I must admit, it was a very snowy welcome to Dubuque and more than once I wondered what the heck I’d done moving here! My Sheltie, Dakota, constantly gave me those “what are we doing here and when are we going home?” looks. Now that there is plenty of grass and trees and bushes he can get to he’s feeling much better about things, and so am I. Coming from very, very flat central Illinois, just driving on the icy hills around here was an adventure! Everyone has assured me this winter is not normal – I’m counting on them having told me the truth!

I’ve met so many people in these few fast paced weeks and everyone has been very warm and welcoming – thank you to all who have made the effort to stop by or call or email! I am looking forward to getting out of the hotel, finding a permanent residence and then finally getting out into the community and meeting people and seeing all there is here in Dubuque and the surrounding area!

Equally as important, I’m looking forward to many of you coming into the Grand! It is certainly a wonderful facility. Just this past week a man came in who had not been in since the renovation and he was amazed at how “grand” it truly is and decided to get involved with our summer production of Beauty & the Beast. I encourage everyone to stop by, especially if you haven’t been in for awhile! See how you can get involved – there is a place for everyone in community theater!

Two things impressed me when I first heard about the Grand Opera House, and subsequently visited last October to check things out. First, the renovation. Any community that can raise three million dollars to renovate an historic old theater shows how important the arts are to that community and how supportive the community is of that building. Bravo to the people and businesses of Dubuque! Secondly, the organization and involvement of the huge number of volunteers that give so freely of their time to the Grand. Seeing the professional way the box office staff handled things, the way the house manager and ushers provided true service to the patrons, and the quality of the production I saw last fall were all very impressive and convinced me this was a place I could call home. So I submitted my resume, and the rest, as they say, is history.

By now most people have probably read the newspaper interviews or heard the radio interviews and know the basics of my background, so I won’t bore you with that info here. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is what changes I intend to make at the Grand. Well… right off the bat I won’t make many! The first thing to do is get a feel for the community – what the likes and dislikes are – what people want to see and what has done well in the past. The “old standard musicals and plays” are great to see and some will appear regularly on the schedule. But there are also wonderful new shows that the public should be exposed to and we will strive to create seasons with a mix of shows. We want to expand our offerings and bring in more performers – comedians, bands, vocalists, entertainers of all sorts, so the building is used more and more. And we want to get OUT more! Take more bus trips to Chicago and area theaters to see shows. We already have a theater trip to London planned for this coming winter that I will be leading (please call for details)! I do want people to feel as though they can call or email me with questions, concerns, or suggestions – after all, this is COMMUNITY theater and the community needs to be involved!

Again, thank you for the warm welcome to Dubuque. I look forward to meeting you at the Grand!