I run the Newton Nomadic Theater. Our theater along with virtually all the other local arts, music, and entertainment organizations have mostly shut down for the last year.
We did a few on-line events early on in the pandemic but we’ve since lost our motivation for more on-line events – i.e. Zoom burnout. In the warm weather we were able to gather people together for a few events (Secret Drive In Concert, and Waiting for Godot – Covid 19 Edition). While those were both great fun events they were seriously constrained by the necessary health and safety limitations in the time of pandemic.
So here’s my question. How long do you think it will before 50 or 100 people will be willing to share the same confined space for an evening of music, theater, etc. I’m certain this won’t be all all or nothing transition. It will no doubt happen in incremental steps.
How long before we’re partying like its 1999. A few months?, six months?, a year?, never?
Once you’ve got a shot of vaccine in your arm will you begin thinking of getting back out in a crowd in the not so distant future or will this year long lock-down keep you wary for some time to come?
I’m more than itching to get back to the real world. So how long before:
- You believe all limitations on public gatherings are removed
- You personally think you’ll be willing to crowd into a confined space for some good music or theater
Sorry for the typo (fixed). That’s “public gatherings”. “Pubic gatherings” are a whole different thing and our theater is not usually involved with those.
Jerry – I can’t believe I’ve had to go through an election season with no St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, no story slam. I hope we can regain what we’ve lost on the other side of this pandemic.
We’ll have to hold three back-to-back St Patrick’s Day Breakfasts next year to catch up.
Yes I miss doing the story slams. In the meantime here are two personal stories from two of the Ward 2 candidates that were recorded at the Nomad Story Slam – Election Edition during the run up to the last election. Sorry we don’t have one from David Micley.
Bryan Barash – Popping the question
Tarik Lucas – Stranded in Newton
Nicely done gentlemen
It may be cabin fever. Or it maybe I’m feeling a little feisty having received my second Fauci Ouchie. (There are times when being old has an advantage.) Whatever the reason, I miss the Nomadic Theater.
With face masks and slightly less compact seating, I’d be willing to take in performances this summer especially if they were outdoors. The indoor venues that are better ventilated and less confined would be OK too.
If folks would self-limit to join in only if they were vaccinated, it would be terrific, but I suspect that’s a bridge too far.
Thank you for sharing the videos Jerry Reilly. For me, this 3/16 election has been about ideology versus what the City Council actually does on a week to week basis. The videos actually humanized Tarik Lucas and Bryan Barash and both of them made me smile.
I would be willing to go out in a social distanced and masked way especially if it is outdoors. My husband and I sat outside on Sunday in Newton Center at Baramor Bar & Restaurant. Since today it is 16 degrees today, I am glad we did that! I have a much higher tolerance for cold and adventure than most ‘older’ New Englanders:-) I think the arts, in general, are going to come back slowly and safely. Also, the pent up demand for music, theatre, movies, and performance will rise higher and higher.
Jerry, all good questions. Even with a vaccination, I’m going to be a bit tentative for a while about sitting in a crowded theater. That’s not a rational reaction, I know, but it’s hard not to be a bit gun shy after months of social distancing.
I’m hoping, though, that warm weather brings yours and other performing groups outside. (Maybe you can even use some of those big tents they put up near the schools–or arrange performances under the huge solar panel arrays at NNHS or NSHS.) I know I won’t hesitate to sit on a blanket or lawn chair a few feet from others, masked and with a gentle breeze blowing through.
“Art exists because life is not enough,” said Ferreira Gullar.
Gosh, I hope we can have plenty of outdoor entertainment this spring/summer/fall. I’m apprehensive about indoor entertainment and expect I will be until we hit herd immunity. On the other hand, I’m pretty comfortable with anything outdoors, masked, and distanced. Let’s take advantage of our outdoor space that maybe we usually don’t. I live in West Newton, so I’m thinking of places like Capt. Ryan Park and the West Newton Playground. And I hope to god that the city can have a more normal farmers market this year. I miss the West Newton one and the music there. They had some good bands.
MMQC: It looks like the W.Newton Saturday Farmers’ Market is moving to Newton North, but I don’t expect it will be back to normal this year with music, etc. There are, however, a couple of other market-type opportunities popping up in Newton this spring and summer, providing a fun, festive, atmosphere. Next up are the March 13th and March 20th outdoor markets in the Dunn-Gaherin’s parking lot!
BTW does that photo (above) give you a bit of a shiver? Is it just me or do scenes of crowds in movies these days look totatlly different to you today then they did a year ago? That will probably take a bit of time to wear off once the danger has receded.
Aw, that’s too bad, Lauren. I like the vendors and happily buy stuff, but really my family goes for the whole vibe – music and community feel. But at least NN is closer for those of us on the side of town. Never did make it to last year’s markets, unfortunately.
Jerry – YES!! The mere sight of parties etc in movies and TV makes me cringe.
MMQC: Then definitely check out the Dunn-Gaherin’s market! Oh, and it looks like there may be another market type of opportunity popping up in your neck of the woods with socially distanced music, activities, food, etc., designed with community first and foremost. Keep your eyes on ALL Over Newton for more info. (And sorry if this sounds too much like a commercial :^D )
I already follow it! Great resource.
This goes somewhat beyond the purview of Jerry’s post, but the matter of what the post-pandemic music/entertainment scene might look like has made for some fascinating discussions with my musician friends.
Often during crises, we change our ways of doing things because we have to, and then come to find out later that some of the forced adaptations actually make sense — and thus become the new normal. A lot of performers, music venues and festivals or other special events, obviously, have turned to streaming performances (live or prerecorded) online via Facebook, YouTube and other platforms. Some of these productions, to be honest, have been hard to take — blurry video quality, poor audio, frequent glitches, etc. But there have been others that were really well done, not only from a technological standpoint but in terms of artistic vision, e.g., using multiple cameras, combining live with prerecorded segments, and so on.
So from what I can see, virtual performances will be here to stay, even after in-person events return. While there are plenty of issues and questions to go along with this situation, of course, it’s difficult to see the toothpaste going back into the (You)tube.
@Essteeess – Two other big pluses that we discovered last spring when we did a series of on-line events is that we were able to play to much bigger audiences 1000+ than our live theater and the audience was not limited to Newton.
Likewise we were able to recruit performers from any where. We did a ridiculous show called the Lunatic Talent Jamboree in which we had people in New York, Chicago, England and Ireland performing alongside the Newton folks, which was great fun to do.
That said I’m still REALLY looking forward to the time when we can once again pack a crowd into a darkened space for some intimate live theater.
@Essteeess – There is a local theater in Needham, the Arlekin Players, that took the move to on-line performance as a creative challenge. Rather than just film some actors on a stage, The State vs Natasha effectively invented a whole new art form and it was fabulous. It was live theater, with live video effects that turned the constraints of on-line video into an artistic asset. This tiny local theater got a lot of national attention (NY Times and elsewhere) for jumping in with both feet into on-line performance. A fabulous actor certainly helped too.
It let a little theater reach a big audience across the world.
@Jerry, the world connection works both ways, too: There’s an annual event called the Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) that features Irish/Scottish/etc. performers with some connection to the Boston area. This year, thanks to livestreaming and prerecorded video, BCMFest included artists in far-flung places who, even without the pandemic, might not have been able to appear in person at the festival. So, there was a trio — one of whose members is a Berklee grad who lived in the area for a while — based in Spain who livestreamed their performance, and even stuck the camera out the window so we could get a glimpse of the scenery. The BCMFest finale concert included a set by a wonderful Irish singer-songwriter, Karan Casey, who performed live from her living room, and with her talent and presence she made you feel you were sitting right there listening to her.
Sure, I would’ve liked to be sitting in Club Passim (where most of the festival takes place) taking all this in, but the possibilities that video/audio technology provides made it a very special event.
As for getting back to attending live shows: No doubt, it will be wonderful, yet even before the pandemic I noticed I had an increasingly difficult time enjoying myself in packed-to-the-rafters venues — maybe just a function of age (I’ve heard others say the same thing). So, if social distancing and lower capacity is the rule for a while, that would not be a bad thing for me.
Its not a surprise that we’re not the only ones thinking about these things. WGBH’s Front Row is hosting a free Zoom webinar called “What Will Live Music Looks Like When it Returns” on March 11 with panelists from “all corners off the music industry”.
If you’re a musician or produce musical events here’s the sign up and info