Beginning with a CETA grant in 1979 to help found Show of Hands with Marc Martinez, Karin has overseen the institution and growth of many Theatre for Youth programs at Playhouse on the Square and The Circuit Playhouse. Programs include Summer Youth Conservatory, After School Acting Program, Theatre School, Teens in Theatre, Saturday Morning Matinee Series, and the Theatre For Youth Touring program. In all, Circuit Playhouse, Inc.’s educational and outreach programs reach nearly 30,000 children each year. Many have been directly influenced by Karen’s guidance, teaching, and love of the arts.

Click here to see the pictures from her surprise breakfast in the Memphian Room at Playhouse on the Square. Or click here to see them on Facebook.

And the winners are…

Set Design College: Craig Lewis
Set Design Community: Christopher McCollum, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Costume Design College: Janice Lacek, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Costume Design Community: Andre Bruce Ward, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Makeup and Wigs Community: Barbara Sanders, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Lighting Design College: Ken Friedhoff, Animal Farm
Lighting Design Community: Michael Compton and Chris Swanson, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Props Design College: Emily Wells, Animal Farm
Props Design Community: Robin Black, High School Musical 2
Set Dressing Community: Kerry Strahm, Crimes of the Heart
Sound Design College: Eric Sefton, How I Learned To Drive
Sound Design Community: David Newsome, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Musical Direction College: Mark Ensley, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Musical Direction Community: Dennis Whitehead, Jerry Springer – The Opera
Choreography College: Jay Rapp, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Choreography Community: Mitzi Hamilton and Kathy Caradine, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Sup. Actress Musical College: Shaheerah Farrakhan, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Sup. Actress Musical Community: Jude Knight, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Sup. Actor Musical College: Jason Hansen, Assassins
Sup. Actor Musical Community: Ken Zimmerman, The Producers
Sup. Actress Drama College: Katie Preston, How I Learned to Drive
Sup. Actress Drama Community: TIED Jo Lynne Palmer, Pride and Prejudice AND Sheana Tobey, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Sup. Actor Drama College: Matthew Crewse, Animal Farm
Sup. Actor Drama Community: Matt Reed, Seascape
Cameo College: Andrew Whaley, The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Cameo Community: Corey Cochran, A Year With Frog and Toad
Lead Actress Musical College: Kirie Walz, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Lead Actress Musical Community: Cheyenne Nelson, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Lead Actor Musical College: Chris McCollum, Assassins
Lead Actor Musical Community: Kent Fleshman, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Leading Actress Drama College: Shannon King, How I Learned to Drive
Leading Actress Drama Community: Sheana Tobey, And Baby Makes Seven
Leading Actor Drama College: TIED Greg Krosnes, How I Learned to Drive AND Reginald C. Brown, Animal Farm
Leading Actor Drama Community: Jerre Dye, Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Ensemble Acting College: Animal Farm
Ensemble Acting Community: Pride and Prejudice
Direction of a Musical College: Stephen Hancock, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Direction of a Musical Community: Mitzi Hamilton, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Direction of a Drama College: Gloria Baxter, Animal Farm
Direction of a Drama Community: John Rone, Pride and Prejudice
Best Original Script: Rebecca Fisher, The Magnificence of the Disaster
Production of Original Script: The Magnificence of the Disaster
Musical Production College: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Musical Production Community: Thoroughly Modern Millie
Dramatic Production College: Animal Farm
Dramatic Production Community: Pride and Prejudice
Behind the scenes award: Alvin Miller
Larry Riley Rising Star Award: Ken Friedhoff
Eugart Yerian Award: Dorothy Kirsch

Congratulations to all the winners!!

The weather held up and the groundbreaking ceremony was a huge success. Here is a selection of photos from the event. Click here to view.

We’ve set the groundbreaking date for the new home for Playhouse on the Square. Now all we need to make the show complete is for you to be there.

Here’s the basic dirt:

• 3-7pm
• Thursday, March 27, 2008
• Corner of Cooper and Union

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind dirt digging ceremony. And remember: If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole community to raise the curtain on a theatre. So please join us. The program will be short on ribbon cutting, speeches and plaques, and long on fun, surprises and snacks. Introducing the Groundbreaker, a chocolate martini created just for the event. 

Mark your calendar, let’s dig the scene together. 

Please join us at TheatreWorks for powerful discussions following each Saturday performance of the run of The Exonerated. We welcome audiences to listen to experts discuss the difficult and emotional issues surrounding the judicial system, racial issues within that system, and the death penalty, and to express their opinions on these matters in an open panel-discussion environment.

• January 6 – Conversation with Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing (TCASK) Associate Director Alex Wiesendanger. Mr. Wiesendanger will be speaking about the current status of the death penalty in Tennessee as it relates to issues in the play, and the efforts of TCASK to establish a moratorium on the death penalty.
• January 13 – Legal discussion on the death penalty and DNA evidence, headed by Paul Guibao, an attorney with show sponsor The Law Firm of Paul Guibao. Fellow attorneys will debate the pros and cons of the death penalty and discuss the issues brought forth in the production.
• January 20 – Q&A with Mara Leveritt, critically acclaimed author of Devil’s Knot, a journalistic account of the harrowing West Memphis Three case. Ms. Leveritt will share her expertise of our regions’ legal system pulling from her own extensive experience researching the West Memphis Three case.
• January 27 – Panel discussion with representatives from Memphis’ own National Civil Rights Museum on the reality of racial issues in our judicial system.

For more information please contact our box office at (901) 726-4656.