Hill Country Community Theatre hires new directors
Heidi and Daniel Melton are the new directors for the Hill Country Community Theatre in Cottonwood Shores. Their first production will be 'Always….Patsy Cline,' which opens Sept. 23. Courtesy photo
Doubling down on artistic ability, the Hill Country Community Theatre recently hired husband-and-wife team Daniel and Heidi Melton as its new directors.
“We are thrilled,” said HCCT Executive Director Patty Gosselin. “They are, I think, as happy to be here as we are to have them.”
Heidi will serve as associate director, while Daniel will be the artistic director.
Prior to coming to the HCCT, the couple worked at the Fredericksburg Theater Company. Heidi served as a box office manager as well as a performer and choreographer, while Daniel worked as the technical director.
After a potential job hire fell through in June, the Hill Country Community Theatre began to privately send out feelers for local people involved in theater.
“They heard that we had an opening and then they approached us,” Gosselin said.
Originally, the theater was only planning to hire one person. After speaking with the Meltons, the theater’s Board of Directors opted to look for any possible way to bring them both in.
“It started out being one or the other,” Gosselin said. “Our board did some really serious crunching of numbers and decided it was an opportunity that we couldn’t let go of.”
Awarded a degree in theater business from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Heidi has the strappings of a strong candidate to one day fill the position of executive director as Gosselin looks toward retirement.
“Heidi has a degree in theater business, which makes her an excellent candidate for executive director as I phase out of the job,” Gosselin said.
The couple’s first show will be “Always… Patsy Cline,” directed by Ted Swindley. It runs from Sept. 23-Oct. 16. Showtimes for Fridays and Saturdays are 7:30 p.m., while Sunday matinees will be held at 2 p.m.