Hartford Theaters Strategize For Their Survival
“Getting Sauced with Rob” Ruggiero and “Scene and Heard” with Melia Bensussen are two virtual ways TheaterWorks Hartford and Hartford Stage are staying engaged with audiences via their artistic leaders — and are just the latest online activities these not-for-profit theaters hope will generate support during the uncertain weeks, and perhaps months, ahead.
With the initial shock subsiding of having to cancel springtime programming and fundraising events because of the coronavirus pandemic, Hartford’s theater executives, many of whom have had to make dramatic staff and payroll cuts in recent weeks, are now looking ahead and devising multiple plans for survival. This includes engaging with audiences in new ways in the hopes it will bolster financial support in what is sure to be a challenging economic and social landscape.
A recent Greater Hartford Arts Council survey found that Hartford’s “Big Four” arts groups — The Bushnell, Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks and Hartford Symphony Orchestra — stand to lose a combined $6.6 million if the coronavirus shuts down production for three months.
Among the planned offerings are virtual personal and/or playful interactions with theater personalities. For example, Ruggiero, TheaterWorks’ producing artistic director, will make his family’s tomato sauce recipe while talking with other theater pals online. Other plans include online silent auctions, acting and educational classes, and presentations of excerpts from past productions.
TheaterWorks is working to get online its hit production of the musical “Next To Normal,” along with a conversation with its Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt. It wouldn’t be a pay-for-play event but rather a fundraising effort.
“We’re going to find out what works online in ways that could be really creative, imaginative and really engaging for our audiences to participate,” says Cynthia Rider, Hartford Stage’s managing director. “We’ve been talking about more participatory programming, so what does that mean in ways that feel really fun? I think we’re going to find some [programming] that works and some that doesn’t, but that’s OK, too. We’re experimenting.”