Arts Alive San Antonio

As the concern over the spread of COVID-19 grows, health organizations such as the CDC and the World Health Organization, as well as government officials at all levels, are urging Americans to practice “social distancing” and stay home as much as possible. As a consequence, arts and cultural institutions have been cancelling events and temporarily closing their doors.

It is a sad development, that throws schedules and plans into disarray, in addition to affecting the expected income of producing and presenting companies.

As we already told you last weekend, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts started rescheduling all of its many events more than a week ago, and now pretty much everyone else is following suit.

At the Woodlawn Theater, cast and crew were ready to open “On Your Feet,” their much-anticipated musical based on the lives and careers of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, which positively sizzles with high-energy dance and songs galore. Postponing the opening must have been a hard decision. Next door neighbor, the Classic Theater, was also planning to open a new production this weekend, the American classic “Our Town.” Both shows will be rescheduled.

Though the Public Theater of San Antonio went ahead with its run of “Admissions” in the Cellar Theater last weekend, it, too, has now decided to close and rework its plans for the rest of the season.Given its busy schedules for both of its spaces, The Russell Hill Rogers upstairs theater and the Cellar, it must be a daunting project.

At the Carver Community Cultural Center, only one show will be canceled at this time, Friday’s Hiplet Ballerinas, a unique dance group that fuses ballet techniques with hip-hop and other urban dance genres, and a show we were looking forward to. Other theatrical cancellations/postponements have been announced by PASA (Performing Arts San Antonio) which was about to premiere “She Kills Monsters,” and by the Magik Theater which will cut short its successful run of “Dragons Love Tacos,” and cancel everything through May of this year. PASA classes, however, will continue as they will be limited to less than 10 persons.

On the music front, it’s the same story – postponements and cancellations. Of course, the symphony will not be playing since the Tobin is closed. On its site, SAS says it has cancelled everything between March 13 and April 25. Camerata San Antonio, the city’s most prominent chamber ensemble, is moving its Blueprint concert – featuring string quartets by Shaw, Schnittke and Beethoven – into the next season. The concerts were originally scheduled for the last two weekends in March. The Camerata musicians do promise, however, to find ways to “share music with our fans; so keep an ear out for us on your social media.” And they also promise to perform with the San Antonio Sinfonietta at the end of April.

All mentioned organizations will validate already purchased tickets, but you can also choose to donate the amount spent on tickets to help the organization, which is often a nonprofit.

The museums remain closed but you can browse around on their websites and get a good look at the current exhibits. Challenged by the current situation, some art centers are coming up with new ways to help you stay in touch with their artists and exhibits. The Blue Star Contemporary, for example, is about to launch new public programs online starting the week of March 25. They also invite you to check out their YouTube series, Open Studios, which shows studio visits with San Antonio artists who have participated in Blue Star exhibitions. That should be fun! Go to www.bluestarcontemporary.org for more information.

Another visual arts place that has found a new way to communicate with the public is Ruiz-Healy Art which will make its entire new show “More Than Words: Text-Based Artworks II” available via digital platforms, also beginning March 25. The exhibit features a group of distinguished artists, including Richard Armendariz, Nate Cassie, Andres Ferrandis, Cisco Jimenez, Katie Pell, Ethel Shipton and Gary Sweeny. You can also make an appointment to visit the actual gallery in person but only in very small groups. Call 210-804-2219 or email info@ruizhealyart.com.To see the exhibit on digital platforms, visit the website ruizhealyart.com or related sites on Facebook, Artsy and Instagram.

And, remember, there’s always KLRN, our PBS station, which often has terrific performing arts programming.