Ooh, shiny! InterAct's new website goes live

When I first became General Director of InterAct two years ago, just in time for the recession (more on that another time), one of the things I promised was that we would beef up our web presence and social media. Little did I know at that time how much time, effort, and caffeine goes into getting a new website up and running.  Then I learned what web developers and website-having organizations the world over already know:  The web may be really, really fast, but building a new website can be really, really slow. 

But voila!  Our new website is live.  Check it out: www.interactstory.com. And I think it's a beauty.  Special shout out to our friends at Cloversites for the great design template and MillionMunkeys for the search engine and interactive forms.  Seriously, if you want to put up a great looking website with great functionality, definitely chat up these guys.

And, I've already learned a second truism known by web developers and website-having organizations the world over:  A Good Website Is Never Done.  Already we have updates, fixes ("Hey, who put that there?") new partners to give shout outs to, new artists to welcome to our band of InterActors, and more. So, stay tuned for updates, and please let us know what you think!

A Grown Up Girl in Children's Theater

Hi! I'm Bess Kaye, the Administrative (means secretary) Associate (means I have other jobs too) Artist (means I can teach theater and occasionally dabble in acting) at InterAct Story Theatre! The whole title looks rather impressive. Here, let me show you:

Bess Kaye

Administrative Associate Artist

InterAct Story Theatre

At the end of last last year, on the stage of 99 seat theater in the middle of our kitchen set, Ali Oliver-Krueger turned to me and said "Hey, how good are you at administrative stuff?" She and I were two thirds of a very adult themed three women show and we were minutes away from beginning a dress rehearsal- administrative duties were far from my mind. But I quickly evaluated my experience in word processing and record keeping (limited as it was) and I replied "Meh, not bad." "Good," she said, and left it at that as we walked off stage with dish towel props in hand.

I gave the short conversation not much thought over the rehearsal but then it occurred to me what Ali was probably referring to was administrative work at her company, InterAct Story Theatre. I knew how passionate Ali was about her work and I knew that if she was offering me the opportunity to help her bring arts and theater education to children all over Maryland (and pay me for it) that was not an opportunity I should pass up.

And so began my work with InterAct. It was modest at first, mostly writing contracts and scheduling artists at different schools, but has since grown into a full fledged leadership role with the company (due in some small part to my passion for performing and teaching, but in much larger part to Ali's patience with me when I made simple errors and her willingness to teach me when I had no clue what was going on).

I won't bore you by recounting the endless emails I've sent, directions I've generated, or contracts I've typed, except to tell you that getting through all that paperwork to ensure that we reach students with our art is a hugely gratifying experience for me. I've been known to shed a tear when I see an 8 year old truly embrace the character of the kind old witch with the magic pasta pot in "Streganona". I'm a softy, it's true.

So, welcome to my blog, an account of working inside children's theater, from behind a desk, to in a classroom, to on a stage. I welcome the comments and questions of artists, actors, and educators alike, and even those just stumbling through who've ever played make-believe as a child, because if you've ever pretended, then you're an actor too!