All systems are go – we at Pull-Tight are planning our return!

Okay, let’s pump the brakes for just a second and reveal what we can tell you thus far.

It has been over a year since we closed our theater doors. The Real Inspector Hound, directed by Tom Gregg, had to press pause, and who knew how long that VHS tape could hold? Our youth guilds suspended activities. With barely a peep, our second home and arts venues across the nation slowed to a dull roar. Ask any actor – that’s just not in our nature!

But with vaccines now rolling out and optimism beginning to peek back into our daily routines, we on the board felt it was time to begin prep work toward a relaunch. While we want to underscore that everything in these stages is tentative and subject to change, we also want to send a message of hope.

We also want to ban the phrase “in these unprecedented times” … but, one step at an “unprecedented time.”

First off, we plan to press play and present The Real Inspector Hound as the first show of our 2021-2022 season! The opening date is set for September 10, barring any incident or issue. Thank you to Tom Gregg and his dedicated cast and crew for hanging tight during all the ups and downs.

We will also mount four additional productions: The Curious Savage, Crimes of the Heart, Madame Buttermilk, and The Elephant Man. These shows feature smaller casts, and will provide for ample distancing both onstage and backstage, should guidelines make that necessary.

Social distancing and seating capacity caps will be in effect whenever necessary. The season will begin under these provisions as guidelines mandate. For this reason, we cannot offer a season ticket this year, as the number of available seats could fluctuate on a show-by-show basis. We aim to offer normal season ticket opportunities for all current season ticket holders in Spring 2022. We will announce other pandemic restrictions closer to the season’s September start.

I would be remiss if I did not thank some key players who have been instrumental along the way.

• A hearty heap-full of gratitude to Johnny Peppers and Heather Bottoms, keeping our patrons and Pull-Tight families connected and aware of recent developments over the past year.
• Much appreciation to Iain Macpherson and Tim Massey for checking on the theater and assisting with maintenance needs.
• Hip-hip-hooray to Stephanie Dillard for aiding in the renewal of our performance contracts for 2021-2022. It’s not a sexy job, but someone’s gotta do it. And Stephanie does it with such verve and panache!
• A rowdy round of applause to Pat Street and Dan Kassis for working on the restructuring of our website during this downtime (set to launch in June), and to Jeanne Drone and Savannah Aiello for maintaining our social media presence.
• Kudos to our COVID response team – Lynda Gibbs, Carmela Hofstee, and Pat Street – for updating us on current expectations and best practices to institute at our theater.
• Let’s hear it for Lenny West, JK Gregg, and Laurel Aiello for beginning the daunting task of costume room clean-out. I don’t envy you!
• Give it up, too, for Sarah Kieffner, Beth Woodruff, and Ricki Keckley for donor appreciation efforts. The financial gifts over the course of the past year have been a gentle reminder of generosity in the Pull-Tight family.
• A final shoutout to the Banquet Committee, who have now quickly become a Picnic Committee! Dan Kassis, Beth Woodruff, Sarah Kieffner, and Chelsea Craig are all aces in my book. (By the by, that picnic celebration will take place August 28. Use that calendar accordingly.)

I’m sure there are plenty more I have managed to miss. So, to everyone who has been a steady force in the Pull-Tight community, know that you are valued and appreciated by all of us.

Keep an eye out for future announcements regarding our plans, and we’ll see you on opening night.

Matt Grimes
President, Pull-Tight Board of Directors
2020-2021

Well, we made it.

2020 has presented challenges from all directions and brought us major changes in how we live. And still we end with a reminder, in this most exuberant of seasons, that love and compassion for one another will win the day.

It is in this spirit and with this knowledge that we here at Pull-Tight have forged ahead! Though we closed our doors to the public with the pandemic, in private we continue to work on our eventual return. I hope that we can make an announcement on that front within the coming days.

I cannot begin to thank enough the dedicated volunteers of Pull-Tight, as well as the City of Franklin, for their patience and devotion to our theatre as we navigate into 2021 and beyond. The nebulous swirl of life, not revealing what may come next, certainly has taxed us all in various ways. I am amazed at the potential within all of us to keep pressing onward.

Though times may seem dark, here are some highlights of our 2020.

Waiting in the Wings

Waiting in the Wings completed its run and showcased some of the brassiest (and occasionally bawdiest) women “of a certain age” the greater Nashville area has to offer! Anchored by performances by Linda Speir and JK Gregg, this Noel Coward dramedy reminded us all that age is just a number, and that life is truly for the living.

The Real Inspector Hound

The Real Inspector Hound remains on hold, but will be the first show to grace the stage in our theatre when life is back to normal. Director Tom Gregg and his fantastic cast and crew have shown incredible patience and are rarin’ to go! Meet the cast and crew and read more about this “Show Interrupted.”

Our next season

Also more than ready to get started are our Directors for the 2020-2021 season, awaiting the chance to put their visions on the stage. Leslie Berra, Cat Arnold, Cindy Davis Massey, JT Landry, Melanie McBurney, Iain Macpherson, Beth Woodruff, Laurel Aiello, and JK Gregg, we thank you for your understanding with this frustrating turbulence in scheduling. 

Connecting to the community

Behind-the-scenes warriors help keep Pull-Tight relevant and connected to the community. Box office guru Johnny Peppers is a one-man show on par with Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain. Becky Leopard quickly and efficiently got the word out to publications about our spring closure. Johnny and Savannah Aiello also keep the Pull-Tight “buzz” alive on Twitter and Instagram.

Many of our favorite actors and actresses contributed to our social media presence as we transitioned into remote settings during quarantine. A hearty thanks to Jeanne Drone for staying constant with “Monday Memories,” a weekly Facebook retrospective into past productions on our main stage. “Meet the Players,” “My First Show,” and “Show Scares” were all features that saw coverage on our Facebook page as well. Much appreciation to everyone who chipped in – Heather Bottoms, Pat Evans, Lynda Gibbs, Greg Grimsley, Dan Kassis, Emily Kieffner, Iain Macpherson, Cindy Davis Massey, Julie Murphy, Johnny Peppers, Cabot Pyle, Megan Roberts, Rachel Sinclair, Lenny West, Beth Woodruff, and Wade Woodruff. If I left someone out, I’m sorry!

Business as usual … ?

Though unable to conduct our normal artist membership meeting in person, we did collect votes for our annual Board of Directors election in May and welcomed Lynda Gibbs, Carmela Hofstee, and Lenny West to serve three-year terms. Sean Aiello, Leslie Berra, and Stephanie Dillard rotated off the Board – and we thank them for their service!

Knot Awards, not a banquet

Beth Woodruff and Dan Kassis transformed the annual Knot Awards Banquet into a live-streamed ceremony in under a month, broadcast on YouTube for all to see. Technical gurus Savannah Aiello and Matthew Redding aided in the process, which included airing a pre-recorded riff on Jurassic Park starring Joe Shepherd, Jennifer Bennett, and Iain Macpherson. Watch the entire event on Youtube.

The Player of the Year honor went to Melanie McBurney, and Jeremy Hargis was inducted into the Pull-Tight Hall of Fame. Click HERE to see all winners.

#covidgoals

Lynda Gibbs, Carmela Hofstee, and Pat Street agreed to serve as our COVID-19 task force. They have been diligently keeping up to date with recent news and health protocols that will affect the theatre and the community at large.

Home improvement

We’ve begun to assess small DIY projects within the building that we can manage before our next production. A very special extension of gratitude to Iain Macpherson for regularly checking in on the theater. Lenny West and Leslie Berra have been coordinating the replacement of one of our speakers to enhance the sound quality during our performances for a more even, less distorted distribution. 

All work and some plays

Our Playreading Committee, chaired by Jennifer Bennett, has culled through numerous show possibilities for a future season, and although their mission changed slightly this year as far as crafting suggestions for a full season, they have catalogued extensively for us. Thanks, too, to Jennifer’s assembled team – Aleah Christian, JK Gregg, Greg Grimsley, JT Landry, Melanie McBurney, Julie Murphy, Mark Slagle, and Lenny West.

Board feat

Our Fall Membership Meeting, socially distanced, did occur in October. The Board updated attendees on the theater’s financial security, explained sanitation protocols once we reopen, and provided tentative plans for the future. Additionally, as President, I established a Voting Committee that will allow all individuals with voting rights in 2019-2020 to carry them into 2020-2021. The committee will dissolve after the spring membership meeting. 

The Board decided that data was necessary to evaluate options and weigh the concerns of our volunteers and patrons during the pandemic. As a result, we sent out a COVID-19 survey in November to solicit responses that would better inform our decision-making in 2021.

Season’s greetings

Determined to keep the Christmas spirit alive for all of us, Claudia Finnegan volunteered to decorate the exterior of the theater for the holidays. Thanks, Claudia!

As we move into 2021, we will again face new challenges and frustrating obstacles. But we will never let that diminish our passion for life and for the arts. The adage is “hope springs eternal.” Never has that sentiment been truer.

I wish you all the best for a Happy New Year and hope to see you, sooner rather than later, at the theatre. 

Matt Grimes
President, Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors
james.m.grimes@vanderbilt.edu

Well, we’ve moved into April, and I must ask – did anyone else feel like March had 60 days? And with all that spare time, did anyone else still not complete their taxes yet?

I hope this opening greeting made you smile, as it was intended to do. Diversionary humor and bad jokes are my go-to in moments such as these. As Miss Scarlet says in the film version of Clue, “It’s my defense mechanism.” (She also said, “Communism is just a red herring,” but that seemed less important.)

A short time ago, we closed a star-studded production of Waiting in the Wings; we cast a rollicking funny gang for The Real Inspector Hound; and we prepared diligently for Cabaret. The board of directors held its monthly meeting in early March, and we felt confident that we had a plan in place for anything that might arise.

In retrospect, no plan could have been suitable for our current state of affairs. Within a week of our board meeting, we made the difficult decision that many others in the arts community reached around that same time – that we would postpone all future in-person activities for the time being. We were “going dark” at Pull-Tight in an effort to help stem the tide and flatten the curve, in response to mounting worries about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let it be clear – our goal has always been to postpone. We will be back, and we’ll be as strong and as dominant a force as ever.

Until that time arrives, though, we’ve been in talks as to how best to appropriate our availability and our resources for the public. We are performers at heart; when we can’t bring a little light and levity into your lives, we feel drained ourselves, and that certainly won’t do. Given that we can’t provide you a show onstage, here’s what we hope to do in the interim, in order to help keep us all interconnected:

1) Meet a Pull-Tight Player! We look forward to providing you with a snippet or two of integral players in our Pull-Tight family, answering questions and providing insight as to their “private lives” (thanks, Noël Coward!) and their onstage personas. Look for videos posted to our social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

2) What’s happening in the wide world of theatre and the arts? Now is a good time to explore other forms of artistic expression happening around the world. If you see something of interest, give us a shout! We’d love to update this regularly with items to keep our patrons entertained and engaged. As these come in you can access them HERE.

3) Our resident photographer and fantastic board member Jeanne Drone recently added a slideshow of headshots on our Facebook page, allowing visitors to take a trip down memory lane. We hope to continue features such as these to provide a respite or a brief escape to a simpler time from our company’s past. This is also a great time to watch our 50th Anniversary video, 50 Years a Treasure by filmmaker Tom Gregg if you have not already done so. The original DVD included oral histories of 28 of our members. You can see the full video on Youtube.

And please don’t think we’re resting on our laurels! Here’s what we’ve been doing behind the scenes to ensure we are ready to go whenever possible and hit the ground running:

Tom Gregg and the dedicated cast and crew of The Real Inspector Hound continue to practice lines and maintain that feisty, farcical chemistry via weekly videoconferences.

Our Playreading Committee, chaired by the indescribably talented Jennifer Bennett, has gotten a jump start perusing plays and musicals for our 2021-2022 season.

Dan Kassis and Beth Woodruff continue their amazing work as banquet co-chairs, strategizing contingency plan after contingency plan, even in the face of uncertainty.

And finally, here are some final “business-y” items to address regarding important Pull-Tight events:

• The annual in-person artist membership meeting, scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd, has been canceled. We hope to reschedule the membership meeting to a date that falls before the end of June.
• However, ballots for Board of Directors nominees, Player of the Year, and Pull-Tight Hall of Fame have been mailed to all those who have earned voting rights for 2019-2020. Thanks to Pat Street for spearheading this effort! To check your own voting status, click HERE (read info and then click link near the bottom of the page to check your own status). Ballots must be returned via snail mail by April 27th.
• The Pull-Tight Banquet and Knot Awards are slated for Saturday, June 27th, 2020, at the Cool Springs Marriott. As of this moment in time, we are proceeding with that date; however, given the fluidity of events in the nation, arrangements are subject to change.

It’s hard to know where to go with the conclusion of this blog, just as it’s hard to know where things are going in this unprecedented situation we all find ourselves facing. I know it has not been easy, but these are the times in which we band together, where we all pull tight and see each other safely through to the other side. If you need anything, reach out. Send me a message. Offer to do my taxes. I’ll be here, hoping to hear from you. Pull Tight, y’all.

Matt Grimes
President, Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors
james.m.grimes@vanderbilt.edu

Happy 2020 – better late than never! Whether you were out on the town for the last day of 2019 or snuggled up inside watching the annual marathon of The Twilight Zone episodes on SyFy, we hope you welcomed the new year with the same enthusiastic energy we’re bringing to Pull-Tight in this back half of our season.

First and foremost, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the fantastic cast and crew of White Christmas for helping us to celebrate a jolly holiday in the theater and to close out a busy December. The response to the show was magnificent; nothing but praise all around! From Pat Street‘s masterful direction to Lenny West‘s detailed costuming and some exquisite set work from Jacob Heinz and Dan Linney, from the exuberant performances onstage to the wispy snow falling from above, the show set the bar high for future endeavors.

The Pull-Tight gifts don’t stop there! We have recently received some much needed upgrades, thanks to the generosity of some of our most valued volunteers. Stephanie and Chris Dillard dedicated their time to soundproofing the audience seating areas around the band to make for a more acoustically enjoyable experience, and a slew of helping hands – Sean and Savannah Aiello leading the charge – chipped in to paint and clean our backstage green room. We have one or two more odd jobs in the works, so stay tuned!

Our Youth Guilds continue to offer fantastic opportunities to our community. The Teen Youth Actors Guild met Saturday, February 1st to discuss and focus on the Meisner Technique. Natalie Kirk, a professional actor and Pull-Tight friend, helped to teach our teen thespians a way of acting that develops key skills in imagining, listening, and reacting on stage. The Junior Youth Actors Guild graced the stage the next Saturday, participating in a stage combat workshop. Check our website for upcoming events!

Our current production finds its actors and actresses well outside of those age brackets. Waiting in the Wings, helmed by some hack of a director named Matt Grimes, features an all-star cast in Noel Coward’s gentle story of retired performers living out their twilight years in a charity home. Tensions rise as an old feud sparks up again, but not without some comedic flair along the way! Come see some of your favorite Pull-Tight veterans – including Linda Speir, JK Gregg, Jeanne Drone, Bill Jones, and more – along with some friendly fresh faces in this touching tribute to our past regrets and our present hopes for the future.

There’s plenty more on the horizon for us – the opening of The Real Inspector Hound, season ticket renewals, and our 52nd season announcement will be here before you know it! Until then, though, please feel free to reach out to me. The arts matter more than any of us may realize, and we at Pull-Tight are honored to share these stories with you all.

Matt Grimes
President, Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors
james.m.grimes@vanderbilt.edu