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Venues Use Social Media To Update Residents

The Reg Lenna Center For The Arts marquee displays information about social distancing and other COVID-19 Centers For Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as well as details regarding downtown restaurants that are still doing business, whether it be take-out service or gift cards. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

By posting to social media sites, two Chautauqua County entertainment venues are communicating with their patrons and supporters of how COVID-19 is affecting operations and programming.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House executive director Rick Davis said his staff is also using email blasts, media news releases and its own website to communicate the status of programs and events.

The Reg Lenna Center For Arts, 116 E. Third St., Jamestown, uses the marquee for communicating with the general public. “Our marquee displays information about social distancing and other COVID-19 CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines as well as details regarding downtown restaurants that are still doing business, whether it be take-out service or gift cards,” said Len Barry, director of marketing and communications.

The Opera House, Davis said, closed its doors on March 17. He added that he us closely monitoring news from the state for when restrictions on public gatherings might be lifted for performing arts venues. He added that the Opera House has canceled or rescheduled all programs through May 30.

“In the meantime, our three staff members are working from home as much as possible. We have devised a schedule that has only one of us going into the office each day of the work week for work that cannot be done at home. This way, we don’t encounter one another; and since the building is closed to the public, we don’t enounter anyone else,” Davis said.

The staff of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is using email blasts, media news releases and its own website to communicate the status of programs and events. Submitted photo

Barry said the Reg Lenna is experiencing simliar conditions. “Most of our programming is geared toward a live audience in our theater – concerts and films and our room and space rentals appeal to groups of people, so we’ve had to postpone several movies and events that were on our calendar. Currently we are working to reschedule as many of those as possible,” Barry said.

Both venues are not currently offering programming online because the venues usually hold large groups of people. The Opera House has communicated to its patrons, that some of its partners online content is being offered.

“For example, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City is streaming full-length productions of operas that have been part of its Live at the Met program,” Davis said. “A different opera is presented each night, which streams for free from its web site metopera.org. Similarly, the National Theatre in London is presenting full-length productions from its ten years of National Theatre Live programs through its channel on YouTube. It presents a new production each Friday, which streams for free for a week.”

Barry and Davis both said that they are ready to reopen the venues when the quarantine order is lifted. “We curretly have events scheduled for June, mostly satellite transmission events and placeholder dates for movies. These are easily canceled or rescheduled if the restrictions continue,” Davis said.

The Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival, scheduled for June 12-14 has been canceled, and Davis said it will not be rescheduled for this year. Rather, the entire program planned for what would have been the 25th festival will become the program for June 11-13, 2021.

In addition, Davis said, the Bolshoi Ballet Live presentation of Swan Lake, which already had been rescheduled once for June 20, also has been canceled, and will not be rescheduled.

Anyone possessing tickets for any of these events may contact the Opera House Box Office at 679-1891 to discuss refund options. During this time of COVID-19 restrictions, the box office is only staffed on Fridays, 1-5pm, Davis said.

“We do not make these decisions lightly,” Davis said. “For the Bach Festival, we had extensive conversations with Maestro Grant Cooper, and gave much thought to various scenarios which may have enabled us to present the Festival. But even if event restrictions are lifted by June (which frankly doesn’t seem likely at this point), in the interest of keeping our patrons and musicians safe, this seemed to be the most logical solution.”

Barry said guidelines on social gathering will help to determine how and when the Reg Lenna reopen to the general public. “Once there is more clarity, we’ll figure out what kind of programming we can return to, how social distancing plays into seating people in our theater and doing our part to prevent future spread of the virus. Staff will be brought back in to train according to the new normal and prepare for our programs. We are currently looking at how other theaters and venues are working throughout all of this for ideas on what we can do,” Barry said.

Davis said it is uncertain how long it will take for things to return to normal. “Regardless of when we reopen, we fear that audiences may be hesitatant to gather in groups of any size. So we anticipate possibly limiting attendance at first to a number that allows for people to sit a distance from one another. Regardless, we look forward to holding events again and to welcoming audiences back to the Opera House,” Davis said.

More information for both venues is available at websites fredopera.org and reglenna.com.

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