions, a special relationship with Gallery 202 for free rehearsal space, more careful attention to production details, a more detailed treasury with improved processes and policies, an accrual accounting system and yes, a complete and detailed budget for the new fiscal year before that new season begins. You also have a technical director on staff, a position that has become invaluable, mostly because of the dedication of Drew Washburn. He is your first individual in that post, and he is stepping down after two years.

You can proudly look at our Harlem Road playhouse and consider it a more comfortable and pleasant home away from home: new masking drapes; new stage grid system; hot water in the restrooms; repainted lobby, new light fixtures; floor repair; furnace fixes; and new carpet; major cleanout and reorganization of storage areas and the side shed; new steps and deck on the green room annex, attention to landscaping; new gravel and grading in the car park. And very soon... an emergency egress and — even more exciting — construction of a main entrance through our steeple room.

As a community, you have grown in number and in quality, welcoming and encouraging new Players and developing a healthier spirit of camaraderie between veterans and rookies. In this creative lab that is Curtain Players, you have nurtured your colleagues to take their first steps in the spotlight and to try new aspects of the theatre arts they never thought possible, and you have seen yourselves succeed together. You have made Curtain Players a friendlier place where “thank you” and “please join us” and “yes, you can” are frequently heard.

Challenges remain of course, and you shall work on those year after year. Do you have enough human resources to mount productions, to provide the support they need, and to play a more active role in our community? Do you have a solid fundraising program on which we may rely to guarantee you can afford to do what you want? Are you working hard enough to establish an identity in Westerville and the immediate vicinity as their community theatre and thereby develop your audiences?

I am reminded of a line my character Gabe had in the recent production of Dinner with Friends. He says, “It’s like, I watch Danny and Isaac sometimes, dump all their toys on the floor. Legos and blocks and train tracks, and build these elaborate cities together. They’ll spend hours at it, they’ll plan and collaborate, and squabble and negotiate. But they’ll do it.”

You, too, plan and collaborate, squabble and negotiate. But you do it. And you do it well.

Please join me in applauding the other outgoing board members — Lisa Billing, Jaylene Henderson, Jeff Kemeter, and Marla Williams — for their commitment and dedication to the cause.

And I salute new president Michael Fusco, Courtney Lingnofski, Beth Nisonger, and Drew Washburn, joining returning board members Leia Bame, Doug Browell, Michael Day, Kate Charlesworth-Miller, Miranda Hinton, and Mark Rasche to lead in Season 49.

I have been privileged to play an administrative role with the best community theatre in Ohio. Thank you for your support and encouragement, and for being active Players, working to keep our “community in theatre” strong.

“Wow! Just look what you’ve done!”