www.middleclassartist.com: When we return to the stage to present opera, dance, theatre, or symphonic works in our 2,000+ seat halls, will our subscribers be there with tickets in hand?
This is the question spreading like wildfire through every board meeting in America. It is the question keeping Artistic Directors, General Managers, agents, and artists up at night.
It is an interesting question.
But it is the wrong one.
3 comments:
This is a grim assessment, but probably an accurate one. Theatre has been savaged by this crisis, and we arguably have it better off than some other sectors of the entertainment industry, especially symphonies. Take all the problems facing the theatre and add instruments that function by dispersing large amounts of air, the crowdedness of an orchestra onstage, and the norm of performing in large houses, and rather than a symphony, you have a disaster. This is not to mention that for those performances which utilize symphonies in an auxiliary capacity-- for instance musicals, opera, and ballet-- the orchestra is likely the first thing to go to cut costs. Not only does having an orchestra bring all the challenges mentioned above into a performance, but hiring live musicians is extraordinarily expensive. And while having a live orchestra is an undeniable benefit to a performance, in times like these, I can't think of a reason a theater or ballet would think twice about replacing them with a pre recorded track.
One of the most memorable stories from my childhood is about the boy who cried wolf. I feel like we are in a realm where that story seems to be happening. I understand fully the whole COVID-19 social distancing, stop the spread stuff, but I am also getting tired of hearing the doom and gloom that articles like this continue to push. If I am the artistic director of a 2600 seat concert hall and I read this article, it's going to scare me. This is not what we should be focused on right now. Right now, we need to be focused on the facts and the data in front of us, not what if scenarios that sound of end of times for the concert world. I also disagree that any return to normalcy could take years. It might take a year to get back to normal, or a pre covid-19 state, but what this article does which, I feel, is wrong, is that it assumes that we as a society won't fully recover. We've had coronavirus before. This is just a different strain that, once we unlock its secrets, we can defeat much in the same way that we defeated the others like SARS. I don't think concert venues should open as fast as other places, but I also don't think that once they do, that only 25% of seating capacity would be allowed. 12-18 months is the timeline for a cure. I am sure we will not have to wait that long.
New world order, new economy, new normal… I see many articles in business magazines like Forbes alarming all industries to prepare for the world post-COVID-19. Just like the world order changed after 9.11, pandemic recovery does not mean to return to what was normal before. No matter how great the vaccine would be, the recovery requires to change the normal. As such, I do not think this article is trying to threaten anyone. The analysis focusing on how to present performances with restrictions in gathering, rather than focusing on how to bring back the audience seems reasonable and trustworthy. At the same time, it is hard to believe that the public gatherings, which has been a part of culture for hundreds of years, to die away. Classic concerts could be enjoyable without anyone seating within 6 feet, but how about rock concerts? How about balls? There are just too many uncertainties in safety right now.
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