GARDINER – A day after the Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center presented its last exhibition of 2020, it was unclear when the next one would be.
Normally, the historical opera would be in the middle of its season, which presents a list of exhibits – music, comedy and – at its Studio Theatre from autumn to spring.
However, 2020 was not a general year. When the global coronavirus pandemic hit Maine in March, Mike Miclon, its artistic executive director, finished the 2019–2020 season and nevertheless canceled his series of loose summer concerts at Gardiner’s Waterfront Park and its 2020-2021 season.
Now, Miclon, like state CEOs, is comparing features for next year.
In Maine, 10 months after the first case of COVID-19 was identified, the limits or prohibitions of public meetings remain in force according to existing public fitness guidelines. Still, in recent weeks, the number of cases in Maine has soared, setting new infection records every week, if not every day.
In early 2021, COVID-19 vaccines have begun to reach Maine, but it is known how long it will take citizens to get vaccinated and when life can return to normal.
The challenge now is to evaluate what is known and what it is and make decisions about what they will do over the next 12 months and beyond.
“The appeal is that although our product is short-lived, it still requires six months to two years to plan,” said Dawn McAndrews, artistic director of production at the Theatre in Monmouth. The Theatre in Monmouth is a year of Repertory Theatre Company.
“The ambiguity for us is: will other people be vaccinated?”McAndrews said. ” Will other people feel comfortable if we put on screens and wear masks?Can we, in terms of income, make indoor exhibitions with fewer people in the houses?”
EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING PLANNING CAN BE PROBLEMATIC
At John Hall, Miclon began broadcasting live in the spring, combining performances by musicians and bands with editions of “The Early Evening Show,” Miclon’s longtime popular parody of evening communication programs.
In late summer, when restrictions on indoor meetings began to loosen, Miclon began to wonder if others would be willing to attend an exhibition at Johnson Hall High Theatre. This space, which can accommodate 400 other people in the theater, has been closed for years, is the subject of a fundraising crusade for its renovation.
“We thought we were going to start slowly, gradually, adding 15, 20, 25 more people according to the program,” he said.
At the largest theater, Miclon said, the plan to sell 50 tickets to ensure a sufficient distance between the parties, but only 25 tickets were sold because the seats had to be 14 feet from the stage, 6 feet from all team members. adding a producer, 3 cameramen and a sound technician – and 6 feet from the other groups.
“It was almost even having 25 other people on the third floor,” he said.
The COVID-19 infection has ruled out the option of live broadcasts and has even led to the cancellation of socially remote occasions for Halloween and Christmas.
“We’re going to wear the next screen at the end of January,” Miclon said.
This is because a replacement for presidential management would possibly imply another direction in the fight opposed to the spread of COVID-19.
When Maine ordered to stay home to stop infections last spring, federal aid would be obtained in the form of non-public direct bills and more unemployment benefits as well as federal business assistance. Although the infections exceeded the first figures, Governor Janet Mills said. she is not contemplating the possibility that final federal aid may not be available.
“We just don’t know if we’re going to make a full closure all over the state,” Miclon said. “I don’t need eBook screens I can’t do. So we’re waiting. “
Last spring, the Monmouth Theatre opted to stop ticket sales and pending subscriptions from the recommendation of state and federal public fitness agencies, then postponed its season.
“We’ve been practicing virtual programming all year,” McAndrews said. “If it’s a screen that our audience needs to see again sometimes, they’ll take advantage of it. So we learned a lot about her. “
At the same time, he is also contemplating tactics for producing plays with tents and audiences that bring their own chairs.
“We have possible options on the position of the bachelor ticket. And after the first of the year, we’ll publish data on what subscription plans would look like,” he said.
Information on the topic will be published in the theater and on its social media platforms in the coming weeks, he said.
A list of works that can be made in summer, if imaginable to gather public, is also being prepared and likely to reflect the content and composition of actors and production staff, some other notable occasion of celebration. 2020: Calls for racial justice, diversity and inclusion after widespread Black Lives Matter protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, among others.
Gathering those pieces, or a series of summer concerts in Gardiner, is just one part of the equation, it’s the other part.
THE PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE SURVEY
Last year, the Maine Arts Commission conducted a public perspective survey to measure public convenience and provide information on opening presentation spaces and functionality in Maine.
To date, nearly 4,100 more people have responded.
The summary of the effects shows that a little more than one part of the other people would “not feel comfortable” to attend a show, regardless of the length of the venue. When asked how safe it would be to attend a live presentation, the biggest response was after a vaccine or immunity.
Nearly 60% of respondents said it would be “comfortable enough” to attend a concert, yet 80% said they wouldn’t be comfortable going to a place without seats or space.
The Maine Arts Commission is expected to monitor attitude adjustments as more people respond to the survey over time.
In some cases, the audience is ready.
VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITIES
McAndrews said the Monmouth Theatre now sells its Page to Stage spring exhibit to elementary and high schools. It is a virtual opportunity to access 4 of the theater’s past exhibitions in a constant time and at a global price.
“Many schools responded, and if we had an outdoor tent in the spring, would they bring artists?”She said. ” And I can’t answer. It’s even more complicated for me than the summer opportunity. “
While the functionality would be out, interpreting them requires five actors to quarantine them together and then travel around the state in a van for other audiences.
“Can we make it work? There are other people who are hungry, hungry, hungry. And the caution in this case turns out we deserve to be about maybe not,” he said.
At John Hall, live broadcasts have had varying degrees of success. The first raised $9,000; one of the summer exhibits attracted 14 spectators.
“We located it because we give one option to other people, you can buy the fundamental ticket, which is $15, but you can give $25, $50 or $100 if you want,” he said. “On average, at least five other people consistently with screen buy $100 tickets. And I’d say most of our ticket purchases from $25 to $50. »
They also notice that they are attracting audiences from as far away as the Netherlands, leading them to live stream once this pandemic is over.
CURRENT ARTS HOOKED
Meanwhile, the pershapeing arts industry is looking to hold on. While some have benefited from federal assistance in the form of the payment check coverage program to stay contracted and some expenses paid, they know that next year will also be difficult.
“There is an arts organization and executive administrators of performing arts organizations across the state that have literally worked with our congressional delegation and national arts organizations and associations to make sure there will be an investment for us,” McAndrews told me. “We have all visited our donors several times this year. And we know we’ll continue to call for more help next year. “
As in other industries, the performing arts industry is expected to decline because not everyone has the resources to bring them to light.
“I think we’re going to see this slimming of the herd in a way that’s going to be sad,” Miclon said. “There are many large, large and small spaces that made it work. “
But as Miclon heads to next summer, he hopes to bring gardiner back live music with loose shows and payouts, and that can be a small impediment to overcome.
“Our festival in recent years has been Netflix and Hulu,” he said. “And we struggle with nails and teeth to keep other people away from their televisions so that they can reach a position and a percentage of delight with other humans. Now we beg you, please stay home and watch TV. The big concern is how, how are we going to bring other people back (to the shows)?»
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