Cheryl Marshall, managing director of Meadow Brook Theatre, said the hardest part about her job is paying the bills.

“The thing about being the managing director of the theatre is your responsible for the day-to-day operations and making sure everything is going the way it should,” Marshall said.

Work is more fun from the artistic side of things, she said.

“It’s easy to have fun while rehearsing, laughing and playing — then I have to sit back and figure out how I’m going to pay the bills,” Marshall said.

Travis Walter, artistic director of Meadow Brook Theatre, explained the artistic side.

“There are many duties that come with the job of the artistic director,” Walter said.

He is responsible for all artistic decisions made at the theatre, including the cast, the designers and which shows will be produced for the upcoming season.

“There is also a lot of administration responsibilities, as well,” Walter said.

Walter typically splits his workday in half to make time for both office work and rehearsals.

“I direct many of the shows during the season, so I’ll do some office work in the morning, go to rehearsal for approximately seven hours a day, have production meetings afterward with the designers for the shows and go back to my office work,” Walter said.

He said he ends his day by volunteering at the shows in the evening, selling raffle tickets, giving a curtain speech and greeting patrons.

 

What’s to come

“Expect a lot of Michigan premieres,” Walter said. “We have shows that haven’t been produced in Michigan as of yet.”

According to Walter, Meadow Brook Theatre will showcase a Pulitzer prize-winning musical called “Next to Normal,”  a brand new off-Broadway comedy called “White’s Lies,” an American horror classic called “The Haunting of Hill House, a new 1950s-themed musical called “Life Could be a Dream” and two oldies but goodies, “The Constant Wife” and the Broadway musical “70, Girls, 70” by the creative team behind “Cabaret” and “Chicago.”

“The audience should expect a variety of different types of shows. From thrillers, to comedy, to classic and traditional — “A Christmas Carol” that we’ve done for 31 years,” Marshall said.

The season kicked off with the thriller “The Haunting of Hill House,” which is the scariest ghost story ever written, according to Marshall.

“The Haunting of Hill House” will run through Oct. 28, before switching over to “A Christmas Carol” which will run from Nov. 16 – Dec. 23.

 

Behind the curtains

“We have a play reading committee that starts reading plays once the season starts, and all summer long they’ve been reading plays,” Marshall said.

By December, next year’s season will already be in preparation, he added.

“The hard slot to fill is the January slot, because it’s cold, icy and rainy,” Marshall said.

Marshall said she always goes for something happy and upbeat.

Rehearsal for a single show could last three weeks before it goes on stage.

“It usually takes a good six-to-nine  months to go from the idea stage to fruition,” Walter said.

The crew consists of five people who build the sets, and another team of three creates costumes in the basement of the theatre.

“A crew of two people make up the properties crew, along with the other crews they create everything that’s seen on stage,” Walter said. “The crews have approximately four weeks to create everything.”

After two days of technical rehearsal, the theatre opens up for previews.

“We have three nights of previews where the director can make changes, if need be, before we finally open the show,” Walter said. “This year, a total of 62 actors were hired so far for the shows, not counting the 20 children that will be cast in “A Christmas Carol,” Walter said.

“No OU students have been cast so far because it’s hard to cast OU students during their school year, as our rehearsals are generally held during the day when classes are held,” Walter said.

“It’s hard work but it’s rewarding in the end,” Marshall said.

“This season will make you laugh, cry, think and jump a few times. But it’s all in the fun of things. That is the magic of live theatre,” Walter said.

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