“We were very glad that the governor finally remembered the performing arts,” Peter Stafford Wilson, the music director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra said during Monday’s virtual Springfield Rotary Club meeting. “The figures that he offered are pretty much in line with what’s going on in Europe right now in terms of capacity size and the care with which we treat the event.”
The latest public health order says performance venues can reopen soon, but the audience will be capped at 15 percent of capacity or 300 people for indoor venues and 15 percent or 1,500 for outdoor venues, whichever is less.
This means the Clark State PAC can have 225 people in their 1,500 seat venue, Clark State Performing Arts Center Executive Director Adele Adkins said.
Adkins said that they were hoping to have “a slightly bigger capacity,” but they will “figure out how the finances work and bring the best we can to the community.”
The Clark State PAC has lost about $150,000 in revenue after canceling and postponing events, Adkins said.
Rowe said the Arts Council has lost 50 to 60% of its normal income after canceling the Summer Arts Festival.
The SSO has lost about $50,000 in income and 6,000 consumers have been impacted, Wilson said.
“Creative industries in Ohio account for about $41 billion of our state’s economy and they employ around 300,000 Ohioans,” Wilson said.
All three officials said that many ticket holders, sponsors and community members have donated to their performing arts organizations during the pandemic.
“Luckily, a lot of people who purchased tickets for the remainder of our events let us keep the money and turned it into a donation. We had about 92 percent of our ticket buyers do that,” Adkins said. “That really helped the financial impact.”
In June, the Clark State PAC hosted a live drive-in concert. The center also hosted a free summer concert series that is scheduled to return in September.
“People are craving that live performance experience,” Adkins said.
She added that the center is planning to have “something” in October where residents will have the opportunity to see the event live or stream the event from home.
Rowe said that the Arts Council has several ideas in the works for upcoming entertainment and can now move forward since guidelines have been mandated.
He added that it is possible that they will have a few shows at the Clark State PAC between January and April, but they are planning to focus on scheduling performances for summer 2021.
The SSO is hoping to have shows starting in January with a smaller configuration, Wilson said. He added that the orchestra is also hoping to have an outdoor program in the upcoming months.
Once the Clark State PAC reopens, Adkins said ticket holders should expect a lot of changes including one-way traffic in and out of bathrooms, arrows on the floor directing one-way traffic, no mingling before or after shows, staggered entrance times, socially distanced seats, touch-less concessions and mask requirements for audience members, performers and employees.
“Almost everything will be different,” Adkins said. “What won’t be different is that people will have a shared live experience that will probably be the most meaningful one that they’ve had in memory.”
“We definitely want to be able to provide some live performing arts as the year goes along, but we’re very conscious that we want to do this safely,” Rowe said.
“For me, DeWine’s orders do offer a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel,” Adkins added.
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