Staff & Boards | Maiden Alley Cinema

Staff

Rebecca Madding

Executive Director

Rebecca Madding has been the Executive Director of Maiden Alley Cinema since 2020. Prior to her position, she has been a faithful volunteer for MAC since 2014 and served as Secretary on MAC's Board of Directors from 2017-2020. Along with her position of Executive Director of MAC, she is also the producer of the Paducah 48 Hour Film Project and Festival Director of the Rivers Edge International Film Festival.

Rebecca is a native of Aberdeen, Ohio, moving to western Kentucky in 2011 to attend Murray State University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Professional Writing and a graduate degree in Communications/Public Relations. She now resides in Paducah with her husband, Austin and dachsund, Linus.

True to her literature roots, Rebecca has a love for stories. Whether it is on the page, the screen, or through conversation, she is a dedicated advocate for sharing and exploring the experiences of others.

John Holt

Director of Operations

John William Holt is Technical Director for The River's Edge International Film Festival and Operations Director at Maiden Alley Cinema. John was born in Paducah KY and educated at Murray State University. After getting his hands on a camera in 2002 he started making short films full time. He has won several awards and completed his first feature film The Dooms Chapel Horror in 2015 along with being co-founder at the production company Red Band Films.

Micah Holland

Staff Member

Libby Bridges

Staff Member

Board of Directors

Ross Smith

Board Chair

Ross was born and raised in Paducah where his love for cinema was cultivated, which usually involved watching a horror movie he was entirely too young to be watching. He has always been enthralled by stories and how the process of storytelling helps enhance peoples’ lives.

When not working as a real estate paralegal at Keuler, Kelly, Hutchins, Blankenship, and Sigler, LLP, Ross enjoys spending his time at Maiden Alley Cinema watching movies, playing disc golf, collecting and reading books, having a brew at Dry Ground, and spending time with friends and family.

“Art is the closest we can come to understanding how a stranger really feels.” – Roger Ebert

Liz Hammonds

Vice Chair

Liz is a native Kentuckian, having grown up and attended college in Murray. Throughout her adolescent years, she often traveled to Maiden Alley Cinema for a taste of "the big city." Once she even went on a date there. (Was it a date? His parents were there and it was middle school. Let's call it a date.) Maiden Alley and Downtown Paducah have long felt like home to Liz, an artsy kid with a penchant for poetry and choral music.

While not watching movies in a romantic alley and eating her favorite food (popcorn), Liz enjoys singing with The Paducah Singers and spending time with her husband and two dog children.

"Your innermost urges will tell you what strategy to employ to accomplish your special purpose while doing the work you enjoy." -Carrie Fisher

Aaron King

Board Member

Aaron is a East Tennessee native and a graduate from East Tennessee State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media Design with a concentration in Video Editing and Post-Production, and a minor in Fine Art Photography.

Upon graduation, Aaron moved to Atlanta to begin a Master’s Degree in Film Studies & Broadcast Journalism. During his course-work, he was offered an internship with The Weather Channel which segued into a full-time position. Aaron served a variety of roles during his five year tenure, including Original Programming Production Assistant and Creative Solutions Assistant Writer/Producer. His duties including writing, producing, and editing may award-winning promos, commercials, and other short-form content for a national audience.

After visiting the area, Aaron fell in love with Paducah and the surrounding area and shortly after the birth of his son relocated to the area. He accepted a job with Innovations Branding House, where he currently provides in-house creative design, photography, cinematography and editing. In 2017-2018 he had the opportunity to co-direct and edit a short film Road Trip Kentucky that won best documentary at the Louisville International Festival of Film.

For the last three years, Aaron has participated in the 48 Hour Film Project with Escapist Pictures. He loves taking pictures of his son, astrophotography, and spending time on Kentucky Lake.

Todd Birdsong

Board Member

C. Todd Birdsong has curated, produced and presented cross-genre multi-disciplinary programs, exhibits, events and seasons for nearly 30 years. Since 2018, he has served as Executive Director of West Kentucky Community & Technical College’s Clemens Fine Arts Center, in Paducah, Kentucky, where he is responsible for its oversight, management and programming. Highlights include producing the Inside Out and Stage Sessions artists series and the West Kentucky Community & Technical College One Book Community Read, originating the exhibit A Curated Life: Mediations Between Art, Objects and Ideas featuring the art work of regional gallery curators, producing and commissioning Walking On Cotton, a new dramatic play centered around personal stories that address the affects and aftermath domestic abuse has on survivors, scores of campus and community engagement activities with professional artists including Mavis Staples, Pete Souza, Chris Thile and ODC Dance and their involvement with residencies with regional youth dance organizations and their students.

Todd is also a sound artist, musician, image maker, functional designer and cultural producer who utilizes multiple creative platforms to produce his works, many of which have a focus on sound and photography. His sound art, works for radio, visual art, performances and installations have appeared at galleries, festivals and on the airwaves, worldwide. Interests include sound and radio art, sound and moving/still image, documentary radio, electro-acoustic composition and performance, acoustic ecology, and the combining of art, science and technology.

Canyon Bowden

Board Member

Canyon and her husband moved to Paducah from Seattle with their three children, in the fall of 2020 to be near her twin and her family. In another life before children, she worked as a Greensperson and a Set Dresser for many years in the Art Departments of various television shows and movies. Canyon finished her bachelor's degree, with a focus on sculpture, after her first child was born. As more of her children have aged into school she begn to revive her art practice. Canyon's work fluctuates between fiber, sculpture, printmaking, and installation. Being a part of Maiden Alley has helped her weave herself into the artistic community of Paducah. She loves film and is so happy we have this wonderful theater.

William "Rusty" Jones

Board Member

Dr. Rusty Jones is a Professor of English and the Chair of the English and Philosophy Department at Murray State University. Dr. Jones also chairs the annual Murray Shakespeare Festival. Originally from Arizona and the Central Coast of California, Dr. Jones came to Murray in 2008 with his wife Lis, a nurse at the Anna Mae Owen Hospice House, and their two children, Brynn and Patrick. Not long after moving to the region, Dr. Jones became a huge fan of Maiden Alley Cinema, and looks forward to helping support this invaluable Paducah institution for many years to come.