Reimagined and restarted: Lowcountry cultural arts are back despite COVID
Months have passed since theaters and studios went dark, galleries closed and concert halls were silenced. Theater professionals and musicians, gallery directors and entertainment organizers scrambled to adapt, and the unpredictable shifts of life, and all they hold for all of us, are being accommodated.
Schedules, formats, even expectations have changed, and safety protocols have been put in place. Happily, most of our anticipated entertainment, activities and events have been reimagined or reconfigured to be presented in another form.
We’ve donned our masks, we’ve socially distanced, we’ve become compliant with the demands of the pandemic of 2020. Further, we’ve Zoomed, we’ve streamed, we’ve live streamed and much more, to make certain that our access to the outside world — and to the performing arts — continues. Who knew that the walls of our homes, and a television screen or tablet or phone, would become our link to the happenings around us.
Over recent weeks, I checked in with performing arts professionals from several of our theater and musical organizations with the questions I posed at the beginning of the COVID crisis. “What are you doing now, when you can’t do what you do?” Their responses were fascinating and varied.
Now there are not only zooming or streaming opportunities, but we have on-stage productions, radio programs, podcasts, musical performances and gallery tours to cover the broad spectrum of the visual arts.
The Lean Ensemble
“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens: A free radio play Dec. 20–27
Telling ghost stories around Christmas is a tradition with a long and robust history. The holidays are time to gather together while the nights are at their longest, the days are reaching their coldest ... and our memories of loved ones are wont to be at their fondest.
We have gathered seven of your favorite performers to step into many, many different shoes in the telling of one of the most famous, poignant and endearing ghost stories of them all.
Grab a warm drink, throw another log on the fire, settle in, and incline your ears, along with the full force of your limitless imagination, to us. Lean Ensemble Theater is honored to be a part of your holiday and this rich tradition with our retelling of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, A Christmas Carol.
Blake White, The Lean Ensemble
Registration for this event is required: https://www.leanensemble.org. Regardless of when you register, you will be able to access “A Christmas Carol” at any point between Dec. 20–27.
Directed by Matt Mundy and featuring Maegan Azar, Megan Bowers, Bill Gorman, marcus d. harvey, Taylor Harvey, Michael Liebhauser, and Peggy Trecker White.
Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
Organizers at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina invite everyone to enjoy “A Carpenters Christmas” on Dec. 21.
“A Carpenters Christmas” is live theater entertainment on stage. Joyful and uplifting, this is a dazzling holiday variety show with unforgettable Christmas songs, keeping the Carpenters’ traditions alive with spot-on Carpenter renditions.
Andrea Gannon of the Arts Center said audiences should look forward to the productions planned for the upcoming season: “Noises Off,”” Kinky Boots,” and “Mamma Mia!”
Sanitization, temperature checks, social distancing, mask wearing are fully in place, along with contactless and cashless service.
Dec. 21: 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
ARTSHHI.COM. (843) 842-ARTS (2787)
Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute
Happy news! Southeastern Summer Theatre has recently announced plans to return to the stage safely in Summer 2021!
“With the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, and with others on the way, SSTI is confident in their ability to return to the production of live musicals for the Lowcountry this summer,” said Ben Wolfe.
SSTI will unveil its season in January. Wolfe says audiences can expect a great celebration as the theatre brings two classic musicals to the stage. “We prepared extensively to produce a season safely in 2020, before making the obvious decision to “pull the plug,” Wolfe said. “So this means we have mountains of safety equipment, and pages of protocols already designed and ready to be implemented at the appropriate scale for the status quo of June 2021.
“I don’t think I can even anticipate how incredible it will feel to hear that orchestra play the first note on opening night. It’s been a long time coming,” Wolfe added.
Young Artist Performances
Joe and Judy Gimbel, who direct the Young Artist Performances organization on Hilton Head Island, have made numerous accommodations to the Covid-19 outbreak, and as a result, have canceled a series of live appearances.
But they have arranged for nationally acclaimed 13-year-old cellist Joshua Kovac to record a performance at East Tennessee State University that will be aired on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at 7:30 pm.
“So, now, you have an opportunity to hear Josh and find out more about Young Artist Performances without leaving the comfort of your home,” said Joe Gimbel.
Josh, recipient of a 2020 Jack Kemp Cooke scholarship, has appeared on National Public Radio’s “From the Top.”
He was a three-time finalist in the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition in 2020. Josh studies with Czech cellist and professor Daniel Veis.
Josh will perform works by Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak and Popper. The performance, which is free and open to all, may be viewed at: https://youtu.be/APAuyVJkn_c.