Curtains shut, but still hanging: Cobb’s arts and entertainment venues looking for brighter lights in 2021

A calendar year back, the coronavirus pandemic was a looming drive, but nonetheless just that — looming. No one knew that a yr later, it would be so significantly a lot more than looming. It would be authentic, and its results would be real, as well. There is probably no other industry that was afflicted more by the pandemic than arts and amusement.

Right after all, what do you do when your total enterprise product relies upon a big quantity of people collected collectively in an enclosed house, watching other persons execute, when these very things are not practical nor harmless?

Thankfully, no theaters in Cobb have shut simply because of the pandemic — nevertheless. But they unquestionably have experienced to use the creativity they convey each individual day with or without a pandemic to go on bringing enjoyment to the masses who so desperately need to have it and using all those who help make it happen.

Cobb’s oldest theater, the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre on the Marietta Sq., is continue to lighting up its marquee, welcoming company and performing its finest to preserve the lights on.

“On March 14th, I assumed it would be two months, we’ll hunker down, then we’ll get again to small business. I was by no means anticipating this,” stated Strand Theatre Standard Manager Andy Gaines. “I would not say it is been a roaring achievements, but when we realized we experienced to endure, we experienced a prepare that was not just likely to choose us as a result of a handful of months or months we experienced a solid system with folks we have invested in over time and it took us more out. We understood that, as lengthy as we caught to that prepare, we ended up likely to be Ok. Correct now, we have a further strategy to get us by a extensive forecast out. And as long as we stick to that, as we have with the earlier two pandemic budgets, we’ll be ok.”

Gaines and the Strand experienced to count greatly on donations past year, and he hopes to see a lot more this yr, irrespective of whether they are in-form or financial. Quite a few of the fundraising drives past 12 months were led by area philanthropists, giving up a match to dollars elevated.

“The matching donations commenced in July with Jay Cunningham, CEO of Remarkable Plumbing,” Gaines claimed. “He stated, ‘This is your 85th birthday, so I’m going to set up $8,500 if you can get the community to match that. And I’ll actively solicit other corporations to occur in and do the similar issue.’ And he did, about the training course of 3 months. Then Earl Smith named and said, ‘If Jay will do it, I’ll do it with $10,000.’ And it just kept rolling. Not in a million decades did I consider we would be in a position to increase $50,000, a great deal fewer match $50,000. But (area philanthropist) Steve Imler, with his major coronary heart, designed it occur.”

On the lookout to the long term, Gaines said the theater will continue to make its private motion picture nights and hopes to get back again to its normal productions when it is protected. As of Jan. 29, Gaines claimed the theater experienced hosted 90 non-public movie evenings, which price tag $350 each for up to 15 individuals and include non-alcoholic concessions. Gaines reported the theater will continue to host those even when are living theater returns, to give people continue to remaining careful an opportunity to securely enjoy the theater.

Gaines also reported Cobb’s close-knit arts group has assisted all of the county’s corporations discover means to survive, no matter if it is by way of grant suggestions or just bouncing suggestions off of 1 another.

“I am so joyful that every person in our arts district took the time to commence chatting to and partnering with each other right before all of this occurred,” Gaines mentioned. “So now, there is a network of us who are partnering with each other and relying on each and every other for information and facts and assistance on how to get us by means of this, and continue on successfully into this calendar year.”

On his outlook, Gaines said he is “cautiously optimistic. When we know we can reopen and it is safe and sound and can make economic sense to do so, we’re heading to open in a huge way. We will maintain and do what we can to serve the general public. We have a plan, we’ll adhere to that system, and if some thing were being to materialize, we’ll change.”