Meet Your Neighbor: Shelby church leader Martha Tidball has lifelong passion for stage
SHELBY ― A new resident of Richland County has been the director of music and liturgy at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church since August.
Meet your neighbor Martha Tidball, a passionate leader eager to spread the faith.
The liturgical year comprises six seasons, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Lent, Sacred Paschal Triduum and Easter Sunday are the busiest, said Tidball, despite all the activity during Christmas.
“Lent and Holy Week are a whole different thing since every service has incredible meaning and solemnity,” Tidball said.
This Easter marks the first time she will be in charge of the Easter Vigil, the "mother of all vigils,” according to the conference of bishops. “I’m a little nervous,” Tidball said. “But it’s going to be great.”
Concerned that she’ll make a mistake, she starts early to “plan, plan, plan.”
The job provides a balance to her skills in musicianship and interacting with others. Although Tidball had never planned, organized or ordered things for liturgical celebrations, she has become proficient.
She has been an educator in Catholic schools locally and in Columbus for 16 years. “I’m happy to be in Shelby, I’m happy to be here,” Tidball said.
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A love for theatre
A graduate of Ashland University with a bachelor’s degree in music education and minor in theater, Tidball keeps herself busy.
Tidball has been involved at Bucyrus Little Theatre for more than 40 years and is a member of its board of directors. “That’s where I’ve been doing theater since I was like 8 years old,” she said.
The theater bug caught her early. The first time she auditioned for a part, she got the lead and thought, “that’s just how it was.”
You can catch her onstage next in "Seussical," a musical of various Dr. Seuss stories. “It’s all stirred in a pot and tangled up together,” teased Tidball. “It’s going to be a lot of fun” for people of different ages.
Even though it’s in Crawford County, Tidball encourages anyone to visit the theater.
“We like people from out of town. We like people from in town. We just like people,” she said with a smile.
It's about more than putting on a show
Teenagers are encouraged to visit and join its new Teen Theater Club.
“We want to give them a place to just learn about theater, meet new people. Everybody is welcome,” Tidball said. “I always say band and theater kids are just the nicest, most welcoming group of nerdy people you can ever meet.”
Theater has given Tidball a way to express her emotions. She said her twin sister “wanted to save the world," but she just wanted to put on a show. "It’s kind of who we are, how I am," she said. "It’s part of my soul, so I wouldn’t know how to do anything else.”
Tidball uses theater as a form of therapy. “I’m not a big drinker, I’ve never really done drugs, but for me, it’s a release of those pent-up emotions," she noted.
A pure people-person, Tidball wants to serve others as others have served her.
“For me, it’s another way to give to my community. A lot of people helped me when I was there as a kid and even through my young adulthood," Tidball said. "I feel like it’s my turn to give back, to give people another chance to kind of find their way. Theater is not just being on a stage. There’s lots of different parts to it. Everybody can find a role and everyone’s accepted. I think that’s a cool thing.”
For information about Bucyrus Little Theatre, visit bucyruslittletheatre.com. If you're interested in learning about Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, go to mphmshelby.org.
Correspondent Joe Di Lullo can be reached at muckrack.com/dilulloj or jp.dilullo0926@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Martha Tidball has lifelong passion for the stage
