ON Stage: Reimagined Phoenix 2020-2021

2020-2021

PHOENIX

ONSTAGE

the arts reimagined

Presented by:

NEW VISIONS FOR THE ARTS DURING UNPRECEDENTED TIMES

PROMOTING THE ARTS, TOGETHER.

The arts celebrate culture and enrich our lives.

That’s why SRP is proud to support employees who participate in Valley arts organizations.

Kelly Barr

Wayne Wisdom

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY

MESA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION

Molly Greene

David Rousseau

BALLET ARIZONA

PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

Steve Doncaster

Aidan McSheffrey

BLACK THEATRE TROUPE

PHOENIX SYMPHONY

John Coggins

Kara Montalvo

HEARD MUSEUM

PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY

Michael O’Connor

Nelson Ross

HERBERGER THEATER CENTER

CHILDSPLAY

Let’s bank together, Arizona.

OneAZ Credit Union is a proud supporter of 8,000+ Arizona businesses, like iconic clothing brand State Forty Eight.

Mike Spangenberg | Cofounder, State Forty Eight

Learn more at OneAZcu.com/Lets-Bank-Together.

Insured by NCUA

WELCOME season sponsor

S

ince our founding in 1903 and throughout our history, SRP has been committed to serving our customers and working to improve the quality of life for all Arizonans. We believe that support for the arts is essential to ensuring a vibrant and culturally diverse community that encourages creativity and inclusion.

The more than 5,000 SRP employees who call Arizona home are dedicated to giving back.

Many of our team members donate their time, talent and money to the arts.

Mike Hummel GM & CEO Salt River Project

The pandemic has affected virtually every aspect of our lives, and we are all navigating the challenges of attempting to reopen our society while staying safe and healthy. We admire the arts community and the work they’ve done to find ways to connect with the community through virtual performances, online summer camps, outdoor performances, and even Zoom fundraisers.

Supporting the arts has never been more important. I encourage you to join me in this effort, because our entire community benefits from these cultural treasures.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FALL 2020

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Sponsor Welcome: SRP Cover Artist: LORETTA TEDESCHI-CUOCO Nonprofit Beneficiary: ACT ONE AMERICAN THEATRE GUILD

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ARIZONA MUSICFEST

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ARIZONA OPERA

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ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY

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ASU GAMMAGE

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ON STAGE

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BALLET ARIZONA

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CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS

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CHILDSPLAY THEATRE

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DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN

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HEARD MUSEUM

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HERBERGER THEATER CENTER

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MESA ARTS CENTER

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MUSEUM

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54

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PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

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PHOENIX SYMPHONY, THE

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PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY, THE

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SCOTTSDALE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS SOUTHWEST SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TEMPE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

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VALLEY YOUTH THEATRE

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Volume 7

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Issued FALL 2020

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Annual Publication

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FIND THIS SEASON’S CALENDAR ONLINE AT ONSTAGEAZ.COM

GET A FIRSTHAND LOOK INTO THE SHATTERED MIND OF EMILY STILSON Grand Canyon University’s College of Fine Arts and Production invites you to livestream Ethington Theatre’s opening night performance of

“WINGS” ON NOV. 18 AT 8 PM.

Told from the perspective of a stroke victim, “Wings” tells the story of Emily Stilson and her difficult journey to recreate order and rediscover reality. Watch in awe as memories flood Emily’s brain and she comes to terms with her new reality.

To livestream “Wings” on Nov. 18, visit gcu.edu/wings

For more information, visit

GCU.EDU/COFAP GCU, while reserving its lawful rights in light of its Christian mission, is committed to maintaining an academic environment that is free from unlawful discrimination. Further detail on GCU’s non-discrimination policies can be found at gcu.edu/titleIX. The information printed in this material is accurate as of SEPTEMBER 2020. For the most up-to-date information about admission requirements, tuition, scholarships and more, visit gcu.edu. ©2020 Grand Canyon University 20COF0157

ONSTAGE the arts reimagined All cultures throughout history have some variety of art — dance, song or design.

So, what happens when a community can’t share or experience art due to a global health crisis?

We all suffer. Deeply. The professional arts organizations like those featured inside simply cannot exist without you, the arts patron, to engage with and support their work.

The arts are a vital part of living as it records and reflects true expressions of feeling and connection.

Through art, we feel seen. We feel inspired. The arts give us hope for the future. And we are all in dire need of hope these days.

Hope is what you’ll find inside ON Stage this season. Our arts community is working hard summoning grit, determination and wild creativity to survive the devestating impact of COVID-19. Some have adapted by building outdoor stages, others have utilized antibacterial paint in high touch areas, and everyone is working to develop high-quality digital content.

Your season calendar, as it takes (and changes) shape, can be found online at onstageaz.com. This comprehensive calendar features the most up-to-date information on performances and exhibits throughout the state — whether its in person, outdoors or streaming online.

We will get through this together and enthusiastically and look forward to seeing you at the show — masked and socially distanced, of course.

This publication is made possible by:

Act One, a 501(c)(3) which provides meaningful arts experiences that enhance the academic and creative potential of children and families in Arizona.

910 E. Osborn Road, Suite C Phoenix, AZ 85014 Act1az.org Executive Director: Bernadette Carroll Director of Arts Education: Dr. Beth Maloney

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michelle Glicksman, Beverly Medlyn and Lisa Van Loo 6

Ads sold by:

Onmediaaz.com | sales@onmediaaz.com CEO: Linda “Mac” Perlich CFO: Mark Kochman COO/Production Manager: Deidra Viberg Director of Sales: Michelle Schneider Managing Editor, ON Stage: Jennifer Woods Senior Account Executives: Lisa Grannis, Robyn Lambert, Deidra Viberg and Jennifer Woods

GRAPHIC DESIGN BY Snugbutter

BRING YOUR ASPIRATIONS FLAGSTAFF | STATEWIDE | ONLINE

NAU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution/UM307733_07.20

LORETTA TEDESCHI-CUOCO cover artist

L

oretta studied fashion illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC. She was the recipient of its “Jonathan Logan Award” for excellence in illustration. During her decades-long career in New York City's Garment District, she freelanced as a fashion illustrator and designer for clients including Polo Ralph Lauren, NIKE, Disney, Burberry, Gloria Vanderbilt and Macy’s. Periodically, her work appeared in Vogue, Glamour, the New York Times and Women’s Wear Daily.

Simultaneously, Loretta taught at New York's Parsons School of Design and for several summers on its Paris campus.

In 2016, she relocated to Arizona and taught fashion drawing at Arizona State University.

Loretta’s fashion-related paintings were exhibited at ASU Gammage, First Studio and Holland Gallery of Fine Art.

The August 2018 issue of Modern Luxury Scottsdale magazine’s Luxe Look issue featured Tedeschi-Cuoco. In it, Editor-in-Chief Lauren Swanson-Tyda declared Tedeschi-Cuoco “Best Live Event Fashion Illustrator.” In the September 2018 issue, Nora Burba-Trullson profiled Tedeschi-Cuoco in an article titled "Illustrious Career."

January 2016 marked the first of two Phoenix Art Museum events for Tedeschi-Cuoco: a Gallery Talk on “The Evolution of Fashion Illustration" and in October 2019, conducting a fashion illustration workshop that kicked off the “Antonio, the Fine Art of Fashion Illustration” exhibit.

For more information visit, Instagram: @art_ltc Website: dailypaintworks.com/artists/lorettatedeschi-cuoco-11455

To submit a piece of artwork for next season’s ON Stage guide, please contact: inquiry@onmediaaz.com.

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ART HEALS! Free Arts is the only arts organization that is eligible for the Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organization tax credit.

Make your tax credit donation today to Free Arts at FreeArtsAZ.org/donate OnMedia-print ad-F.indd 1

9/16/20 8:41 PM

Connect with the arts in 2021 at Scottsdale’s historic ASU Kerr Leonard Patton Trio Friday, Feb. 12 JAZZ, BLUES The Four Freshmen Thursday, Feb. 18 JAZZ, OLDIES Ken Waldman with Willi Carlisle Sunday, Feb. 21 AMERICANA

Leonard Patton

Ken Waldman & Willi Carlisle

That’s What Friends Are For: The Music and Magic of Dionne Warwick featuring Nicole Pesce, Renee Patrick, Diana Lee & Friends Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 POP, SOUL See more shows and full event info at asukerr.com ASU Kerr | 6110 N. Scottsdale Rd. | Scottsdale, Arizona

ACT ONE nonprofit beneficiary

WE

have all faced times of uncertainty, but never collectively as a whole. The year 2020 has not been easy for anyone‌on the planet. Except for maybe the dogs, who think it is wonderful that we are home. All. The. Time. But aside from our pets, everyone in every industry has suffered some way from the impact of COVID-19, either by the disease, the economy or both.

Bernadette Carroll Executive Director Act One

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Speaking as someone involved in the arts industry for the past 20 years, sometimes we feel like hamsters on a wheel. We are constantly planning for next season’s performances, programs and galas. Time goes at warp speed and just when you have completed your season, you start all over again with the next. At the beginning of COVID-19, it felt as though time had stopped. No one knew what to do or what to expect. Most of us thought it was a fluke, and our theaters and venues

OUR FUTURE BEGINS TODAY

would go back to normal soon. So we waited, and waited, and then got creative. This pause in our never-ending cycle of arts seasons gave us the much-needed time to reflect and reinvent ourselves. We could finally take a deep dive and look at our organizations inside and out: What is necessary to survive, and what is possible?

Act One is no different. Up until March 2020, we relied solely on our arts partners to provide the venues and performances that artistically feed the minds of the Title One children we serve.

This period of reflection made us see that it is time to get into the game and create our own unique field trip experiences. Act One is now exploring the growing technology of virtual reality. Imagine an immersive arts experience where children can simply put on a headset and be transformed to a symphony stage to hear a piece by Mozart, visit the Great Pyramid of Giza to learn about the ancient Egyptians, or

walk right into and be surrounded by Monet’s Water Lilies. Technology is now letting each child sit in the front row. Though we all yearn to be back in the galleries, museums, theaters and arts centers — those sacred spaces that can transform audiences, we now can incorporate technology to alter reality in the most creative ways. That is what we do in the arts. We create.

Field trips, in the traditional sense, will always be a core Act One program. Our partnerships with our local arts venues are vital and treasured. We believe that all children should experience the magic, awe and sometimes goosebumps from seeing a live performance or entering a symphony hall or museum. But we at Act One are also ready for “Act Two,” which is the exploration of virtual reality.

This is the future of field trips, and Act One is driving the bus.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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Broadway a

THE ORPHEUM TH

AMERICAN THEATRE DECEMBER GUILD 6 - 8, 2019 is ready for anything

JANUA

By Lisa Van Loo

T

he American Theatre Guild, which presents national tours of Broadway shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix, has a full slate of shows scheduled for the 20202021 season, beginning in January with South Pacific.

presents at a reduced capacity isn’t financially viable for the company, especially at the quaint Orpheum Theatre. But, she says smaller shows could be an option.

Even so, the American Theatre Guild is ready for anything, setting a season schedule and then arranging for a full back-up schedule, just in case. Hamm says opening the type of shows the American Theatre Guild traditionally

For more information, visit americantheatreguild.com/phoenix.

Once shows are greenlit to go, Hamm says they’ll be ready. New shows that haven’t toured JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 2, 2020 MARC Amy Hamm, executive director at the American yet, like An Officer and a Gentleman, will need Theatre Guild, just isn’t totally sure if the shows some time to prepare sets and casts. But, ADD-ON/SWAP A SHOW OP will get an opportunity to take the stage in time, shows SEASON that have already toured have sets in as she waits out the prolonged holding pattern storage and tour buses waiting to hit the road. the organization has been stuck in since spring.

Until then, Hamm says the organization has “For a tour to work, it has to be able to jump doubled down on customer service and is from city to city. It’s not viable to go from Los working to spread the word about the national Angeles to Philadelphia. It’s going to be very “Save our Stages” effort, aimed at saving interesting,” Hamm says, explaining the need independent theatres from closing entirely. for continuity from a safety standpoint from “We don’t want to invite audiences back to the market to market. “It’s going to be hard to put a theater until we’re confident it’s a safe and Broadway touring season together without the comfortable environment,” Hamm says. “We’re majority of the country being open. It’s not a FEBRUARY 20, 2020 MA just waiting around like everyone else is.” model that makes sense.”

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THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR THE ORPHEUM While for now the show can’t go on, we encourage you to marvel in the illustrious beauty of the historic and iconic Orpheum Theatre until the day we open our doors again to downtown Phoenix.

@orpheumphx

For more information or to purchase future tickets, visit phoenix.ticketforce.com or call 602-262-6225

ARIZONA MUSICFEST celebrating 30 years during a pandemic

By Lisa Van Loo

A

rizona Musicfest has waited 30 years to celebrate its 2020-21 season. And it has no plans to allow a pandemic to sidetrack its anniversary year, which comes on the heels of a record-setting season for attendance at more than 31,000 people.

Things just might look and feel a bit different this season.

“In honor of our anniversary, we had planned to perform ‘30 concerts for 30 years.’ But, due to COVID, our season has been significantly reduced,” Allan Naplan, Arizona Musicfest’s executive and producing director, says.

“Similarly, due to safety concerns, our capacity for attendance is reduced as well.”

A season that traditionally begins in November and runs through March is now scheduled to begin in January and run through April. All performances take place in North Scottsdale.

The line-up of performers looks familiar to those who appreciate the shows Arizona Musicfest produces, bringing back favorites while also allowing for debut performances.

Fan favorites Pink Martini, Ann Hampton Callaway and Tony DeSare will return, joining featured artists such as Steve Tyrell, Emanuel Ax, The Texas Tenors and Broadway’s John 14

Lloyd Young. In addition, this year’s Festival Orchestra brings together an exceptional ensemble of select musicians from the nation’s top orchestras to perform three concert programs.

Arizona Musicfest is used to accommodating sold-out performances, which becomes sticky when forced to reduce capacity. For this, they have also adjusted.

“Because of this necessary change, most of our artists will perform two shows in a single night to accommodate patron interest,” Naplan says.

If it’s not possible to make it out to a show, Arizona Musicfest shares experiences online. Its Musicfest Online series offers “Internet Interludes,” which features encore video excerpts of recent performances. The organization continues to provide ongoing music curriculum support for local schools, an important initiative that began when schools closed in the spring and will continue into the fall.

“No matter how this season evolves, through it all, our enduring vision to ‘Bring the Joy of Music to All’ will guide and inspire our efforts,” Naplan says.

To learn more, visit azmusicfest.org.

Arizona Musicfest CELEBRATING 30 YEARS! STEVE TYRELL

PINK MARTINI 2/ 1

1/ 22

1/12

RAY ON MY MIND THE CALLAWAY SISTERS SIBLING REVELRY

2/ 9 2/16

2/22

A STAR IS BORN

IGUDESMAN & JOO

THE CONCERT

TONY DESARE

ON THE VEGAS STRIP

2/26 3/15 3/11 & 12

EMANUEL AX

NEIL BERG’S 50 YEARS OF ROCK & ROLL PT. 2

JOHN LLOYD YOUNG

BROADWAY’S JERSEY BOY

4/6

3/22

4/20 - 4/24

THE TEXAS TENORS

FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

480.422.8449 • AZMUSICFEST.ORG

ARIZONA OPERA innovates to create a compelling new season

By Michelle Glicksman

E

ven while Arizona Opera, like the rest of the arts world, faces the uncertainty of the current pandemic, Joseph Specter, its president and general director, says the company is striving to expand its impact in the face of today’s challenges.

“This moment has caused us to take a harder look at our connection to community, the level of service we’re providing and the unique opportunities to grow our contribution to those we serve,” he explains. “Traditional cultural art forms across the country, such as opera, ballet and symphony, have struggled for years with the question of expanding their reach and impact, even during ‘normal’ times. This crisis has sharpened our focus in a way that I believe can ultimately allow us not just to survive, but to grow our civic value significantly and in compelling new ways.

“We’re committed to whatever amount of adaptation and innovation is necessary to fulfill our mission to serve this community through the art form of opera — and in ways that are safe and comfortable for our patrons,” he continues. “It’s more important now than ever, as people are in need of the beauty, storytelling and connection that our art form provides so abundantly. It is so motivational for me and our organization that we are striving for something innovative — completely reimagining our upcoming season — for the potential benefit of so many.”

That innovation has indeed led the organization not to retreat, but to rethink how to present 16

what it will provide in the season ahead. It started by inaugurating its newly structured programming on Oct. 2 in Phoenix and Oct. 4 in Tucson with socially distanced outdoor recitals performed by members of the organization’s prestigious and elite Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio in the company’s new Studio Spotlight Series.

Future performances will occur a number of times over the season, with Phoenix shows generally being held on the first Friday of the month and Tucson shows being held two days later, on the first Sunday of the month.

For those who prefer to watch from home, at least one of each month’s shows will also be livestreamed via Arizona Opera’s website.

“We’re one of very few opera companies in the country that performs in multiple cities, and we’re very proud to do so,” Specter says.

To ensure that everyone associated with any in-person performance is as safe as possible, all appropriate social distancing protocols will be enforced, including ensuring a significant distance between the singer and the first row of seats and the piano, and required maskwearing for all attendees.

“Also in the vein of live performances during the upcoming season, we are planning a concert series called Arizona Arias, which will feature some of the leading singers from the opera world, along with members of the Arizona Opera Orchestra,” Specter says.

Though details of those performances are still being finalized, they are currently scheduled for February and March 2021.

Perhaps one of the most innovative and ambitious initiatives Arizona Opera is undertaking this season is producing a motion picture adaption of the company’s second world premiere commission, The Copper Queen. This new opera, written by composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos, has been in development with Arizona Opera since 2015, and was originally intended to open the 20202021 season as part of the McDougall RED Series.

“Instead of moving it to a future season, we decided we’d do something wild and exciting by adapting the opera into a film,” Specter says.

“Presenting this gripping character study in film format provides opportunities to heighten the storytelling in ways that are unique to film.”

The story is set in Bisbee, Arizona at the famously haunted Copper Queen Hotel, with parallel dramatic lines set a century apart, in 1910 and 2010. The opera tells a tale of human bondage, furtive romance, secret connections, and, ultimately, redemption, in a powerful tale that brings two determined women together across the generations.

“I think that the big screen-type approach will allow us to have an intimacy and engagement with those characters that might not have been as easily accomplished on a proscenium stage,” Specter commented. “Combined with some of the supernatural elements of the show, my sense is that The Copper Queen will likely have an even more powerful impact in a film format than in a traditional theatrical setting at the Herberger Theater or the Temple of Music and Art, where we normally perform our RED Series. All of that conspires to make an exciting upcoming project for everyone involved, including future viewers inside and outside of Arizona.”

To make this undertaking a reality, the opera’s creators and its all-female production team, led by director Crystal Manich, have joined forces with longtime video partner and Phoenix-based creative agency Manley Films to create the feature-length production. The Copper Queen is

scheduled to be filmed in January and released online in April 2021.

“It’s a point of pride and excitement for us that Arizona Opera has joined an elite group of opera companies around the country that are exploring film as a possible way to scale out and impact more people,” Specter shares.

In addition to these many initiatives, the organization is also working on several others, including exploring ways to continue its K-12 program at a time when traditional intheater performances are not possible. Those programs will be reimagined, as well, so that Arizona Opera can continue to impact tens of thousands of students across the state, as it has done in recent non-COVID years.

“Our upcoming season is going to be a year of experimentation for all of us, and anything that we can do to be a more impactful organization is what we want to do,” says Specter. “We believe in the transformative power of art to help people during incredible times of challenge, and we want to continue to be an integral part of people’s lives during this period, whether they’re watching in person in a socially distanced setting or live online.

“We’re creating some very exciting and creative things this year in response to this unusual and challenging time, and we really want to share it — and our love of opera — with everyone in our communities.”

Particularly in the time of COVID-19, arts organizations such as Arizona Opera rely on philanthropic support to continue their service to the community, and the organization is extremely grateful to those who would consider contributing financially, in light of the limitations on revenue that is normally generated by in-person ticket sales.

For more information, visit azopera.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY evolves for the times

By Beverly Medlyn

N

ot many plays open and close on the same night.

But that’s what happened March 13, 2020, to “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” a comedy about a beleaguered Elvis impersonator named Casey who lost his job when the bar’s owner replaced Casey’s act with a drag show to attract more customers. Ever resourceful, Casey transformed himself from “The King” to a “queen,” and the show went on!

Like Casey, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) made a quick pivot when the coronavirus pandemic threatened its production of “Georgia McBride.”

ATC’s new leadership team had the foresight to videotape the opening/closing night performance.

When COVID-19 restrictions hit, the team worked with the cast, crew and unions to put the production on an online viewing platform, Vimeo.

The scramble to survive worked.

Though the pandemic has been a massive drain on revenue this year, “never let a good crisis go to waste,” observed Sean Daniels, artistic director.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Like many nonprofits, ATC had been a bit behind in developing infrastructure. The shutdown afforded an opportunity to make improvements across the organization, from technology to finance to human resources, says Geri Wright, managing director.

Wright and Daniels are both new in their roles at ATC. Wright began this year after serving five

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Arizona Theatre Company 2021 Main Stage Season

MY 80-YEAR-OLD BOYFRIEND PRU PAYNE NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN WOMEN IN JEOPARDY! HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN SON THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE

years at Act One, most recently as president and CEO, and previous service heading development efforts for the American Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter and the Heard Museum. Daniels came on board in 2019, a move home to Arizona after an extensive career on the East Coast as artistic director and playwright.

THE SILVER LINING Now celebrating its 54th season, ATC enjoys the state’s largest subscriber base of any performing arts organization. More than 130,000 people a year typically attend performances at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson and the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix.

The 2020-2021 works left those buildings to offer digital productions and workshops, a talk show, outdoor musical performances and more outreach to schools. Online offerings are mainly free or at substantially reduced cost.

ATC’s regular season of live stage performances was pushed back to early 2021, with shows to be presented throughout the spring and even into summer, when theaters are traditionally dark.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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A video option will be offered to those who can’t come to the theater.

virtual learning. “This is another way to build relationships,” Daniels said.

The metamorphosis has been well received.

COMING TOGETHER AGAIN

“The silver lining is that suddenly the world can see the work that we are doing online,” says Daniels, artistic director. “We have always said the work we do is world class. So often we hear from people who see our shows, ‘This is just as good as what I saw in London or New York.’ What is great in this moment of sharing is now everyone can see we are produce world-class theatre.”

Live performance will always be the bedrock of theater.

A free online production of The White Chip, written

by Daniels, drew 10,000 viewers, he says.

In July, some 24,000 people watched The 24-Hour Plays, a national project pairing playwrights and actors to create monologues in 24 hours.

ATC partnered with the national program, which focused for the first time on a single state, involving 28 Arizona playwrights and actors.

Hang & Focus is a new weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, featuring ATC leaders interviewing people about various aspects of theater and relevant topics.

“We are connecting with younger, more diverse audiences,” Daniels says. “If you’re going to attract anybody under age 50, you have to have a great online presence, you just have to.”

The organization also hopes to connect with every school in the state, again using technology to bring actors, directors and theater experts to middle and high school students through 20

“We will return to stage. We will. But it will be in 2021 when it is safe to do so,” says Managing Director Wright.

A 20-plus page safety plan has been created to protect actors, staff and patrons. It includes sanitizing, air handling, face masks, barriers at the box office, traffic flow, even deep cleaning for actors’ costumes.

“It is a significant investment — hundreds of thousands of dollars — to get these safety measures in place,” Wright says. “We are working as hard as we can to be as responsible as possible to everyone involved. We will go back to stage when we feel like people will fill our theaters.”

Sustainability is one of the greatest challenges for arts organizations.

“I have read that 40 percent of nonprofit organizations will not make it through this pandemic, which is disheartening,” Wright says.

“We mean not to be part of that 40 percent. I ask our patrons and donors to support us, with subscriptions and donations, to keep the theater going so we are here at this time next year.”

For more information, visit arizonatheatre.org.

SEAN DANIELS artistic director profile Sean Daniels was named artistic director of Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) in 2019. For him it was a homecoming, having grown up in Mesa.

A director, playwright and educator, Daniels’ work has been nationally recognized. American Theatre magazine named him one of the “top 15 up-and-coming artists in the U.S. whose work will be transforming America’s stages for decades to come.” Prior to coming to Arizona, he served five years as artistic director of Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Mass.

Your family tree has roots in a pioneer Arizona family — the Udalls. How are you related? And why did you want to come home?

I fell in love with theater at Arizona Theatre Company, growing up in Mesa my parents were subscribers and donors (which everyone should be) and they took me to everything. I came as a young kid to a production of “Our Town” and I was hooked. I wanted nothing more than a life in the theater.

So, when the job came up, I jumped at it. I wanted to come back and take my hometown theater to the next level — and for every 10-year-old who walks through the door to know that someday they could be the Artistic Director.

I am part of the Udall family — a chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, two mayors of Phoenix, Mo Udall, whom everyone loved — but more importantly, a family deeply invested in Arizona, and a family that always believed that this state is the soul of America.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST INVOLVEMENT WITH ATC? I took every class ATC offered — every acting class, every movement class (shudder) and I actually starred in a production of Winnie the Pooh at the Mesa Community Center.

Eventually, when I was 16, my Dad got a job to be the head counsel for the PGA of America, so we had to head to Florida, but Arizona has always been my home state.

WHAT ARE YOUR PEAK PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES? I’ve been lucky enough to be a NYT Critic’s Pick as a director and a writer. I was the first American director sent by the O’Neill Center to the Baltic American Playwrights Conference in Hiiumaa, Estonia. I’m the only author authorized by the Jack Kerouac Society to adapt his material. But honestly, the highlight is still whenever I sneak my 2-year-old daughter into the theater and she gets to see that I’m doing what I have wanted to do since I was a kid.

WHAT HAS YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE BEEN SO FAR AT ATC? I started knowing that I was walking into a theater that was in a turnaround mode but was full of potential. Then COVID-19 hit, and suddenly I’m laying off staff members I don’t really know and asking donors I’ve never met for six-figure gifts. Neither experience was how I thought the year would go (understatement). But I like to believe that everything in life is preparing you for what comes next, and I’m glad that if I’m in a fight to save a theater’s life, it’s one I believe in so much.

It’s what gets me up each morning.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF ATC? There is no reason that Arizona shouldn’t be the cultural center of our country. There is no reason that Arizona Theatre Company shouldn’t be one of the leading arts organizations in the country, if not the world. This place is full of potential, and literally millions of untapped theatergoers. It’s time for Arizona to be on the map, and I have no doubt that time is now.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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BECAUSE OF YOU

WE ARE COMING BACK! F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 1

THE OFFICIAL STATE THEATRE OF ARIZONA PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ARTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY

ARIZONATHEATRE.ORG / 602-256-6995 HERBERGER THEATER CENTER 2020/2021

SEASON

SPONSOR:

I.

MICHAEL

AND

BETH

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ASU GAMMAGE building a new kind of village

PHOTO BY RSP ARCHITECTS

By Lisa Van Loo

F

lexibility is a necessity in show business, at least according to Colleen JenningsRoggensack, ASU vice president of cultural affairs and executive director of ASU Gammage.

“We find we are reaching thousands and thousands of people,” Jennings-Roggensack says. “It’s enabled us to get ahold of people we traditionally couldn’t have.”

As a presenter, on any given day she could book an artist who may show up late, or not at all, because things happen. So, when COVID-19 hit, it ushered in a new moment of extended fluidity, challenging her and her team to think differently.

Digital Connections brings the arts in several ways. Lunch Time Talks is a miniseries through ASU Gammage’s Facebook Live feature, which provides the viewer opportunities to ask questions of theater and art professionals. ASU Gammage also streams free 30-minute master classes that combine music, dance, theater and visual arts with academic subjects taught by artists from The Molly Blank Fund Teaching Artists Program who have been trained in the Kennedy Center arts integration method. ASU Kerr presents BEAMS – a live music series every Thursday night that highlights local artists — and GATHER — live online storytelling events. ASU Gammage is committed to highlighting diverse arts such as comedian, writer, and performance artist Kristina Wong and the Grammy® Award winning East LA Chicana rock group, Quetzal.

“Everything is always about the pivot,” she says. “It’s how we live our lives.”

Since the beginning of this new era of social distancing, ASU Gammage and ASU Kerr Cultural Center have found new ways to deliver a diverse bill of programming using digital platforms that have the ability to reach their well-nurtured audiences and new audience members who haven’t yet made it out to the theaters for live performances.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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PHOTO BY TIM TRUMBLE

ASU Gammage’s adaptation to providing quality entertainment — now digitally — exemplifies its commitment to serving the community. It has hosted thought-provoking talks, inquisitive Q&As and incredible online performances. Gus Farwell, former ASU quarterback and opera singer, presented an incredible performance and insight on his life in Barcelona. ASU Gammage is engaging students and their faculty through many digital programs such as DBR Lab with Dr. Daniel Bernard Roumain and ASU students. ASU Gammage has even had Arizona natives and current Broadway stars Krystina Alabado, Sam Primack and Casey Likes join them to share their wisdom, tips and tricks.

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“Nothing, absolutely nothing, replaces a room full of people sitting side by side going on a journey together as the curtain lifts,” Colleen Jennings-Roggensack says.

The alternative is going dark, a reality Jennings-Roggensack very much feels with the friendships she’s cultivated with Broadway producers and performers. The Broadway season at ASU Gammage traditionally welcomes about eight national touring shows each season, but the start of the new season has been delayed until 2021, and even then it’s unclear when in-person performances will be possible.

“Broadway is dark. There’s no digital. It’s just dark,” Jennings-Roggensack says, noting ASU Gammage's fortunate position as an arts organization that can still reach its supporters with its programming.

So, she continues to stir her creative juices and exercise the contacts she has in the industry to bring unique shows to ASU Gammage’s new digital audiences. She’s looking at proposals for events that create an intimate, virtual club atmosphere featuring Broadway performers, or overseas productions that offer ASU Gammage a glimpse backstage.

“It sounds interesting,” Jennings-Roggensack says, emphasizing her openness to considering just about anything, if it can work. “Let’s talk shop.”

As much as ASU Gammage and ASU Kerr have stretched during the pandemic, offering digital masterclasses, live storytelling and a live, ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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PHOTO BY HISTORIC ASU KERR CULTURAL CENTER

virtual music series, Jennings-Roggensack says she knows there is still so much more to explore.

“The amount of PTSD both for COVID and dealing with racism is profound. People don’t even know they have it. They’re locked in the house,” she says. “We’re herd animals. We need to be together. Human beings don’t deal with ambiguity well, at all.”

And this is the critical intersection JenningsRoggensack says she believes arts and culture can achieve by using this new virtual space to build and nurture a new kind of village.

Because, people need it. They need music and art and theater, but beyond that, the digital space is providing a very necessary connection.

It offers a space for ASU Gammage and ASU Kerr to introduce town halls, to take the temperature of the community on a variety of issues, across audiences, subscribers and donors. And, in some cases, it provides an avenue to reach out to long-time supporters in a new, more intimate way — like, with a surprise birthday party, complete with singing, dozens of attendees and a video montage of the shows the donors attended.

“Donors think of the theater as their village,” Jennings-Roggensack says, recalling two recent parties they arranged for donors who turned 75. “Digitally, it’s going to be interesting to see if we can create a digital village.”

It’s certainly headed in that direction. Beyond hosting birthday parties, ASU Gammage moved ahead with a hybrid version of its annual awards ceremony for the local, high school 26

musical community. They sourced recorded performances from the performers in the field to produce the awards show, and announced winners live, as family and friends crowded around computer screens and offered their heartfelt reactions.

“People dressed up,” Jennings-Roggensack says. “We presented the awards and, in real time, we watched them all be surprised.”

By utilizing Zoom, Facebook and Instagram, ASU’s websites and hybrid productions of pre-recorded and live performances, ASU Gammage and ASU Kerr are creating a new, and necessary, ecosystem for theater despite the absence of in-person normalcy.

It takes planning, patience, creativity and flexibility, but that’s nothing new for arts organizations. And, even after all of the new programming ASU Gammage and ASU Kerr has tried, there’s still so much that’s still possible.

For Jennings-Roggensack, she’ll just look past dates, and hold on to a fluidity that has made room for a new kind of creativity.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing, replaces a room full of people sitting side by side going on a journey together as the curtain lifts,” she says, admitting feeling the goosebumps as she says it. “We know we’ll come back when it’s safe and we can deal with the current circumstances.

We can, and will, be together again.”

For more information, visit asugammage.com.

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BALLET ARIZONA gracefully pivots en pointe

By Michelle Glicksman

A

ballet performance requires many elements — trained ballet dancers, flexibility, choreographed movements, and often, many close movements between dance partners as a dance unfolds.

“It’s interesting to see how the idea of social distancing has an impact,” says Samantha Turner, Ballet Arizona’s executive director. “Our dancers, the people who work backstage, the costumers, our employees, and of course, our patrons. How do we change that paradigm?

How do we make those things work?”

“We want to make sure the arts are still getting out there, because now — more than ever — people need these respites from all that we’re dealing with. Everyone has a different way that they need to relax and escape, and we want to be able to present this as an option.”

During the early months of the pandemic, the Ballet experimented with new ways to provide access to performances and streamed archival footage from its repertoire.

In determining the 2020-2021 season, the senior leadership team, including Artistic Director Ib Andersen, worked alongside Ballet Arizona’s board of directors, taking into consideration feedback from the community and staff to create a safe plan to move forward and bring ballet to a community of which more than 85,000 patrons typically view live ballet performances throughout a season.

The current plan includes a mix of favorite contemporary works presented digitally, a new work by Andersen that incorporates socially distanced choreography, and a reimagined version of Ballet Arizona’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker.

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One of the first steps Ballet Arizona took was identifying which dancers would be able to dance together.

“We have a number of dancers who are married or are in relationships, and therefore they can dance together because they are together all day long. We’re using those relationships to find pas de deux that we can present. For other dancers who might not be able to do anything but be socially distant, we have some wonderful solos,” says Turner.

Dancers are presenting Inspire, featuring Andersen’s new work as well as several other pieces, from mid-October through the end of November. Tickets for live, socially distanced performances are available to subscribers, while tickets for a streamed on-demand video are available to the public.

After The Nutcracker Suite, which will be performed to limited audiences as well as streamed, Ballet Arizona plans live performances of Andersen’s new work Four Seasons from the Vivaldi works, which are scheduled to be performed at Desert Botanical Garden during An Evening at Desert Botanical Garden between May 18-June 5, 2021.

Ballet Arizona also launched the Ballet Arizona Book Club, which meets quarterly via Zoom.

Toward the end of 2020, the organization will reassess its upcoming performances and decide if they can safely resume at Symphony Hall in the spring, or if the Ballet should continue performing at Dorrance Theatre with streaming options.

In fact, Ballet Arizona hopes to continue offering streaming options post-pandemic.

BALLET ARIZONA DANCER JILLIAN BARRELL IN SERENADE. CHOREOGRAPHY BY GEORGE BALANCHINE.

©THE BALANCHINE TRUST. PHOTO BY ROSALIE O'CONNOR

“We would like to continue to offer a streamed version of performances for the public who are unable to attend, or who have never been to the ballet before, or who wants to give it a try but don't have the opportunity to make much investment of time or money,” Turner says.

sure we are upholding all of those protocols.”

In order to ensure that everyone who is associated with the performances, as well as those patrons who visit in-person, are as safe as possible, not only is Ballet Arizona following CDC guidelines, but they proactively enlisted the services of HealthyVerify.

“It’s cliché, but it’s true — every gift, no matter the amount, helps. It all adds up to a total amount that helps keep the dancers on stage.

We’re grateful for any gift that someone gives that’s from their heart,” says Turner.

“We reached out to this third-party organization to have them take a look at our health and safety protocols, make sure they are up to the standards of the CDC, and to also look at some of the special circumstances that the CDC probably isn’t thinking about—like dancers rehearsing. HealthyVerify works closely with Arizona State University to reduce the workplace risk of spreading infectious diseases. We decided it was better for our employees and our patrons to have a third party advising us,” Turner explains. “And then they also do a certification process to make

In order to help Ballet Arizona “bridge over” this season, Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance kicked off a $1.1 million “Be Our Bridge” Relief Fund campaign with a $250,000 donation.

In the meantime, Ballet Arizona perseveres with its innovative programing. And, says Turner, when performances are able to resume at Symphony Hall, they look forward to showcasing an extremely unique production based on Juan Gabriel, the beloved late singer/ composer from Mexico. The production was initially scheduled for February 2021.

“Like many, we are just waiting to see what happens and adapting and being flexible — and who better to be flexible than a dancer!”

For more information, visit balletaz.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS sustaining the arts through a new lens

By Lisa Van Loo

F

rom Facebook Live to Zoom to Instagram, Michelle Mac Lennan has been open to exploring just about any platform during the pandemic-induced hiatus from live, in-person performances.

“We’re trying everything to provide arts experiences to our community and keep artists working,” Mac Lennan, general manager of Chandler Center for the Arts (CCA), says. “But Facebook Live and YouTube seem to be the most successful for original content.”

Education programs moved online, as well as performances, with a weekly virtual concert series — CCA Anywhere — reaching nearly 14,000 people over the course of four months.

And in August, Mac Lennan and her team formed a partnership with a local performance duo looking to try something a little different in order to quench everyone’s craving for a live experience.

The partnership brought together CCA, local restaurants and “Ladies in the Headlights,” a two-woman performance team that took their show from a more traditional performance venue, such as a bar or swank hotel, to parking lots — using headlights as spotlights.

was quirky and weird. It was ‘I’m getting out and I’m doing something.’ People were eager for that.”

Looking ahead, CCA is looking at field trip models for educators and it’s preparing to host an outdoor music series that allows for appropriate social distancing. CCA Under the Stars will start on October 24 and run through December at both the CCA and Chandler Museum. CCA plans to continue to find ways to support local artists and the local community.

“We have to be part of the recovery. We have to be part of the solution,” Mac Lennan says of supporting artists and forming creative partnerships with hard-hit restaurants. “We’re willing to not make money and operate off of our reserves in order to sustain the arts and businesses in our community.”

And they’ll stay busy with a continued virtual presence.

“Creatives always create,” she says. “It’s going to have to be a collective rebuilding.”

To learn more, visit chandlercenter.org.

“That was perfect for that particular moment in time,” Mac Lennan says, noting the $20 tickets sold out fast for the month of performances. “It ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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CHILDSPLAY THEATRE exciting pivot to digital

By Lisa Van Loo

W

hen Averi Gutierrez, marketing director at Childsplay Theatre, tries to explain how programming looks and feels at the children’s theater, she comes up with a mix of words that fit perfectly but seemingly don’t go together.

“Things are similar but very different,” she says.

When the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in social distancing measures, Childsplay Theatre canceled its final show of the season. And then, the theater pivoted in a “big way,” according to Gutierrez.

After quickly evaluating the situation, Childsplay Theatre went digital, transitioning its in-person academy classes to a virtual environment within weeks.

“It really took off,” she says. “Now, it has turned into something that is probably one of our strongest suits.”

For select classes, Childplay Theatre prepares what they call their “theatre-in-a-box,” full of props to its online students who log on to classes using Zoom, a platform that has allowed kids to take classes with cousins and friends from across the country — something that couldn’t have happened before the pandemic.

“The content is similar, but the tools might be different.”

And different can be good for some students.

Gutierrez says Childsplay Theatre is finding a number of kids are more comfortable acting, discovering voices and performing in a virtual classroom rather than in person, which means their programming is bringing new kids into the fold.

Beyond its academy classes, Childsplay Theatre has launched Imagine Together Online, which offers grant-funded programming to kids for free. They’ve watched as nearly 3,000 people tuned in to see a production of The Grumpiest Boy In The World on YouTube, and they held a drama-infused storytime with Explore a Story, as actors not only perform the story but unpack its themes, concepts and vocabulary in new ways.

Childplay Theatre also worked with other theaters across the country to produce A Kids Play About Racism, and it is currently working on producing four one-person plays for teachers to share in the classroom.

“We’re trying to be as creative as possible,” Gutierrez says.

To learn more, visit childsplayaz.org.

“I think we’re using it in a really effective way,” Gutierrez says of the Zoom classes.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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D

esert Botanical Garden is more than a public garden. It leaned on its earthy roots as it navigated pandemic-related changes earlier this year. Since reopening in early July after closing in March, the Garden has offered a safe, outdoor experience for anyone encountering cabin fever, and in the coming weeks and months, it will bring additional programming back to patrons who are eager to experience it.

The Garden’s Music in the Garden series is the first to return, in a new, larger outdoor performance venue with reconfigured seating.

They are switching from individual seating while now offering tables of four with 50 percent capacity.

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“Now, they can come and stay in their own bubble,” Ken Schutz, the Dr. William Huizingh Executive Director of Desert Botanical Garden, says of those attending the music series.

Desert Botanical Garden plans to follow a similar formula this winter for the beloved Las Noches De Las Luminarias, where the Garden will limit guests to 50 percent capacity to manage the flow of people and ensure guests safety.

“It’s a really nice holiday tradition,” Schutz says of the 8,000 candles that light the garden each night. “This year there will be fewer people and fewer stages. It’ll be more about the lights

OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES at the Desert Botanical Garden

By Lisa Van Loo

and the essence of the holidays. It won’t be the same, but we’ve created a special luminaria.”

While the Garden has paused in-person classes, it decided against trying to offer them online since part of the draw was learning in the Garden. It has modified its popular bi-annual plant sale, extending it across three weekends in the fall and offering timed admissions to balance an ideal, socially distanced capacity.

“That will allow us to restock every week,” Schutz says of the extended sale. “We think we’ll do as well as we normally do, if not better.”

For more information, visit dbg.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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NEW EXPERIENCES at the Heard Museum

By Lisa Van Loo

By Lisa Van Loo

T

he Heard Museum has made some changes. With new safety precautions, Heard Museum was the first cultural intuition in Arizona to reopen and it’s preparing to unveil new exhibits in the coming months, moving forward with its mission to advance American Indian art.

“We felt it was important to continue our mission for those who felt it was safe to go out,” Todd Vigil, Heard Museum's director of marketing and communications, says of the museum’s decision to open in June. “And we’ve seen our attendance tick up each month.”

When it did reopen, the Heard welcomed visitors back with new sanitizing stations in place, new spaces created to allow for social distancing, limited capacity, a mask

36

requirement and adjusted hours. And, for those who didn’t feel comfortable venturing out, the museum created a Heard at Home page on its website allowing for a virtual experience.

“We created it to make some of our resources available,” Vigil says. “But, at the end of the day, we believe what we do at the museum can’t be completely replicated online.”

To enhance the in-person experience, the Heard used funds received from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to create a mobile app. The app offers paperless versions of resources for visitors, offering them the opportunity to explore supplemental information about the pieces and exhibits they see during their visit.

“It had been on our roadmap for a while,” Vigil says of the app development. “But the fact we needed to suspend our tours, and provide contactless options, it really facilitated the rollout.”

In September, the museum opened Larger Than Memory, its largest contemporary arts exhibition in in history. In the coming months, Vigil says the museum will unveil a new textile exhibit in December and a new Grand Gallery exhibition in February, as it continues to refresh exhibit spaces.

“We’re excited to keep bringing in new things for members and visitors to see,” Vigil says.

For more information, visit heard.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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HERBERGER THEATER CENTER builds outdoor stage

By Lisa Van Loo

H

erberger Theater Center has been pretty quiet. But, not silent. And it’s preparing to make a new kind of noise in the coming months — outdoors.

“There are three parts to this,” Mark Mettes, Herberger president and CEO, says of when the theater will reopen. “For one, we have to be ready. We have to have the facility and staff ready to go. And then the companies have to be ready. And then, when are the patrons ready to come back? Us just being ready by ourselves doesn’t mean too much.”

Mettes says Herberger Theater Center has used this quiet time, while its stage has been empty, to plan for the return of live performances, which they hope to debut in November with a new, outdoor venue.

The stage, which will host a variety of performances, is expected to accommodate shows for up to five months.

“It’s all moving forward. And, this is what the Herberger needs to do for the community, so organizations can connect with their guests and artists can work,” Mettes says of the new, outdoor stage. “We’ve seen people are very interested in an outdoor stage and outdoor performances.”

With the new venue, Herberger Theater Center plans to reintroduce audiences to its longrunning Lunch Time Theater offering, which continued during the pandemic with a virtual presence and adjusted programming to include artist interviews and archived performances.

In addition, the stage will host the Herberger’s Performance Discoveries program, a pop-up program it’s hosted for several years, and the outdoor venue will allow the Herberger to offer a hybrid setting for its Festival of the Arts.

Films and live performances will fill out the schedule, which will include shows that run for just one night and some that run longer.

“There’s definitely an excitement,” Mettes says of finalizing the details of the new venue.

“It’s a feeling of hope and being able to move forward and be together as a community. We’re excited to get back to our mission of bringing audiences and artists together.”

For more information, visit herbergertheater.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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MESA ARTS CENTER bringing programs, classes and experiences home

By Lisa Van Loo

C

indy Ornstein isn’t opposed to digital programming. It’s one of the ways Mesa Arts Center has been able to remain connected to its community, pull new people in and tap into a new type of creativity as it finds ways to deliver programming to the public.

However, she appreciates that people may need an offline experience, too. It’s why Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum has mounted an exhibition inside the windows of Mesa Arts Center's long theater building, visible from the exterior. Each artwork is separated from the others in a linear display, much like our own separation these days.

“It’s called Distanced but not Separated, which is a fun play on being socially distanced and still giving people access to works from the collection,” Ornstein, director of arts and culture for the city of Mesa and executive director of Mesa Arts Center, says. “We’re trying to be creative and do things that are not all on a screen.”

While Mesa did migrate as much programming as possible from its arts and culture organizations to a virtual environment, Ornstein says they were deliberate in finding ways to offer interactive, not just passive, online experiences, from poetry prompts to arts classes to Art-To-Go projects in a box, to live comedy, improv and illusion performances.

“We pivoted pretty quickly to take a bunch of our core programming and convert it to a virtual format,” Ornstein says, noting the schedule for online classes will be even more robust into the fall. “We’re very excited about the capacity we’re gaining to do things in a different way. It’s going to give us new ways of working that we won’t totally stop doing when we go back to the norm.”

That “norm” may return in January or sooner, and it may not, Ornstein says. But when it does, any in-person interactions would require masks, social distancing, lower capacities, timed tickets to museums and one-way routes for visitors to follow while inside the buildings.

But she suspects people will be just fine with it.

Because people need the arts, especially right now, she says.

That need was illustrated by the success of a recent Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum online arts competition that attracted nearly 250 entries from 18 states this summer.

“That was really cool,” Ornstein says. “The arts bring light and they bring joy and they bring a sense of connectivity. We need that now more than ever.”

For more information, visit mesaartscenter.com.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MUSEUM reaching new audiences globally

By Lisa Van Loo PHOTO COURTESY OF © MIM

T

his year was supposed to be a big one for Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).

Celebrations were planned to recognize the success of the museum over its first 10 years.

But a pandemic made it a big year in a different way.

It’s been big for MIM’s reach. As COVID-19 sidelined in-person interactions, MIM moved programming online, allowing people as far away as Malaysia to enjoy it.

“We had such big plans for this year and felt like we were on the cusp of really being able to highlight MIM as a truly global institution and a resource not just for Arizona, but for the world,” Brian Dredla, director of education and public programs at MIM, says. “So it’s kind of cool to still be able to do that in some way.”

Digital curriculum and interactive virtual field trips developed for educators and students are attracting attention from schools in over a dozen different states, with more requests coming in each day. Virtual versions of experiences MIM is known for offering on site, like its early childhood program Mini Music

Makers and its memory care program for seniors, have found traction online.

“It’s done really well to help us continue to be engaged with the parents and caregivers,” Dredla says of the Mini Music Makers class.

“It’s also been nice to see this program find a new audience beyond our local area, which has been a little bit of a silver lining.”

Another silver lining? The special exhibition MIM opened in November of 2019 has been extended for another year, allowing more people to experience Congo Masks and Music: Masterpieces from Central Africa in a socially distanced way at the museum, where galleries have reopened with new safety measures in place.

And MIM still hopes to squeeze in an anniversary celebration before the end of 2020.

“We’re excited to celebrate our 10th anniversary, even if it looks a little different,” Dredla says.

For more information, visit mim.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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PHOENIX ART MUSEUM full of art

By Lisa Van Loo COURTESY OF PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

At

a time when Phoenix Art Museum has never seen so few visitors, it has never exhibited such a high volume of art. Closed to visitors from March through September 2020, the Museum has prepared to welcome patrons again by extending exhibitions previously on view before its closure and those that never got a chance to debut.

“In an odd way, the Museum has never looked better. It is absolutely full of fantastic art because of the overlap of these shows that weren’t intended to be presented together, but now they are,” Tim Rodgers, Sybil Harrington director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum, says.

“Our galleries will be vibrant and fully installed for all people to enjoy.”

An exhibition of work by Teresita Fernández, which was scheduled to open just after the Museum closed, will experience its delayed premiere alongside an Ansel Adams exhibition, an Indian fashion exhibition, and Stories of Abstraction, a new show featuring contemporary Latin American art. Every exhibition will be enjoyed in a socially distanced way.

overcrowding in any one space,” Rodgers said, noting employees and patrons will be required to wear masks. “We’re a little luckier than some institutions, and more fortunate than theaters, in that we have room to roam.”

Digitally, Phoenix Art Museum began offering virtual tours, a local artist spotlight every two weeks, videos with curators and virtual slow art and mindfulness sessions during its closure. The Museum will continue most of these programs and initiatives, Rodgers says, into the fall and winter.

In-person tours will be self-guided, patrons will see plexiglass partitions, and the walls in hightouch areas have been covered with a coat of antibacterial paint. As a bonus, large common areas and halls, normally reserved for events and larger gatherings, are now home to art installations.

“I don’t think the Museum has ever had more art up at the same time,” Rodgers says, “and it’s all because of the oddities of this pandemic.”

To learn more, visit phxart.org.

“We will be monitoring the number of people coming into the Museum to prevent ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY reimagines, realigns and reconnects

By Lisa Van Loo

T

he Phoenix Symphony won’t take the stage for the 2020-21 season, a heartbreaking, pandemic-influenced curveball for an orchestra that already had to suspend the end of its season earlier this year. But this does not mean the symphony is silent.

The time away from the stage has allowed the Symphony to speak in ways it hasn’t been able to, until now.

“We created about 300 pieces of video content over eight weeks,” Suzanne Wilson, The Phoenix Symphony’s president and CEO, says.

“We’ve been really taking advantage of all the performances and all the content we’ve built over the years to celebrate our partnerships and our musicians.”

The Symphony has used its website and social media channels to share archived performances, to showcase musicians in their homes rehearsing or using historic instruments, and to allow the public to get to know the orchestra’s talented musicians in new ways.

They even managed to play together, from their individual homes.

“Everybody was at home on video and it was literally pieced together through the magic of editing and sound production. They were all, at that point, in quarantine. Everybody played their specific part,” Wilson says of the orchestra’s virtual Beethoven performance.

“This was really initiated by the musicians.

They were excited to do it.”

And now, all efforts will focus on preparing for the Phoenix Symphony’s 75th anniversary, in the fall of 2021.

“It is our hope to really start to brainstorm on how we will mark that occasion. It will be a season of new beginnings, but it will mark our treasured traditions. We’re excited to emerge and connect and celebrate our audiences and how music brings all of us together,” Wilson says. “We’re taking this opportunity, like everybody else, to reimagine and realign and reconnect and set the stage for next season.”

For more information, visit phoenixsymphony.org.

Tito Muñoz | Virginia G. Piper Music Director

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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THE PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY partners that heal

By Lisa Van Loo

F

acing a quiet stage since March, The Phoenix Theatre Company has focused on healing, taking advantage of a digital environment that allows a program they developed years ago to reach even more children in need of an emotional pick-me-up.

Partners That Heal, an outreach program developed by The Phoenix Theatre Company and performed inside hospital rooms, has been able to reach more than 1,600 patients and families since the outset of the pandemic. This was possible because it migrated to a virtual experience.

“It’s great respite for all of us to be able to connect, even if it’s through a digital platform,” Pasha Yamotahari, associate producing director for The Phoenix Theatre Company who also oversees Partners That Heal, says.

There’s joy and fulfillment in this season of invention, according to Robert Kolby Harper, The Phoenix Theatre Company’s associate artistic director. While it has thrown a monkey wrench into planning and it has greatly

impacted incomes, it’s created time and space to discover new perspectives.

It’s why The Phoenix Theatre Company is working through the intricacies involved with launching outdoor programming this November.

“That seems to be the safest way to start,” Harper says. “We want to provide something that’s fun and safe and unique.”

In between planning for a new-look season, Harper and Yamotahari are delivering other interactive experiences to patrons such as a game show, a behind-the-curtain interview series, play readings and a summer dance intensive. They have appreciated the supportive energy of the creative community.

“It’s the artists who have all lost their jobs and they are constantly creating free things online because they have to. They can’t help it,” Harper says. “We wake up and do a dance in the morning because it’s what we do.”

For more information, visit phoenixtheatre.com.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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SCOTTSDALE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS offers full schedule

By Michelle Glicksman

A

lthough its season lineup is different than originally planned, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts still has an extremely robust 2020-2021 calendar, with numerous in-person performances as well as live stream options.

When it became apparent that the fall season would continue to be impacted by the virus, the Center worked quickly to reschedule many of the national artists who had been scheduled to perform then to spring dates.

And then, as Managing Director Meribeth Reeves explains, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ leadership chose to look at the silver lining.

“This has opened up a greater ability for us to work with Arizona-based artists,” she says.

“It’s part of our mission to support artists in Arizona, and since there aren’t any travel issues for them, we were able to move many of them into the fall slots that were vacated by touring artists.”

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is one of the few venues in the Valley that is able to offer not only digital and live stream content, but also be able to open with such a full inperson schedule.

“It’s still full of a wide variety, from dance to world music, to classical, to Broadway, to a great family series. There’s a lot still happening in-person,” says Reeves.

She explains that of the reasons the Center can

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offer so many in-person performance options is because of the size of its Virginia G. Piper Theater, which seats 853. Performances that were slated to be held in the location’s smaller venues were moved to that theater, with only approximately 100 tickets available per show to allow for social distancing (masks will also be required, with ADA exceptions allowed).

And, some artists will offer two smaller shows rather than what was previously one larger show.

To make the performances available to a larger audience, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will also draw on one of its new skills— and one it plans to continue indefinitely—live streaming.

The organization began to live stream over the summer, as well as develop digital content and virtual opportunities.

“That was where our team really learned to create high-quality digital content,” Reeves says. “In the process, we’re also now able to use that along with many of our live performances, which gives us the great opportunity to have more accessibility to our performances. We’re really excited for the potential of this and where it can take us in the future. It’s a way we can be inclusive, inviting, and engaging for our entire community.

“So, if people want to come in and see shows live, in a socially distanced theater with their masks on and following safety protocols, we welcome them. If they’re not ready, there will be live streams available.”

ALONZO KING LINES BALLET. PHOTO BY MANNY CRISOSTOMO

The 2020-2021 season kicked off in September with a Jazz Lounge, followed by performances in October of Flamenco Intimo.

The season will include various Jazz Lounges, as well as a new Classical Lounge series, which is a similar concept of intimate and somewhat informal performances.

“That also was born because some of our partner organizations have had to cancel their entire season, and we wanted to try to find ways to support the work of some of those artists,” Reeves explains.

There will also be six Broadway performances, with stars such as Lea Salonga. One of those performances is Broadway Fright Night, to be held in late October, which showcases four artists performing roles from Broadway shows such as Phantom of the Opera.

A season staple, Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel will also be back, as will the Seth Rudetsky Concert Series.

The Piano Series features performers including Alexander Malofeev, Conrad Tao and Rachel Cheung, and a there is a Dance Series, as well.

Individual shows feature stars such as Jake Shimabukuro, Sandra Bernhard and Marc Cohn.

MOMIX has one performance, Assisted Living: THE MUSICAL® has several shows, and the holidays get cheerful with Mariachi Sol de México® de José Hernández Presents A MerryAchi Christmas.

“We are still very robust—pretty much through the end of March we have no dates that are open, so everything is filled with a variety of shows, events, and activities,” says Reeves.

March 2021 will also see the return of the Scottsdale Arts Festival.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is also planning parking lot performances, where audience members stay in their cars and park in a circle, with their headlights providing light for the performance.

“We are exploring lots of new opportunities,” Reeves promises.

Other new initiatives include the option to preorder food and beverages, and an online retail option.

For all of its shows, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will be following recommendations from the federal government, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) ,and the Scottsdale Arts Health Advising Team.

“Our return to theater protocols allow us to return to the stage as safely as possible,” says Reeves.

For more information, visit scottsdaleperformingarts.org.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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SOUTHWEST SHAKESPEARE COMPANY live digital broadcasts

By Lisa Van Loo

S

hakespeare never knew Facebook Live, but Southwest Shakespeare Company does. And they’ve got quite a little thing going.

As part of its reinvention during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southwest Shakespeare Company went digital, broadcasting classics and storytimes live on YouTube and through Zoom.

“The need for the type of programming we do has gone through the roof,” Mary Way, Southwest Shakespeare Company’s executive director, says. “We have had to furlough some of our staff but continue to churn out material and live broadcasting at a rate of six shows a week.”

All of it is free.

About 20,000 households are tuning in every day to see StoryTime Classics Live!, an offering previously geared to children that has gained traction with older, potentially-isolated adults.

Once a week, Southwest Shakespeare Company brings together some of the nation’s top artists for full-length plays. Way said the virtual space has allowed them to work with actors who have won Tonys, Emmys and Grammys, and some who aren’t even in this time zone.

“Recently, an actor from three hours outside of Mumbai joined our cast of Pericles,” Way says, noting the shows attract a global audience from Poland to China to Australia and India.

“It’s a wonderful way of coming together and to underscore our motto, taken from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ‘all the world is here!’”

Although the organization’s upcoming series of six shows (slated to begin in November with socially distanced, in-person performances) is sold out, they still plan to sell virtual tickets to offer the programming to a wider audience.

To learn more, visit swshakespeare.org.

“They phone us if we are even one minute late going on air,” Way says of the new, but growing, audience tuning in to hear classics, such as The Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island and Dracula.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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TEMPE CENTER FOR THE ARTS enjoy from anywhere

By Lisa Van Loo

R

alph Remington feels like he has been stuck on a plane sitting on the tarmac since March, just waiting for a gate to open again. As producing artistic director for Tempe Center for the Arts and deputy director of arts and culture for the city of Tempe, Remington watched as a show that had been fully rehearsed, fully designed and fully teched this past spring, never got the opportunity to meet an adoring audience.

Orange Flower Water closed before it ever opened, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was crazy because we were just about to open,” he says. “That was it. Nobody ever saw it.”

Oddly, after months of empty theaters, Remington and his staff are embracing Tempe’s vacant performance venues and using them to connect with audiences sitting, not in assigned seats, but rather on a couch or comfy chair, just on the other side of a webcam.

Tempe Center for the Arts introduced a program called SHFT, which offers arts programming whenever an audience is ready to enjoy it. The program is somewhat of an evolution, beginning with a virtual version of 54

Arts in the Park, broadcast from living rooms and backyards at the outset of social distancing orders, and eventually bringing artists back to the stage.

The audience is just a little further away, and out of view.

“At least you can see an artist in a venue on a stage in a performing arts environment,” Remington says of the programming, which includes an open mic night on Wednesdays and an opportunity for DJs to perform sets. “You do what you can with what you have.”

Beyond stage performances, Tempe Center for the Arts is offering well-attended virtual arts classes, a program broadcast on Instagram TV that features artists discussing their crafts, and live arts classes for local high schools.

Remington plans to launch a podcast on social justice and the arts in the fall, as well.

Until gatherings are safe again, he says they’ll remain ready for anything.

“We’ll just play it by ear,” he says. “It’s a constant improvisation.”

For more, visit tempecenterforthearts.com.

VALLEY YOUTH THEATRE good deeds come back around

By Lisa Van Loo

B

obb Cooper firmly believes that good deeds come back around. As producing artistic director at Valley Youth Theatre, he recently saw it happen in one of the most fulfilling and unexpected ways.

With help from a family who saw the benefits of Valley Youth Theatre for their daughter a few years ago, the organization produced a nine-hour, virtual telethon, raising more than $225,000. Academy Award-winner and Valley Youth Theatre alum, Emma Stone, donated $32,000 for the 32 years the theatre has been serving youth in the Phoenix area.

It was a huge, successful undertaking.

“They spent hundreds of hours putting this together,” Cooper says of the family who offered to help produce the telethon. “It all paid off.”

Cooper says Valley Youth Theatre hasn’t experienced layoffs or staff reductions due to the pandemic, but its impact has still been “devastating.” Looking ahead, the organization has budgeted for three different scenarios, blending optimism and realism, that puts their first possible opportunity to perform again in February — if the public is able to assemble, safely.

“Everything is a moving target. We’ve made it so we won’t be doing anything in person until we have a vaccine or a cure,” Cooper says, noting the fiscal difficulties of a socially distanced seating arrangement in their 200seat house. “We can’t pay the royalties with 50 people.”

Until then, Cooper says they’ve postponed what would have been their 25th anniversary of A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail due to issues with digital rights to the show, and they continue to look into the logistics and feasibility of delivering programming virtually.

“It’s just, we’ve got to be patient,” Cooper says, noting his daughter is experiencing residual issues after surviving COVID-19. “Unless we give the science community the respect it deserves, we’re just going to keep perpetuating the problem.”

To learn more, visit vyt.com.

ON STAGE 2020–2021 |

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