Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karen Kilgore. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Karen, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Best Investment for being a part of ROYAL (Our cast and their families)

The parents and families with ROYAL are the best, we get to know our families on a professional and personal level, and we love watching these kids grow up in our organization and give back when they are older.

I have been with ROYAL Theatre Company for 15 years and we just celebrated our “20 years” of ROYAL.

I have watched cast members grow up in our organization and then they return as alumni to help and give back to the organization.

One of our cast members that started at a young age and grew up with ROYAL and graduated high school and completed college with a BFA has at this very time returned from New York and is our assistance director for our current show Lion King.

Watching, hearing, and seeing him give back now to our younger cast is so rewarding and knowing we had a small part in who he has become today is amazing and hearing his heart felt gratitude to us for helping him in his younger years makes us realize that theatre is more than just art, it is heart, soul and mind.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

ROYAL Theatre Company is a 501 C3 nonprofit organization, we are located in Mason, Ohio. We are a community theatre group that offer classes, camps, workshops, and 2 major musical productions each year.

We have a board of directors that consists of 6 members and every one of those members are 100% volunteer. I’m the president and have been there for 15 years and as president for 12 years. I’m also the productions manager for each of our shows.

We hire our professional teachers, for classes, camps, and workshops. We also hire our directors and choreographers that work with our cast for each show.

We cast 2 major shows a year, one in the fall, usually ages 6 years to 18 years old, one in the spring, usually, ranging in all ages from youth to adults and often includes past alumni. We have auditions prior to each musical and may audition up to 150 for a cast of no more than 60. We offer 4 shows per season, and we rent and utilize our local high school in Mason, Ohio for our performances.

We sell tickets and our average audience for our 4 shows ranging from 500 to 800 per show. We participate in community events, give back to other nonprofit organizations, and advocate for the arts and the value it brings to our community.

I’m also currently on our Mason Arts Council as vice-president and we are an arts focused 501 C3 and are in the process of a capital campaign to build a Regional Arts Center in our community.

The arts, bring families to our community, drives economic development helps with education, public speaking, confidence and building a safe and professional place for all to belong and be part of our mission.

Our passion and dedication are to everyone that enters our doors regardless of race, religion or social economics.

We are a family, and we are more than just an organization that provides the arts.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During Covid our organization was hit very hard, the school in which we normally rent the auditorium from for our shows were not allowing any rentals. Our show that was previous scheduled had to be canceled. Our small organization had to still pay rent for our studio, prop and scene shops during the entire shut down which was about 14 months.

Our team sat down and brainstormed, and we decided to think outside the box, we found a hotel that would work with us to rental their space, a large ballroom. I found a donor who would build and donate a large Cyc for us and help us build a stage.

We then had one of our alumni help write a script for us to use that we could act, sing and perform adequately to in the space we had. The script was to be upbeat, and inspiring for our cast and audience.

We worked with our local Mason community, and they put up a tent with walls outside with ventilation so we could practice in a safe outdoor space.

Our cast wore mask during the process, and we followed all CDC guidelines. We were able to perform our show to a sold-out crowd and reviews were amazing. We cast 40 kids, worked outside the box and utilized every aspect of our organization to make this a successful event and it was,
This event was not only uplifting, but it was also financially successful and brought much entertainment to all that attended during this period and fear and unknown.

Our board, cast, parents, donors, community and alumni came together to shine, light, laughter, and joy during this very dark time in our lives.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I personally have a nursing degree and was in healthcare leadership for 20 years, this was an amazing experience but after 20 years I needed to find a new way to give back to others.

My two daughters are credited with helping me do just that. They both had a love for the arts and got involved at a very early age, Madison was only 9years old and Alexis was 12 years old.

We had been invited to come see one of their friends in a musical, at the time ROYAL was called Children Theatre of Mason, later when I got involved, we went through a whole new branding campaign and rebranded and change our name to ROYAL Theatre Company.

After sitting through this musical, both my girls were hooked, and frankly so was I. I saw what amazing things young people were doing and I knew there was more to come.

My youngest daughter followed this path all the way through college and graduated from Belmont with a BFA and lives in Long Island NY today and has had so many opportunities due to her education and passion for the arts.

My oldest daughter although she didn’t peruse the arts, she completed college at Miami University in Ohio and became an elementary teacher and she has since completed her master’s in education.

They both gained so much knowledge through theatre and performance, they excelled in writing, speech, and public relations and this is just some of the value the arts can bring. They both have very successful jobs and I know they made the right choices, and the arts provided much of that value.

I continued to stay at ROYAL even after my girls both went on to live their lives. Leaving the healthcare field and making this drastic change only allowed me to see so much more value in other thing, especially the arts. I see youth find a place to belong, I see families work together on team for the productions, I see kids learning to have faith in themselves and facing challenges in a new a different way. There is so much value in arts and people just need to explore all the possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: royaltheatrecompany.com
• Instagram: royal_theatre-company
• Facebook: ROYAL Theatre Company, Home of the Children’s Theatre of Mason

Image Credits
Lance Moody, Mechanical Bug