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Freddie Mercury, lead singer for Queen, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987 and by the early 1990s his health was declining.  Despite struggling with vocals and in a lot of pain, Mercury was adamant about continuing to make music, record an album, and perform for his fans. Queens’ guitarist Brian May wrote a song called, “The Show Must Go On” and had his own doubts about Mercury’s ability to sing the song. But the recorded version is some of Mercury’s most powerful and emotional vocals, conveying a sense of urgency and determination despite his personal struggles. One simple and profound lyric from the song I find is, “Inside my heart is breaking, my makeup may be flaking, but my smile still stays on.” 
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​From an early age of watching westerns with my father, I knew instantly when the bad guy entered because of the music. The same is true for stage lighting. The last several years I have learned that stage lighting is an art form, that influences & impacts the experience. For a production such as Madagascar Jr. the lighting design, & planning takes many hours to implement. At every rehearsal, I sit with a script in hand, jotting down notes. Such as when the director tells a child where to stand for a solo, I write that in my script – soloist down stage right. Other times I determine the mood of the scene, such as a dream scene versus the villains. I compiled a list of all these notes. From there I determine how many lights repeat, for example there are 7 scenes, so we need seven black outs. 

I love to watch the birds at our bird feeder and koi pond. I have learned some valuable lessons! This frigid morning there were juncos and cardinals eating off the ground, chickadees on the bird feeder, blue birds on the waterfall, and yellow shafted flicker on the pond ice, all getting along even though they are different! Lessons I’ve learned:
 

1. When the birds are on the feeder or ground their wings are tucked in, protecting their small bodies. But then they spread their wings to soar. I can choose to stay on the ground or bravely spread my wings and rise to new heights!

Thank you to the Adams Community Chamber for the honor of John McMahon Volunteer of the Year! And for the Adams Community Foundation Grant to repair our fascia and gutters this spring! Our historical story would make a great book, with a little mystery, loss, adversity, growth, disappointment, detours, and triumphs! This road to success is always under construction!
 
CHAPTER 1 Optimistic Dreams 1900-1902 FC Reese purchased the corner lot after the great fire burned down the First National Bank and pieced together a plan to build the opera house.
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Recently, I had the privilege of participating in the Southwest Valley High School Career Fair and hosting the FBLA students on a business visit to the Corning Opera House. At both events I was asked what I like the most about my job and what do I really do. I have had adults ask me what could possibly take so much time!
For the easy short answer, I like the people, variety of work, and the opportunities to travel. I have rubbed shoulders and talked to famous people, comforted the grieving, shared joyful celebrations, and encouraged youth, among other things. I have had the privilege of speaking at a national conference in Philadelphia, received awards in Dallas and DC, toured over a hundred different performing arts venues and other exceptional trips.
As for what I do, takes much longer to explain. One aspect is arranging events (meeting, party, wedding, concert, etc.) All events start with sharing a few emails, phone calls, and sometimes on-site visits before contracts are signed. A performer’s contract can go through several revisions before it is finally signed. One performer wanted grilled salmon in January and because I would not agree to that one item, that broke the deal. Fun fact about contracts, 

​A common question on tours – Do you have ghosts? – or some form of that. Have you seen or heard a ghost? So I will share Corning Opera House and theater tales! You decide if they are Tall Ghostly Tales or not!
Theatrical folk are superstitious! According to early theater days (1700-1800s), it is bad luck for an actor to whistle on or off stage! In the early days of theater, original stagehands were hired from sailing ships. The sailors were used to climbing the ropes and their skills were needed on adjusting theatrical rigging. Sailors used coded whistles to move the sails, therefore if you whistled on stage, the stagehand took that as his cue to lower a set piece from the rigging. If done at the wrong time this could result in injury or death. Today’s stagehands use intercoms or light signals. Just remember don’t whistle!
Then there are ghost lights! A single bulb is left on stage whenever a theater is dark. Some say it is to chase away mischievous spirits, others say it keeps the ghosts contented. But most likely it is for safety, no one wants to tumble off the front of a stage. Or items on a stage are always moving, today