Necessity is famously regarded as the mother of all invention.
Another saying puts things a bit more bluntly and tells us that desperate times call for desperate measures.
As we enter month 5,011…I mean (counts fingers) six, of nationwide lockdowns due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, various industries find themselves facing desperate times. Few have been affected more so than the live entertainment industry. The arts. The artists. The venues that house them. The technicians and staff that support them. The management and organizations that book and promote them. All of these groups of people have been uniquely affected by the ongoing crisis. At the very top of the food chain, we see our favorite celebrity musicians and actors weathering the storm in luxury. They post the occasional silly video or inspirational quote to their Instagram account and go back to doing the rich person laugh in their infinity pools. They’re doing alright. At the very very (very) bottom of the food chain is the guy you went to high school with who is a Soundcloud rapper. He’s taken his stimulus check and finally bought the paid version of the software he was using to make beats on his laptop. Now, even though his rhymes are still terrible, his beats are “just” trash. That is actually an upgrade. He, too, is doing alright.
In the rungs between the highest and lowest industry levels, though, there are scores of working-class professionals. Their livelihoods have been completely shut down by the pandemic. Singer/Songwriters who will never play festivals like Coachella or Bonnaroo but make a good living touring to small and medium-sized cities across the country. World-class musicians, Broadway actors, ballerinas, stand up comics, opera divas, the list goes on. The stagehands who make it all possible, and the technicians and other collaborators who work behind the scenes to make it all happen. Many of them are contract workers who have limited access to unemployment benefits and pay out of pocket for their own health insurance and expenses. These hard workers have existed forever in a delicate balance with an audience that craves entertainment but is fickle and ever-changing in what type of entertainment it wants.
Audiences’ tastes have evolved, artists have evolved, but until recently, one thing has remained the same as its always been. Whether you sing, dance, juggle…whatever…the traditional model has always been a performer(s) doing their thing in a (whatever sized) room somewhere in front of people who pay to see it. The audience goes home, maybe they buy a t-shirt on their way out, the money gets divided up, everyone eats. Then along came COVID19, and suddenly everything changed. It was no longer safe to breathe around other people. God forbid sing or blow air through a horn. Dance. Laugh. Do ANYTHING. Just like that, an entire multi-billion dollar industry was brought to its knees. Suddenly hundreds of thousands of artisans, performers, admins, and technicians were out of work. Times are desperate, and there’s no telling when or even IF things will ever go back to the way they used to be. That being said, artists and companies worldwide are finding increasingly creative ways to survive and continue the work of bringing art to the masses.
Locally, the arts organizations and venues that we all know and love are dealing with the same struggles. Many of them are also finding creative ways to keep doing what they do. Here are a few of the options from around town.
Flying Anvil Theatre, located in Rocky Hill, has changed direction from their regular full slate of shows to produce a mini-season of plays streamed online. Visit: https://www.flyinganviltheatre.com/current-season for information on the individual plays and for details on tickets and streaming instructions.
The historic Tennessee Theatre has started what they call the “Ghostlight Series.” Each Tuesday at 8 pm, they use Facebook live to stream a different Knoxville group performing on the beautiful Tennessee Theatre stage. These performances are free (donations, of course, are welcomed) and just require you to go to the event page while the stream is live to enjoy. Visit: https://www.tennesseetheatre.com/support/ghostlight/ for a schedule and for more information.
Marble City Opera, Knoxville’s chamber opera company, will be presenting each of the 3 operas in their upcoming season with the option for audiences to attend in person with extremely limited numbers and physically distanced seating OR stream the performances online. They are also hosting periodic watch parties of some of their older performances on FB live with additional behind the scenes talkbacks. Visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/marblecityopera to stay up to date with their online offerings and ticket information.
In conjunction with the UTK Alumni Readings series, Hear Me Roar Theater Company is presenting free weekly Zoom play readings featuring performances by, as the name implies, alums of the UT theatre program. The plays are diverse in both authorship and casting and intentionally highlight works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color) and female playwrights. Visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/utkalumnireadings for a schedule of upcoming works.
In addition to the things mentioned here, several other organizations and individuals have hosted one-off events to stay active. The common theme that is shared by all of them is that they are asking for your support. While some of these events are ticketed, some are free and offered just as a service to help boost our collective morale. If you can donate a few bucks to your favorite venue or arts organization (or artist) right now, of course, it is much appreciated. Even if you can’t, however, please still support them with your eyes. Your mouse clicks. Your mentions. Just log into someone’s live stream and listen. Send a heart react or two. Tell a friend to watch and do the same. Like we all miss going to shows and concerts and are struggling with not being able to do so…the people on the other side of that equation are struggling also. For us, its leisure…for them its life. If we want there to be shows to go back to once the world opens up, support the people who make them happen now.
