News – Page 9

The President’s Blog – February 2022

February 4, 2022

**Love is in the air with Crimes of the Heart at Pull-Tight!**

Crimes of the Heart at Pull-Tight Players

It’s an exciting month for Pull-Tight Players as we finally re-open with in-person performances at our little theater and our production of Crimes of the Heart. This play is not to be missed, with an outstanding cast that has been beautifully directed by our long-time Pull-Tight Player, Cindy Davis Massey. Her vision has come alive with the amazing talents of Joey Echeverria, Nathan Fink, Bre Hall, Rachel Humphrey, Breanna Theobald, and Nicole Turner, along with understudy Dan Kassis.

The show opens Friday, February 4th at 7 p.m. There are 11 other performances for you to grab a ticket and join us for this entertaining and emotional story about a small-town family and their Crimes of the Heart.

Auditions are coming up for our next production, and it’s a “yeehaw” with an aria!

You may have heard of a rock opera, but this musical does a 180 to bring you… a country opera?!? Well, sorta.

Audition Dates are Monday, February 7 and Tuesday, February 8 at 6 p.m. at Pull-Tight Theater.

The Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors requires that all cast and crew involved with our production of Madame Buttermilk must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Bring your vaccination card to auditions. A board member will check your card against your photo ID as you check in. Mobile phone photos of your vaccination card will be accepted. Also be prepared to remain masked when not actively auditioning.

Junior Youth Actors Guild (JYAG) and Teen Youth Actors Guild (YAG)

In case you missed it, Pull-Tight has decided to suspend all Youth Actors Guild (YAG) and Junior Youth Actors Guild (JYAG) activities for the remainder of this season. Teen YAG will resume on August 6, and JYAG will follow on August 20, 2022. Be sure to check our website and follow our Facebook page for updates about future workshops and master classes. We look forward to welcoming back our budding young thespians next season!

The Board of Directors is very grateful for all the support from our patrons, volunteers, and sponsors as we finally move forward into a season of live theater. We are thrilled to bring back live theater to our stage and hope to see you at Pull-Tight soon.

Carmela Hofstee, President
Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors

Cast Is Set for ‘Crimes of the Heart’

December 17, 2021

Cindy Davis Massey, director of the upcoming production of Crimes of the Heart for Franklin’s Pull-Tight Players, announced her cast for the show. The announcement follows the first show auditions the organization has held in two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crimes of the Heart, written by Beth Henley, first appeared on the Pull-Tight stage during the 1989-1990 season. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1981 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. The story details the lives of three sisters in mid-20th century Mississippi.

Director Davis Massey and stage manager Jeanne Drone appeared in the first Pull-Tight production of the play.

‘Crimes of the Heart’ cast

From upper left:
Nicole Turner as Lenny
Rachel Humphrey as Meg
Nathan Fink as Doc
Joey Echeverria as Barnette Lloyd
Bre Hall as Babe
Breanna Theobold as Chick

Davis Massey reminisced about her appearance in the first Pull-Tight production.

“In 1990 the late Wesley Fox cast me in the role of Meg MaGrath. I was thrilled and immediately became a fan of playwright, Beth Henley,” she said.

*Crimes of the Heart* cast from 1990. From left, Jeanne Drone (Babe), Suzanne Drone Hoyal (Lenny), Cindy Davis Massey (Meg)

“There were so many different directions I could have gone with casting. We had a plethora of talent at auditions. What I ended up with is the perfect blend of actors to bring this story to life. They are energetic, experienced and eager to take the stage.”

“I am excited to bring live theatre back to Franklin and look forward to spending these next two months with this outstanding group of people.”

Crimes of the Heart will run February 4-19, 2022 at Pull-Tight Theater. General public tickets will go on sale 10 a.m. January 24.

Holiday Happenings

November 16, 2021

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY

Pull-Tight Theater
Sunday, December 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Join us for a fun evening of refreshments, keepsake photos, and festivities.

There will be a “Mystery Holiday Ornament Exchange.” If you would like to participate, bring a WRAPPED ornament to add to the gift pile.
Masks will be required to be worn while in the theater except when eating or drinking.
If you plan to attend, please email an RSVP to Carmela Hofstee with the number of attendees in your group.

HOLIDAY DECORATING PARTY

We will be decorating the theater on Saturday, December 18^th. If you’re interested in helping, please email Carmela Hofstee. We’d love the help to trim our theater with tons of festive holiday décor!

Enjoy these photos from Pull-Tight’s 2020 Christmas party, and come make new memories on December 19th!

The President’s Blog – November 2021

November 16, 2021

Have you been wondering what’s happening at Pull-Tight Players? Well, with a heart full of hope for the holiday season, I’m excited to say that our theatre has a few things in the works!

First, thank you to Claudia Finnegan for adding lovely fall décor to our Pull-Tight Theater sign and front doors. It certainly gives a wonderful seasonal feel to our little theater.

In case you missed our annual Fall Artist Membership Meeting on Sunday, October 24 at Pull-Tight, artist members were welcomed to come and discuss updates on past, current, and upcoming activities for our theatre. Attendees were reminded of our recent postponement of The Curious Savage that was slated to open in December 2021. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the show was postponed and existing ticketholders from the past season would have their tickets converted to gift certificates. If you have any questions regarding your converted tickets, please contact the Box Office at tickets@pull-tight.com.

It was also announced at the meeting that the 2020-2021 Board of Directors acknowledged two valuable artist members by making them Lifetime Voting Members for Pull-Tight Players. Peggy Macpherson and John Davis were both recognized for their extensive contributions and accomplishments through the decades with Pull-Tight. Learn more about Peggy and John.

Now for thrilling news on our next production, Crimes of the Heart directed by Cindy Davis Massey. Auditions are scheduled for Monday, December 13, and Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 7 p.m. Audition forms, script sides, and COVID-19 safety guidelines are available online. Performance dates are February 4-5, 9-12, and 16-19 at 7:30 p.m.; and February 6 and 13 at 2:30 p.m. Stay tuned for ticket information in January.

Finally, the holiday season is fast approaching. We will hold our Annual Christmas Party at the Pull-Tight Theater! Join us on Sunday, December 19 at 5:30 p.m. for a fun evening of refreshments, keepsake photos, and festivities. There will be a “Mystery Holiday Ornament Exchange.” Please bring a WRAPPED ornament to add to the gift pile if you would like to participate. Masks will be required to be worn while in the theater except when eating or drinking. Please email Carmela Hofstee if you plan to attend.

We will also decorate the theater the day before on Saturday, December 18. If you’re interested in helping, please email Carmela Hofstee. We’d love the help to trim our theater with tons of festive holiday décor!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope to see you at auditions on December 13 & 14!

Carmela Hofstee, President
Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors

New Lifetime Voting Members

November 16, 2021

At its meeting on June 8, 2021, the Pull-Tight Board of Directors unanimously voted to confer the designation of Lifetime Voting Member to long-time artist members Peggy Gentry Macpherson and John Neely Davis. The honors were announced at the Pull-Tight Artist Membership Meeting on October 24, 2021.

This honor is bestowed on select artist members as acknowledgement and appreciation of their volunteerism and contributions through the decades as determined by the Board of Directors. With this title, Peggy and John will enjoy lifetime voting rights at Pull-Tight Players’ annual Artist Membership Meetings.

Peggy MacPherson was “surprised and very pleased to receive lifetime voting privileges at the membership meeting.” In her words, here is a bit of her history with Pull-Tight:

“My own personal memories involve family: Laurel and Heather as young children, and Laurel’s sons Sean and Scot being in plays from early ages. Laurel and TJ met at the theater, as did Sean and Savannah and Scot and Jordan. I claim all the credit for bringing Iain to our theater.

“I am proudest of my work with Pull-Tight’s children through the Youth Actors Guild, as well as the 17 years we performed Incident at Fort Granger for audiences in Franklin and even Washington, D.C. Getting Mayor Jerry Sharber on board with Pull-Tight was so important, too. He and his family were in A Franklin Diary, and later Jerry was in all 12 productions of Incident at Fort Granger. Jerry definitely got us into good graces with the City of Franklin’s BOMA. Involvement with this theater has been so good for me, my children, my grandchildren, and for Iain and TJ.

“I am also happy that John Davis was honored with Lifetime Voting privileges. John and his family were solidly involved in our theater before I arrived on the scene. I definitely credit him with getting our theater on its feet. It is fitting that his daughter Cindy will be directing our first show in 2022 as we take the stage once again after two years.

“I am slowing down, but hopefully can continue to do whatever I can to help our theater well into its second 50 years.”

Cindy Davis Massey, daughter of John Davis, provided this recount of his past with Pull-Tight:

“John joined Pull-Tight when it was just a few years old. He acted in several shows, always with his script somewhere within arm’s reach, just in case! Some of his favorite roles included Doc in Come Back, Little Sheba and Jessie the playboy in Plaza Suite.

“He also directed several shows including Night Watch, which was performed as a dinner theatre production at the Holiday Inn; Dear Ruth, performed in the community room of the Harpeth National Bank (now First Tennessee Bank on the square); and the first of many productions of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1976, performed at Franklin Junior High School (now Freedom Intermediate.)

“John is a past president of Pull-Tight, as well as one of the earliest recipients of the Pull-Tight Player of the Year Award. He and his wife, Jayne, are responsible for creating the Pull-Tight Knot Awards, a tradition that really caught on and continues today. He thoroughly enjoyed his years working with Pull-Tight, and even made it a family affair when he encouraged both his daughters, Cindy and Melissa, to become involved.”

Let us thank these dedicated individuals for their life’s work and the impact they made to help Pull-Tight become what it has grown to be today. Congratulations, Peggy and John!

Please enjoy these items of memorabilia, which we have available only due to Peggy’s diligence in keeping the Pull-Tight scrapbooks over all these years!