We just had our postmortem with our crew for Cheaper by the Dozen. Myriah Bell, our stage manager, and I were saying it felt like just yesterday that we were meeting about potentially forming a new theatre organization and putting on a show. Less than two years later, we have put on two shows. It really seems like a miracle.

Now we are getting ready for our third show, 1776. Getting to 1776 was always the goal. We knew we wanted to do The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and, if ticket sales were good enough, continue on with 1776 for Independence Day. Cheaper by the Dozen was an added bonus I did not see coming. If you had told me five years ago that in 2026 I would have two shows under my belt as a director, I would not have been mad about it, but I would have been thoroughly confused about how my life could have possibly gone in this direction. At the time I was a newlywed, pregnant with my first, in the Army, and living in Tacoma. You really cannot plan for God’s plan.

I firmly believe God’s hand has been in all we’ve done. He always delivers the exact people we need at the exact right time. We knew we wanted to go big with the set for Cheaper by the Dozen. But how? We did not have the space to build it or the expertise. Then Fernando Flores, owner of Lighthouse Craft Carpentry, attended our church for the first time. My husband Stefan walked up to him and asked if he would be interested in helping us with our set. Miraculously he said yes to Stefan, who was a complete stranger to him, and he went on to let us use his shop. In my mind that can only be explained by God.

I was worried we would not have enough adults audition for Cheaper by the Dozen. I was especially concerned about finding the right Dad Gilbreth. Ken Wood took my call. I was a stranger to him, yet he auditioned for the show and became my perfect Dad Gilbreth. I then had a crazy idea to do a ballet sequence. I reached out to Cocolalla Conservatory and asked if Khandis would choreograph it, and she said yes. I described what I wanted and we agreed it might be tough to find a guy and a gal who could and would be willing to do it. I hunted down Frank Wright’s number and called him as a stranger. He agreed to do the show. At Khandis’s recommendation, I reached out to Autumn Yoast-Walters, who also agreed. All of these people agreed to work with someone they did not know on a show with a long timeline. So many people saying yes to a random couple felt like a bit of divine intervention.

The good fortune continued. Two thousand six seats were filled for Cheaper by the Dozen, one hundred more than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. So many people wanted to attend our charity show that I had to turn folks away. We averaged 267 people per ticketed performance. Ticket sales per day increased by 19% for the second weekend, and we closed our run with our largest audience. I also got to work with dogs and babies for the first time, granted the baby was my own.

We lowered the average cost per seated person from $22 to $19. We did this with more tiered pricing, aggressive ticket sales, and more giveaways. Unfortunately we did not see enough of a rise in ticket sales to offset those lower prices, so we will not be as aggressive with sales for 1776.

With donations and ticket sales we grossed $32,489. The show cost $26,307, so we netted $6,182. Last show we netted $10,000. The drop in net income was partly self-inflicted because of the sales and discounted seating, but it was largely due to increasing costs at the Panida. For The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we paid $10,755. For the same number of days and the same equipment nine months later, we paid $13,855. The cost should actually have been higher, but the monitors were unavailable to rent and we were not charged for a week of headsets because they were not working. Our final bill should have been about $1,000 higher than it was.

The daily rental and equipment prices will be higher for 1776. To be fair to the Panida, they have a lot of overhead. The theater is far behind on its maintenance schedule, and there are hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for the work the building requires. We do not want the building falling down on us. At the same time, many in the community are already priced out, and Honey Pearl Productions will soon join that group if prices do not stop rising.

I have a meeting with the Panida executive board in a couple of weeks, and I am hopeful that between that meeting and the work of a new local presenter committee they are forming we can find a solution. Though the truth is that I do not think we can cut much more. We need the time in the space that we currently use. Our production budget is already as lean as possible, and we continue to be fueled by an army of volunteers. When I look at what the Panida needs financially and what we need financially, there seems to be very little room for compromise. But both sides are motivated to find a solution.

So what is next for us? We are not sure. 1776 is a go, and auditions are March 21st. I would encourage anyone interested in working with us to sign up. It may be our last show.

Some have suggested that we do smaller productions in alternative venues, but that is simply not our passion. If we are going to do this as volunteers, it needs to be projects we are excited about. We dream of going bigger, not smaller. We are exploring the possibility of starting a new venue, and a new nonprofit is in the works. These things take time. Maybe we will be on our way to a venue next year, or maybe it will take ten.

So Honey Pearl Productions is in a bit of a holding pattern. We are eagerly awaiting the chance to meet with the Panida and see if there is a way forward there. If not, then a new venue will become the goal. This community has been supportive of our vision so far, and we hope we will continue to have that support if and when we pursue a new venue that can host theatre productions, dance recitals, and more.

We will see you at 1776, and we are deeply grateful for the support this community has shown us. We cannot wait to share the next show with all of you.

Warmly,
Connie Kiehn
Co-Founder, Honey Pearl Productions
Director, Cheaper by the Dozen