One Year Later…
Oh, for the days when Players could plan a complete season of shows… hold auditions… build interesting sets… decorate our lobby… stage original plays, cabarets, and open mics… and welcome audiences into our wonderful theatre.
It’s been a year since we were forced to close our theatre — right in the middle of rehearsals for I Hate Hamlet, one of the two final shows (the other was Always… Patsy Cline) we had scheduled for our 2019-2020 season. And we had already planned five great plays for our 2020-2021 season, all of which we’ve had to put on the back burner because of a pesky little virus that likes to jump from victim to victim in close, confined spaces.
Yes, it’s been a year, but to those of us who are so enthusiastic about creating live theatre in front of live audiences, it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve been allowed to do so. And we’re getting restless! Actors want to act, directors want to direct, set builders, lighting technicians, and other stage crew are eager to work their behind-the-scenes magic.
We haven’t allowed the pandemic to sideline us completely, as you know. We thumbed our nose at that rotten little virus and went ahead and over the past year created dozens of virtual theatre productions under the heading of Players Theatre At Home so audiences could enjoy our various shows online. I hope you’ve see them because we’ve done some really good stuff, if I do say so myself: full-length plays (Dearly Departed), one-act video plays (I Bequeath and Quarantine Warning from Space), original programs (The Oil Paint Monologues and At Home with Scott & Joni), a monthly talk show (Play Date with Art & Bonnie), cabarets, radio shows, and even nostalgia (Players Remembers and Retro-Players videos). We’ve been quite busy, as you can see by the Program Guide found on page 2 of this newsletter.
And we did our best to make all of these shows easily accessible and affordable by putting them all on our Patreon page (patreon.com/PlayersofUtica), where audiences could subscribe for only $5.99 a month. This helps us pay our ongoing bills.
The only drawback to these online shows is that they’re online! The audience must have a computer and internet to enjoy them.
Well, we’re hoping that’s all going to change in the near future. With the COVID-19 vaccines becoming more readily available, perhaps that nasty little virus will be kept in check to the degree that we might be able to open our theatre doors, even if it’s to limited audiences at first. Or perhaps we can stage something outdoors. We’re hoping and planning… and we know you’ll be there at our box office, ready for some great live theatre.