Market House Theatre Selects New Education Director And Assistant Education Director

Market House Theatre revealed the addition of two new staff members during its 62nd Season Announcement Party on Tuesday, April 15.

Emily Hensel has been named the new Education Director, overseeing all theatre and dance programming. Hensel has led the theatre's DanceMHT program for the past 10 years, growing it from a single class in 2015 to a schedule running Monday through Saturday, now serving over 200 students each week.

Her journey with Market House Theatre began at age 16 as a performer in the touring group Story Theatre, where she also assisted with productions before attending Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, earning a BA in Dance. In addition to leading DanceMHT, she has served as MHT's resident choreographer and, more recently, directed several educational productions. Her recent credits include Disney's Frozen KIDS at the Market House, Mean Girls JR. (as director & choreographer for the MHT Theatre in Schools program at Paducah Middle School), and directing Gifted and Talented shows at several local schools. Hensel will begin her new role on June 1.

Market House Theatre also announced the hiring of Hadley Pierce as Assistant Education Director, beginning June 1. A Paducah native, Pierce grew up performing at MHT through the Footlights program, where she also served as a Teen Teaching Assistant, and acted in both youth and adult productions. She will graduate from Morehead State University in May with a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Education. During college, she worked in summer theatre programs across the country, teaching and directing student productions.

Executive Director Michael Cochran said, "I'm so pleased to have both Hensel and Pierce moving into their new roles. They've both grown up at the theatre with the high standards that we have instilled in all of our educational programming, and they are well-suited to taking the program into the future."

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