Friday, June 17, 2011

Trip to Chicago


The alarm was set for 4:30 a.m. and after a night of rehearsals for Joseph and the…and a champagne toast for the purchase of our new home, it was a bleary-eyed morning. But we didn’t care because my wife and I were off to Chicago on the train for the first time since moving to Quincy.
I was asked to serve on a grant review panel for the Illinois Arts Council, and being new to the area, jumped at the chance to get to know some of the players in the Chicago theatre scene. My wife on the other hand, was doomed to wander the streets during the day, forced to venture into museums, dine in a wide array of ethnic eateries and last but not least, be subjected to some of the finest theatre in the country (next to QCT of course!).
My days were spent gathered around a table with other key executives of theatres from around the state, reading and discussing the incredible programs that are offered at every level--from Tony-winning theatres to small rural barns sewing a couple of cows together to make a curtain. The one thing all of these groups have in common is a desire to put on the best darn show they can, with whatever resources they have on hand.
That is why I am so excited about being the MAD of QCT because we have such wonderful resources at our disposal: a beautiful facility, a caring board, a dedicated staff and talented members of our community and region to grace our stage, and last but not least, an incredible supportive business and patron base.
I had a blast in the windy city, experiencing all that fine city has to offer, but it’s good to be home, ready to return to rehearsals, decorating our historic home and planting roots in our new hometown.