Any theatre production is a difficult matter to organize and run. This, our very first Quarantine Community Theatre project, has been several times more difficult in many ways:
- the stress of the world on lockdown,
- finding the right technology for rehearsals,
- scheduling those rehearsals across several time zones and states,
- figuring out the logistics of setting and costuming from afar, and
- puzzling out MORE technology for recording.
Well. We figure our director / producer / showrunner deserves more than a little thanks and recognition.
Christine, this is for you; your wonderful efforts and dedication; your fantastic cheer and attitude; all your fantastic insights; and the joy you’ve brought to us all. ❤
P.S. More comments are still coming in…we’ve had something of a disconnect with sending/receiving these comments!
In regards to Christine! When I think about her, I think about what a dedicated, caring, and funny person she is. Our whole project started as a low-key, kinda goofy idea she had that we all backed and supported her on, but it was Christine that did the work of getting us together and casting and directing, and who further has been keeping this project on the rails and pulling it into the station!
– Nathan (ya boy, Claudio)
I’m so deeply proud of her efforts and grateful that she’s put the time into this thing, because I’ve had a lot of fun doing it and I wouldn’t have done anything like this if she hadn’t brought it up and followed through on it! She kicks a lot of ass!
– Julia W. (Hero)
I love that I met Christine as the drunken captain of an all female spaceship. She was a merwomanempath crew member captured and imprisoned by my younger sister. Weird and good times.
Did I first really get to know Christine while she was wearing onesie pajamas? Possibly. As my cool friend from church, my book-loving buddy, my crafting/Scottish sheep farming companion, and an OG inebriati literati, Christine is endlessly engaging, surprising, loyal, and hilarious. Getting to witness her mad theatre skills has been a delight. Thanks for putting your heart and soul intro wrangling this crew for Much Ado, Christine!
Love, Heidi (Ursula)
I ‘met’ Christine through my husband, who’d met her through a shared love of MST3K. Wasn’t long before I realised she and I had tons in common besides MST3K. Terry Pratchett for one. Shakespeare, for another,which is why I’m here now.
I have to say, although at the time of this writing I’ve only been in one rehearsal, I’m in awe at how good Christine is at directing this show. I think sometimes directing is about as easy as herding cats, and doing it virtually is even harder, but Christine absolutely smashes it.
So, thank you Christine, for putting this thing together, and including me. I will leave you with this quote from Sir Terry Pratchett that I think is appropriate: ‘You ain’t supposed to understand the jokes, this is a play,’
– Carol/Friar
Dear Christine Carpenter,
Fond regards, Karen Kubliski
THANK YOU for for the Quarantine Community Theatre project. I am delighted to have a chance to try acting in my 47th year on this Earth. You have been gentle and diplomatic at giving feedback and asking for changes; I appreciate those skills especially as I do not have them myself. You have done a voluminous boatload of initiating, planning, scheduling, and organizing to make all the happen. THANK YOU!
This has been such a fantastic time. I was supposed to be doing “Arms and the Man” under the direction of Fran Teague. I always am so flattered when I am asked to be in a production that’s hand-picked by people you love. But after just a handful of rehearsals, everything went to hell when the rest of the theater season was cancelled. I was so bummed that my spring of fun was now crushed.
When I heard about the QCT and *gasp* SHAKESPEARE, I was quite excited for the prospect of acting even in these conditions, and performing a little Willie Wigglesword, which I just LOOOOOVE doing. When MAAN was selected, I was gunning for the baddie right off. There’s something fun about playing a Shakespearean villain. The fact that under Christine’s direction, Don John is the two-dimensional petulant shithead that he deserves to be is AMAZING. I really look forward to the pissy evil that is flanked by the dullard absurdity of Verges.
This has been a high point of the last couple of months, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity!
– Kris / Don John/Don Dickweed / Verges/LeFou
I haven’t done any acting since I was in high school performing with a youth theatre group in Alaska. Christine has known I have on occasion been tempted to try to get back into the scene (ha!) of it in recent years but with my typical schedule it hasn’t been feasible.
When the quarantines started happening and Christine started to put things out there, she made it a point to reach out to me to invite me as she had seen I hadn’t reached out to her about it and she knew my interest.
Thank you, Christine, for pulling me out of my typically introverted shell and providing this opportunity to express another aspect of my interests. You have been awesome in providing all the positive feedback and having the vision to get the performances you want from people. Love you!
-Jon (The Beard)
Quarantine Community Theatre Project 