Arts & Culture

The shows must go … online. Local theaters will be among the last to reopen

By Molly Gilmore Contributing writer
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts has stood empty since March.
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts has stood empty since March. The Olympian

Nearly three months after they closed their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Olympia theaters are beginning preparations for reopening — but it won’t happen anytime soon.

“It has been a roller coaster,” said Jill Barnes, executive director of The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. “It’s hard to not know when we’ll be able to open, and that doesn’t change the fact that we believe that we will.

“We will gather again,” she told The Olympian. “Attending a live event and having those moments that just fill your heart and your head and your soul — that can’t be replicated online.”

But given the times, both the center and Harlequin Productions are planning online fundraising events in July, and the Olympia Film Society is continuing to focus on its virtual screening room.

Harlequin Productions announced last week that its next show will be “A Christmas Carol,” opening in November. The company plans to offer audiences a choice between coming to the theater, where social distancing requirements will reduce the capacity to 50-60 people, and watching a live stream from their living rooms.

The Washington Center is aiming to begin its season in October as usual, but because so much is uncertain, the season announcement has been postponed until at least mid-August.

“It could change,” Barnes said. “We’re not making the decisions. I feel like the virus and the government are.”

And while the Olympia Film Society’s Capitol Theater might be able to open sooner — movie theaters are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity in Phase 3 of the governor’s plan to reopen the economy — executive director Audrey Henley doesn’t have a target date in mind.

She and a few other staff members were back in the theater last week to begin preparing to reopen, but she said she doubts Phase 3 will arrive anytime soon given that the number of cases in Thurston County has increased and that rallies and protests have attracted large groups who aren’t always keeping a social distance and wearing masks.

“There’s no crystal ball,” she told The Olympian.

She’s also not sure whether the theater, which typically hosts live events as well as films, will be allowed to open in Phase 3 for movies, and she hasn’t been able to get an answer from the state.

The Washington Center probably wouldn’t be able to host any events until Phase 4, when groups of more than 50 will be allowed to gather, Barnes said. Even then, social distancing requirements would mean that only small events would be possible, since the main theater would accommodate fewer than 250 people. The center’s Black Box Jazz and Comedy in the Box series, for example, might be able to move into the main theater to allow for social distancing.

Most shows presented as part of the center season couldn’t happen with social distancing, she said, since the center needs to sell a lot of seats to make them cost-effective.

“The capacity is the issue for us,” she said. “Our hope is to announce the season in mid-August, and if it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to present some of our larger events, we hope to then be able to announce the tickets we have on sale and other events that will work for a smaller audience.”

Harlequin, meanwhile, plans to announce its 2021 season in September at an online event, said artistic director Aaron Lamb.

The company’s first livestreamed event — planned for July 11 — will be “Miscast,” which will feature performers singing songs from musical theater roles they’d never be asked to play. It will feature a combination of live and pre-recorded performances emceed by Eleise Moore of Seattle, whose Harlequin roles have included Inspector Lestrade in “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol.”

The Washington Center’s gala, set for July 23, will feature performances by Ballet Northwest and Debbi’s Dance, speakers, an online auction and an opportunity to order appetizers and cocktails from Dillinger’s Cocktails & Kitchen so you can re-create the feeling of an in-person gala at your home.

All three theaters are continuing to seek financial support while they wait to welcome audiences back.

“Even the smallest things make a difference right now,” Lamb said. “It’s a really difficult time because in the governor’s plan, we’re last to open, and also the majority of our audience is in the high-risk group, so we have to be extra careful.” People older than 65 or who have underlying health issues are considered most at risk of developing serious reactions to the coronavirus.

Besides seeking donations, Harlequin is selling swag — including items that put an ironic twist on the company’s “Real. Live. Theater.” slogan.

The slogan for now: “Real. Live. Quarantine.”

Center Stage Virtual Gala

How to help

Olympia’s bricks-and-mortar theaters are so far weathering the prolonged shutdown with help from the community. Find out about how to help on their websites:

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