We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kathy Beiting a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kathy, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

While putting on musicals each season is rewarding and fun, possibly the most meaningful project our group has undertaken is to provide scholarships for high school seniors entering a theater/music program in a college. We started the scholarship program several years ago and have been thrilled to provide financial support to two or three students each year. We know that what we are able to give to deserving students helps them in some way to work toward their dreams and goals of studying theater and/or music.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am Kathy Beiting, President of Cincinnati Music Theatre. Having been a lover of theater most of my life and a teacher of theater for several years, it seemed a natural for me to get involved with community theater when I first moved to Cincinnati. A good friend encouraged me to audition for a CMT show 31 years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. In those years I have been onstage and backstage, I have sewn costumes, built props, run spotlights, served as stage manager, and have been the producer for more than 25 shows. I am a devoted volunteer for the organization.
Cincinnati Music Theatre originated in 1963 as the Eastern Hills Community Theater, a group of people with similar interests came together to produce and perform in musicals. The Eastern Hills Community Theater soon became Cincinnati Music Theatre, an all-volunteer, amateur theater group with the express mission of producing high-quality musicals at a reasonable price for our community. Opportunities exist within the group for directors, actors, musicians, designers, builders, costumers, and general helpers of any age, race, or orientation to use their talents and/or learn new talents to help produce a musical.

After 30+ years performing in local high schools, CMT took a courageous leap in the fall of 1995 to become the first resident company at the brand new Aronoff Center for the Arts. Many questions came up related to this move. Would we be successful producing shows in a professional theater as an amateur group? Would we sell tickets if our patrons had to come downtown? Could we fit large musicals on a smaller stage built for recitals? The list goes on. The first couple of years were a challenge with having to figure out ticketing, equipment use, and the timing of rehearsals and performances, but we persevered. Currently we produce two MainStage large musicals in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater, as well as three smaller studio revue-type shows in the Fifth Third Theater of the Aronoff Center in downtown Cincinnati.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of my theater involvement is watching the curtain rise on opening night and seeing all the elements of a musical come together – song and dance, lights and sets, costumes and props – to tell a story to our audience. The audience’s appreciation of our efforts via their applause and positive comments are also very rewarding.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe society can best support the arts through being aware of all that is happening in their arts community and attending as many events as possible to support the arts. We are fortunate in Cincinnati to have a very active arts community that is well advertised in our local paper and on social media, and all seem to be well attended.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cincinnatimusictheatre.org
• Instagram: @CincinnatiMusicTheatre
• Facebook: Cincinnati Music Theatre