Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

Planning for the future – even the short-term future – has become very challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, and arts organizations have been hit especially hard as performances, events and entire seasons had to be canceled or drastically modified.

The latest example is the San Antonio Symphony, that, only a couple of months ago, proudly announced its 2020-21 season, full of exciting concerts; guest artists, including Audra McDonald; and an unusual number of works by women composers. (See May 14 News and Commentary on this site.) But a very different press announcement arrived a few days ago. All programs scheduled to take place between September 25 and January 31, 2021 have been canceled, said the email. It further explained what we already knew: the pandemic is not relenting and the difficult decision was made “to ensure the health and safety of our patrons, musicians and staff.” The decision was also influenced by a survey of subscribers, which indicated that only about 30% of regular patrons were comfortable with the idea of returning to live performances in the Tobin Center this fall.

No-concerts means no-revenue, so the Symphony was forced to furlough five full-time employees at least through Aug.31 and musicians’ salaries are obviously going to be affected as well.

Following in the footsteps of smaller organizations which have rather quickly gone virtual with their programming, the Symphony is now promising to do the same by posting smaller-scale video content on social media and via emailed newsletters. Opera San Antonio, another Tobin Center resident company, has been doing it for months, successfully engaging its audiences and supporters despite the cancellation of live, theater shows. SAS will also broadcast concerts from its 2019-20 season on TPR Classical every Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the next six weeks. You can listen to the radio concerts on KPAC 88.3 FM, KTXI 90.1 FM and at TPR.org.

Though the management is hoping to reschedule the fall-winter concerts for the spring of 2021, it is offering patrons a choice as to what they can do with already purchased tickets. They can keep their tickets to use for rescheduled concerts, donate the value of the tickets to SAS, or request a refund. Needless to say, the organization is hoping you’ll opt for the donation option. To review your options call 210-554-1051 or email to boxoffice@sasymphony.org

Under normal circumstances, the orchestra gives more than 100 performances each year, including its classical and pops concerts at the Tobin, plus educational programs and performances with Ballet San Antonio and Opera San Antonio, also at the Tobin. And its musicians often teach and perform in smaller ensembles throughout the year.

Confronted with basically the same situation, The Public Theater of San Antonio has found a way to have a season that has built-in flexibility and safety. Instead of the grand season of full-cast musicals it had previously announced, including “Rock of Ages” and “Kinky Boots,” after much deliberation, the company hit upon a great idea – one-person shows.

“Planning this season was extremely challenging,” acknowledged CEO and artistic director George Green. “It wasn’t the usual, let’s pick the shows we want and apply for rights! Knowing that we wanted to mitigate the risks involved due to COVID-19 was the first and foremost concern, and then to provide artists with a sense of belonging was the other priority. Added to that, we needed to make sure that the season choices appealed to our patrons.”

The logistics were considerable as the company had to negotiate with publishers and authors of eight plays for both streaming rights and the rights to perform in the theater in front of an audience, should that become feasible. Some publishers were reluctant to grant any kind of broadcasting rights. Once the rights were obtained, negotiations began with Actors Equity Association.

“We want to be collaborative with the union, we want to employ union workers and we want to make sure that there are professional opportunities for Equity professionals in the city of San Antonio,” said Green. “That’s now on their table and we are waiting to hear from them. Once we get their opinion or advice on anything they want altered or changed, then we’ll be in good shape.”

As for selecting the actual shows, that was not a huge challenge. “There are a lot of good plays out there that are one-person shows,” said the artistic director. “We chose solo shows because of limited liability and it’s easier to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 if there’s only one actor, one director and a stage manager involved. If you start adding more people the risks increase. One-person shows are the safest shows to produce.”

Green was not ready, however, to reveal the titles of any the shows under consideration. That information will follow in a couple of weeks.

 All streaming will be live “from the stage to your device.” In the unlikely event that the theater building is shut down completely, the plans call for streaming from individual actors’ homes. The performances will be streamed live at a particular time and date and only ticket holders will be able to access them. If a show is performed with an audience at the San Pedro Playhouse, streaming will still be available for those not comfortable with in-person attendance just yet. These live-with-an-audience shows will follow the theater’s usual schedule of five–weekend runs. Only 100 seats will be sold in the 350-seat hall. But even if there’s no audience, the shows will be streamed live. None will be recorded.

In addition to the Public’s eight productions, the company has invited three other, smaller San Antonio thespian groups to stage their shows at the Playhouse: The Overtime Theater, the Renaissance Guild and Teatro Audaz. The latter will have five shows, while the other two groups will be doing one each. And there may be others.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Green about the invitation. “It allows them to have a space to perform with social distancing possibilities.”

(As with the Symphony, season subscribers are encouraged to contact the Public to discuss their options.)