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Date: 7/5/2023
LUDLOW – The Exit 7 Players will be starting the celebration of their 40th season this fall and has productions, programs and more planned.
Exit 7 is a community theater group located in Ludlow that was founded in the spring of 1984 and began with a production of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians.”
Located at 37 Chestnut St. in the auditorium of what was previously the Ludlow High School, the Exit 7 Players have focused on renovating the Chestnut Street Theater while bringing the arts to Ludlow and the surrounding communities.
“A lot of our patrons will come in and say, ‘I used to have gym in this, and I use to go to whatever assembly in here’ so that is kind of neat,” Board of Directors Vice President Christina Climo had to say.
Climo has been involved with the theater since 2010 and started serving on the board of directors starting in 2014, including a few years as the board of directors president before transitioning to vice president.
The theater used to offer one production a year and recently moved to two productions a year before making it six productions for its 40 year anniversary.
Climo added, “For our 40th season coming up this fall we are going to have six productions from youth productions to straight plays to musicals.”
The first musical will be “Cinderella” on July 28 and Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. and July 29, 30, Aug. 5 and 6 at 2 p.m.
It will be a youth production featuring actors and actresses from the age of 8 to 18.
The next musical will be “Footloose” that features nine performances in October followed by “White Christmas” with six performances in December.
“Almost, Maine” will be a straight play that has nine performances in February 2024, followed by “The Prom” with nine performances from the end of April to early May 2024.
“The Last 5 Years” will be another musical that will take place in June 2024 with eight performances scheduled.
What is unique about each show is that every production has a different director for it.
Usually, the theater does not have a show in mind until directors pitch their ideas, and the Board of Directors choose the ones they liked the best.
“We don’t have a resident director. We have different directors for each show because we do an interview process to have the different shows come in so they pitch their shows and we base it off of that,” Climo said.
The Exit 7 Players Theater Board of Directors just recently hosted their annual board meeting on June 25 to review the current season, future plans, capital improvements, financial information, vote for board of directors members, and discuss/vote on bylaw amendments.
Climo shared some news from the meeting.
She said, “Exit 7 just acquired a 25 year lease on the facilities that we have, which include the auditorium space and the basement space. The basement used to be occupied by the Ludlow Senior Center, but with them moving to their own building we have the space for at least 25 more years, which is wonderful.”
Climo added, “We are doing improvements to that basement space. Repainting, refurbishing things and planning a fundraiser to get new theater seats because they are in need of repair and to accommodate some larger size audience members.”
The theater is also looking to repaint the auditorium as well as recarpet it and plan more fundraisers.
“We had a profitable season which is always good to hear, and we just had great entertainment. There were about 50 or so people at our recent meeting, which is wonderful,” Climo said.
The theater also offers a youth program for those who did not make the cast for the summer production.
The program runs from July 10-14 for youth ages 7-11 and will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Climo added, “This year is a little different because it is new people running it. They are going to focus on, of course, acting, improvisation and being confident but they also are going to look at technical theater so lighting, sound design, sets, costume design and constructions and front of house responsibilities. Basically, it will give the kids a real appreciation for everything that goes into putting on a performance.”
The program will be run by Jennifer Poutre and Eleanor Tynan.
Climo thinks the theater is a great place where actors and actresses can join and be themselves.
She said, “It is really about creating a space and atmosphere. Not only a safe space, a welcoming space but it really does become a family feeling. Not only could you do this with your own family but now you have all these friends and confidence that you just grow to be so close with because you spend so much time getting ready for a performance.”
For anyone looking to learn more, buy tickets to a production or sign up for the summer program, visit www.exit7players.org.
Climo added, “We like to offer quality entertainment and an eclectic season for our patrons because we do have a range of ages who do come to see our shows, so we do have very young plays and ones for the older folks, which is wonderful, and we want to be able to appease all of our members, so we do classics, we do contemporary.”