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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