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    • Paul Atreides
      • Sep 6, 2020
      • 4 min read

    “Struggle” is on the boards

    Updated: Jan 16


    Art, performing art in particular, is in for the fight of its life. Literally.


    I don’t know how many millions tuned in to the Mouse’s streaming of “Hamilton,” but I know millions signed up for Disney+ just to see it. And millions watched the live versions of “Rent,” “Grease,” and “Hairspray” on broadcast television.


    For the foreseeable future, theatregoers, this is what we’ve got.


    For example, Broadway is preparing and planning on moving forward on production of “Diana,” a musical about Princess Di, which will live stream before it hits any stage with an audience. “Diana” is being filmed with multiple cameras for Netflix. As Broadway producer Ken Davenport (“Kinky Boots”) said, “Now, the question is . . . will other shows follow? Which ones? And will it happen during the pandemic? Or when Broadway comes back? And will “Diana” sell more tickets because of this stream?”


    See the anxiety there in those questions? The fact is, we are all anxious to return to “normal.” To get back into the theatre and see a good show. But, no one is more anxious and eager for a return to the boards than regional and local theatres; particularly those organizations that have venues for which they’re trying to pay rent. And insurance. And all the other costs that don’t go away just because there is no current production.


    I reached out across the country to a variety of organizations. Most community theatres rent show by show; either a civic-owned property, like libraries, or other space. But there are local and regional theatres struggling to keep a hold on their facilities.

    LVLT's main stage went red for the nationwide We Make Events "Red Alert" pandemic relief event on Sep 1st, 2020.

    The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles is one such organization. Founded approximately 30 years ago, it’s a small house (under 100) and a professional company; they pay the actors, directors, stage hands, etc. They do some new and original pieces, and have won many awards over the years in a critically tough market. According to Producing Director Simon Levy, they are working diligently to keep the name out in front of their patrons’ eyes.


    Among a variety of Saturday matinee performances by guest artists, and interviews with directors and playwrights, they’re doing readings of plays that cover current issues. “We’re also about to launch our first foray into Pay-Per-View with a fully rehearsed, digitally enhanced, story-boarded, and edited reading of ‘The Ballad of Emmitt Till,’ with the original director and cast of the Fountain’s award-winning production to mark the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till’s murder and the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington.


    “Online theatre, and engaging with audiences over the internet is here to stay,” added Levy, “and will become an even more important, permanent part of our future programming to augment the live experience….”


    At the other end of the spectrum is Blue Fire Theatre, a fairly new group in Florida, in business for less than a year. While they’re nomadic, they still have incidental bills to pay; insurance, website-related costs. Without a fully-realized and dedicated fan base, they are becoming more active on social media. They tried Facebook Live interviews and workshops. According to founding member Toni D’Amico, even that “quickly became mundane. Now, we try to remain in the public eye by posting something every day or every other day. Relevant articles about Broadway, or reposting things from our community partners.”


    Here in Las Vegas, while the ballet and philharmonic worry – along with their host venue The Smith Center – about how to stay alive with the bills racking up, smaller organizations, that are greatly (some might say ‘egregiously’) ignored by the local mainstream media, have it even tougher.


    Rent is due along with the incidental necessities of a business. It piles up, and income is at a standstill.

    Poor Richard's offers storytime with local actors.

    Poor Richard’s Players has been around for a long while now but had only recently rented and renovated a space. Ben Loewy, Artistic Director, says, “Still have it…for now. Hanging on for dear life.”


    They tried the streaming thing early, introducing “Playhouse Storytime” in March, featuring entertainers from across the valley reading their favorite stories. “The audience reaction was very positive but the scope of viewership was lower than we had hoped,” Loewy said.


    Las Vegas Little Theatre has had the same type of response to its two attempts at streaming, and the royalty fees for the latest seemed not to consider the financial strain community companies are under.


    Poor Richard’s will try again in mid-September with a full production of “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher. Tickets will be $20 per household. Adding to the enticement this go-round: “Once The Playhouse reopens, the $20 spent on “Three Viewings” can be used toward a ticket for a live event.”


    The same stories can be found across the country. What makes all this even more bitter: In times of darkness and political upheaval, society typically turns to entertainment to help weather the storm. The difference is that - especially here in Nevada – even though movie houses are now able to operate, live performances will most likely be the last thing allowed to reopen. Without help, your favorite theatre company may not make it off life-support. Unless…unless we embrace this new medium of entertainment in the short term.


    It took more than 30 years for Las Vegas to lose the ‘cultural wasteland’ reputation. We can’t let that character status return. We need to fight against it. While nobody is asking, as one politician is in encouraging people to go without food in order to send her money, I certainly do hope you’ll make a donation to local theatre. Or buy tickets to streaming productions. They may not be as fancy and slick as the Mouse’s, but it will ensure that local theatre is able to greet you when the doors open again.

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    • Sarah O'Connell
      • Jul 9, 2020
      • 2 min read

    Local Arts community weighs in on Nevada's special session

    Arts are essential to Nevada, our economy and our humanity

    Members of the Las Vegas valley arts sector have signed on to a joint letter reminding Gov. Steve Sisolak and lawmakers that the arts are essential to Nevada as they determine budget cuts and possible revenue increases in response to the devastating COVID crisis.


    The letter, spearheaded by Wendy Kveck of the Desert Arts Action Coalition and local artist Brent Holmes, has a growing list of over one hundred signatures by local organizations and individuals including Eat More Art Vegas. Its message, crafted in collaboration with local arts leaders and community allies, urges policymakers to "remember that the arts are essential to Nevada, to our economy, and to our humanity."


    Prior to the pandemic, the arts and culture sector contributed a larger share than mining to the state’s economy - $8.7 billion representing 5.5% of Nevada’s GDP. The letter points out the disproportionate, negative impact on the members of the local arts community that includes small nonprofits, event professionals, and educators among others.


    "As cultural producers, small business owners, independent contractors in the arts and live entertainment industries, too many of us have been financially impacted by closures. Education, social services, and cultural institutions are still recovering from the cuts imposed during the last recession; many artists and creatives work in these critical sectors. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 has revealed the deep inequities of our healthcare, social, and economic systems."


    The group encourages bold action that will transform the current crisis into a landmark opportunity for "diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility" that protects the most vulnerable and puts "collective safety and well-being over profit".


    The letter concludes:


    "As you consider what is essential, please remember that the arts are essential to Nevada, to our economy, and to our humanity. The arts cultivate an in-demand workforce and our next generation of leadership. They teach critical thinking, civic engagement, empathy, kindness, and cross-cultural understanding. The arts nurture hope, healing and resiliency, which this critical moment calls for."


    Concerned citizens are invited to sign on to the letter here.


    The letter:


    #EatMoreArt #VegasBornArts #NoRecoveryWithoutArts

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    • Sarah O'Connell
      • Jun 16, 2020
      • 8 min read

    One Day More: Local theatre artists show the unifying power of #VegasBornArts amid adversity



    Thankfully for the rest of us, most theatre artists do not give up when times are tough. Their resilience is often fueled by the fellowship of others who courageously join forces as an ensemble and dedicate their energy to a common purpose. Fortunately for our local theatre community, Ray Winters is one local performing artist who was willing to lead the way.


    Ray Winters started making theatre in 2009 at Bishop Gorman High School where his performance journey met with early success including a production of Godspell at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, NE. The first-ever "Best Actor" winner of the Nevada High School Musical Theatre Awards at The Smith Center, Winters attended the 5th Annual Jimmy Awards in 2013 along with their professional Broadway training intensive. After studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey for a few years with the intent of studying with their Musical Theatre program, he took a four-year pause from performing.


    In 2018 the call to create propelled him to audition for Signature Productions' Newsies, earning "Best Actor" for his performance of "Jack Kelly" at the 2019 Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards. Since then, Winters has taken advantage of every performance opportunity that comes along including as "Chip Tolentino" in Las Vegas Little Theatre's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and "Lumiere" in Huntsman Entertianment's Beauty and the Beast that was forced to cancel its run just two weeks before opening due to COVID. As the world waits for theatres to reopen, Winters is focusing his effort on graduating with a degree in film from UNLV in Fall 2020.

    Ray Winters (c.) with the ensemble of 'Newsies' at Signature Productions. 2018. Photo: Jilliene Michelle Photography

    Last April as the COVID closures began to take their toll, Ray Winters made the call to local performers to come together for a virtual chorus to sing "One Day More" from Les Miserables and they did not disappoint. We asked Ray to tell us about his journey with the project:


    Ray Winters in "Spelling Bee" at Las Vegas Little Theatre. Photo: KM2 Creative. 2019.

    EMAV: Why did you decide to make the video?

    RW: It was sort of an idea that I said out loud as a hypothetical to my boyfriend, and then the more that I thought about it the more I wanted it to become a reality. I was sitting in my room, very bored, and I kept seeing these videos of performers on Broadway and the West End doing virtual chorus performances from various shows. So I thought to myself "wouldn't it be really cool to get a bunch of thespians from Vegas together to create something like this?" I for one had/have been very much so longing to get back on stage and create some art, and I knew for a fact that most performers in Vegas had to feel the same way!


    EMAV: Who helped you produce it?

    RW: I had some fantastic helpers along the way. Dr. James Whiting graciously helped me MD and conduct this ordeal! Without him, it would have probably been a bit of a mess. Every step of the way I reached out to one of my best friends Keaton Johns (who is a brilliant Enjorlas in the video), seeing if he could hear anything I was missing, and essentially assistant directing the project! And finally, another one of my best friends Steffan Scrogan (the Davey to my Jack in "Newsies") offered to create the video- he does it for a living, so I definitely was excited to see what he'd do with it. And also, YOU and Troy Heard helped me get the word to people I didn't know, helping me get the 58 performers that participated!

    EMAV: What was the process? How long did it take and was the hardest part? RW: So I had the initial idea late March/early April, I started asking around early April, and from about April 22nd-May 22nd I was taking in submissions from whoever wanted to join in the fun! I would try to work on putting together the audio (splicing it together in GarageBand to make it as precise as possible) a few times a week! Truthfully the hardest part for me was getting myself to stop working on it and take breaks. Aside from some schoolwork, I really only had this project and some TikToks to work on, so I really devoted a lot of time to it! There was one day I genuinely spent 8 hours almost non-stop working on it. Another hard part was trying to make sure that the vocals were as balanced as possible. That's where James and Keaton's help came in handy.

    EMAV: What has the impact of COVID been on your life? On local theatre? When do you think shows by local theatres will resume? RW: COVID has genuinely forced me to work on my self-discipline, and has made me reevaluate what is truly important to me. It's really easy to be unmotivated during this time, especially for people like myself who struggle with anxiety and depression, so the first few months were definitely rough for me. I was TWO WEEKS from opening "Beauty And The Beast" with Huntsman Entertainment as Lumiere, and all at once, we were cancelled- then public spaces began closing left and right.


    Theatre is like therapy for me, it's cathartic, it's a really personal process, and so losing that outlet was definitely difficult. It's especially easy right now to get stuck in a rut; days tend to consist of "wake up, go sit on couch, play video games, go downstairs and make food, return to couch, maybe shower, go to sleep, repeat" so it wasn't insanely easy for me to just continue with business as usual. But, throughout the past few months I've really been pushing myself to continue working on things that inspire me. I continued taking vocal lessons again (via Skype), I started seeing a therapist who ROCKS, I pushed myself to pursue virtual performances (like Bill Fayne's weekly cabarets), I finally signed up for Backstage.com which led me to some really cool performance opportunities, and I've been trying to create art as much as I can.


    Ray Winters. Photo: Stan Judd
    Art is kind of what gets me through, so I refused to just sit back and accept "well, I can't do that anymore."
    – Ray Winters

    Art is kind of what gets me through, so I refused to just sit back and accept "well, I can't do that anymore." Local theatre, obviously, had to be put on hold. I know several shows have been postponed 'till Fall, and I also know several shows (like mine) that were put in this sort of Twilight Zone place of "we want to still put it on, we are confident that we will, we just don't know when or where." Especially with the removal/changing of the Henderson Pavilion, "Beauty and The Beast" would've been my last opportunity to perform there, now it's closed so I'll (most likely) never get that chance.



    I would like to think that theatres will open back up for the Fall season, however it just depends on what happens with the COVID situation. If it lessens in severity, then I'm sure we'll be able to come back. Unfortunately, however, I do think that it won't be the same for a bit. Obviously, for the audience there will be less seating available to accommodate for social distancing, but it'll also be much different for the actors too. Rehearsals tend to be in closed off rooms, with sometimes as many as 20+ people depending on the cast. All very close together, and breathing heavy from singing and dancing. We've all seen our fair share of show plagues, how one person's cold can turn into 5, to 10, and so on. So, it really just depends on when we all feel comfortable enough to start working again. It's sad, but sometimes just because we really want to doesn't mean we should. But, don't get me wrong, I'm optimistic about the future! We just have to be smart and considerate.

    EMAV: Why is it important to protect our local theatre companies and arts community? RW: I think that if anything, COVID should have proven to the world that the Arts ARE necessary for human survival. One thing that gave me something to look forward to every single week during the pandemic was the new season of Rupaul's Drag Race, it was a much needed escape from the situation we'd found ourselves in. I believe that the same could be said for every person about some form of art. What did people start doing when they couldn't go outside? Watching TV, watching movies, playing video games, reading books, learning to sew, learning to paint, learning how to do makeup, teaching themself to dance, etc. etc. Self expression is good for the soul, it helps us get things out that we sometimes didn't even know we had inside of us. Art can be an escape, and it can be how people cope. Theatre is that for me, among other things.


    Ray Winters in rehearsal as 'Lumiere' with Huntsman Entertianment. 2020.

    Theatre has been a form of entertainment for ages, and Las Vegas is a city that prides itself as the "entertainment capital of the world", rightfully so, so it only makes sense to me that our performers, on and off the strip, should be protected. Local theatre is an outlet for so many different types of performers: people just starting out, people who always wanted to try it but never could, people who have been doing it for years but don't want to pursue it as a full time career, people who do want to pursue it as a career, it's always been there for people. And our local scene is so strong, and so passionate, it's really inspiring to see. I consider myself insanely lucky to be a part of this community.

    EMAV: What projects or shows do you hope to see produced when theatres reopen? RW: This is one of my favorite questions to ever answer, because I have many shows I'd love to see. The one that's been on my mind for a while now is "The Last Five Years" by Jason Robert Brown- the music is SO much fun to sing, the story is gorgeous and inventive, and the characters are simply incredible. I would also love to see "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Heathers", "The Drowsy Chaperone", "Next To Normal", "Aida", "The Color Purple", among many others, and you know what, let's do "Newsies" again while we're at it.

    EMAV: Where can we watch the video?

    RW: The video will be premiering on June 16th at 5:00pm local Vegas time on my YouTube (just my name "Ray Winters" with my headshot, not "Chray" which is my other YouTube) but you can find the link right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IYIAKk6go 


    I really can't wait for everyone to see it, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get emotional watching it through the first time. A big thank you to everyone who helped me, and everyone who has participated, we made something really special and I'm so incredibly thrilled that we could all come together to make something beautiful even though we have to be apart right now. I look forward to the honor of sharing the stage with you again.


    You can follow Ray Winters on instagram @_RayWinters_, and on TikTok @ray.winters



    One Day More Las Vegas Thespian Edition cast (alphabetical by first name):


    Conducted by: Dr. James Whiting Adrian Madamba

    Alexandria Orr

    Alize Cruz

    Andy Morris Arianna Mercy Ariel Johnson Audrey Hansen Kunkel Bella Simon Bonita Bunt Christopher Velho Dawson Mullen Destiny Faith Diana Massi Eric McArdle Gail Romero Glenn Heath Haylee Elizabeth Hunter Nolen Isabella Ray Jane Ann Bartell Jeff Stults Jenelle Catherina Jessica Washer JJ Bettencourt Jonathan Tuala Kate Sirls Katie Marie Jones Keaton Delmar Johns Kelly Edgar Kristina Wells Lauren Taylor Marissa Massaro MaryBeth Zentner Maxwell Claydon McKenna Winesett Melani Veilleux Miranda Lopez Monica Johns Olivia Rae O’Brien Paul Iwanicki Ray Winters Rowan Johns Sandra Huntsman Sarah O’Connell Sean Michael Driscoll Shana Selene Spencer Debenham Steffan Scrogan Stephanie Miller Claydon Steve Huntsman Steven Fehr Tieran Horton Tory Ramirez Wade C. Abel Wayne Morton Will Haley



    #EatMoreArt #vegastheatre #VegasBornArts

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