5 minute read
Theater’s pandemic pivot
QuiNN sullivaN returNs to the Z stage as a headliNer after haviNg WoWed buddy guy there at oNly eight years old!
“Pivot” is the stage direction in every South Coast area theater venue’s script this year as they all turn to different ways to stay active in these pandemic-dampened times.
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“Pivoting is the word of the year,” Wendy Hall of New Bedford’s Festival Theatre said with a laugh. “We are pivoting every day.” In fact the theater group, which has been known for producing summer musicals on the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center stage, 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford, since 1990, has pivoted very successfully this year. When the theater group presented its first pre-recorded streaming show, “To Broadway, With Love! A Virtual Theatrical Event!” in April, the cabaret-like production was the group’s first production since November 2019. “And it was very well received,” Hall noted. Following that, the group presented its first live and streamed production performed on the Zeiterion stage itself since pandemic restrictions began, a one-person show “Professional Broadway Lady Miss Evita-Loca” in June, which was equally well received. In October, Festival Theatre is planning to live stream from the Zeiterion stage a two-person Broadway play. Hall won’t reveal the title of that production just yet. But by then, Covid restrictions will probably relax enough to make their productions even easier to present. As an example right now, rehearsals, especially of singing performances, must be on Zoom. She’s hoping the guidelines soon will allow for live rehearsals and, in myriad other ways, make the quality of the performances the theater group presents even better. (For more information go to nbfestivaltheatre.org.) In similar fashion, the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center itself has adjusted what it offers with its own online content throughout 2021, including both educational opportunities for all ages and virtual performances. “If we’ve learned anything
this year, it’s how to be nimble,” Zeiterion executive director Rosemary Gill said, “how to be adaptive.” But as of June 1, an audience has been allowed again inside MiChael J. the theater, though at a very deCiCCo reduced capacity, up to 100 people. The first such Zeiterion offering was the start of a weekly “Cinema New Bedford” film series sponsored by the New Bedford Film Society. In classic 2021 style, however, the series was presented in hybrid fashion: people were able to attend the viewing at the theater or live-stream it at home. Gill is proud to note the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center’s virtual offerings since the pandemic began have all been very successful, even though, admittedly, attendance has been uneven. “Sometimes we didn’t see
the participation,” she said. “But generally everyone who participated has enjoyed that participation. That’s why
we’ve considered what we’ve done this year a great success.” For more information, go to zeiterion.org.
prepariNg the set
Up the street from the Zeiterion sits the future home of Your Theatre, Inc., New Bedford’s premier local community theater group since 1946. Since the Covid-19 shutdowns struck the South Coast in March 2020, Your Theatre has pivoted in the warm weather months to small-scale productions outside of the First Baptist Church, 159 William Street, which is being reconstructed into its new home, the Steeple House Theater. Online the theater has aired short plays, mainly by local playwrights, a weekly video clip trivia game hosted by a rotating roster of theater members, and this past March an online presentation of its annual Winter Jazz Fest. Its 2021 live theater season started in June with “Plays in the Garden” followed in early August by ”More Plays in the Garden” both under the tent at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, 396 County Street, New Bedford In September, Your Theatre’s Artistic Director Lawrence Houbre said, the theatre will start its 75th season back at the venue the group has used for the past 16 years, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 136 Rivet Street. But the theater group’s long-range plans are up in the air because the group can’t use the Steeple House theater grounds like it did last year due to the construction
this year. “The playhouse construction is picking up,” Houbre explained. “There’ll be fencing up and equipment on the grounds. They’re saying no to using that space.” Add to this the complication of ever-changing Covid guidelines, he said. It’s hard for the group to plan when it must factor in the costs for royalty rights and other production costs versus whether, especially under Covid restrictions, the performance will attract enough of an audience. “We’re not exactly sure people will show and that our audience and staff will be safe and comfortable under Covid conditions,” he admitted. The new playhouse exterior might not be ready for occupancy until the end of 2021. But then, Houbre said, “Your Theatre” will need time to turn the interior into a venue with the right stage and stage lighting and rehearsal, dressing and storage space. The theater group is also hoping to build a second, smaller stage downstairs. That’s why Houbre predicts an actual celebration of its 75th anniversary will be between March and May of 2022. But he says he thinks it’ll be worth the wait. Go to yourtheatre.org for more information.
MiChael J. deCiCCo has worked as a writer for over 30 years. He is also the author of two award-winning young adult novels, Kaurlin’s Disciples and The Kid Mobster. He lives with his wife Cynthia in New Bedford.
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