In light of the developments surrounding a surge of COVID-19 cases in Arkansas, the board of the nonprofit Pocket Community Theatre recently decided to reschedule the remaining shows of its 2020 season to next year.
"We made this decision because we want to make sure that our cast and crew, anyone involved in the show, and anyone coming and seeing the show is safe," said board President James Kendall. "We just don't feel that right now we can guarantee that safety between now and the end of the year."
Next season, the theater will start in February with "To Kill a Mockingbird," and then "Music Man," "Murder on the Orient Express," "Steel Magnolias," "Elf," and then one show "to be determined," he said. "It will play next year, we just don't have the schedule lined up. The shows that we advertised this sear will be moving to the 2021 season."
The board of directors projected the theater's 2020 season would have been the most successful year they have ever had, but COVID-19 concerns only allowed them to hold two weekends of performances in February.
"We really had high expectations for 2020. So, obviously, it's going to really affect some of our major capital projects. We've got a parking lot that needs to be repaved. We need a new roof. We need a new air conditioner. There is a bathroom remodel that we desperately need. So those projects are all, unfortunately, going to have to go on the back burner for now, so that we can make sure that we're fiscally responsible. Even with the theater not being used, we still have to pay a light bill, we have to pay a water bill," Kendall said.
"It is a very old building so, you can't just turn the heat and air off on a building and leave it shut down for, you know six months."
For the theater to make enough money to continue providing performances, their shows need to reach at least 75% audience capacity. With restrictions in place by the local government, holding any performances inside the theater would not be fiscally possible, Kendall noted.
While this is a huge temporary setback for lovers of the local art community, Kendall said it is having an even bigger effect on local performers. While most understand the need for rescheduling and shutdowns, it does not make the situation any less painful.
"I think everyone agrees with the decision, but there is just an overall sadness that we're not going to be able to move forward. There was such a great level of excitement within the Pocket Theatre community, both from the audience and the people involved behind the scenes about the shows that we had coming up. I mean, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is just such a classic. There was a lot of excitement building around that show, especially from the schools. We had several local schools reaching out to us to make arrangements for tickets for their students. As a community theater, that is an absolute dream come true when you have that kind of expectation from the community and that level of excitement from the community about a show," Kendall said.
"So, there is sadness for anyone who is involved in the arts as a performer. ... There's going to be a sense of sadness and I think our community is experiencing that today."
In an attempt to keep the community engaged, Kendall said the theater is hoping to expand its online presence and encourage participation from the community. He hopes things like monologue reading contests will keep the creativity in Hot Springs thriving.
"One of the things that I'm working on is trying to use today's social media platforms and remote technologies that we have to do some things over the next few months that kind of filled the gap. We recently had a monologue contest with 'Romeo and Juliet.' That was very successful; we had a lot of people participate, we had a lot of people view, and it was fun. People had a lot of fun with it so we hope to really expand on that and do some more things online to just kind of keep people actively engaged with us," he said.
"We'll be back. Better than ever, and we'll be back with wonderful shows. In the meantime just be safe, be kind, and wash your hands."