Read full review'‘“Live theater is essential for a community because it is a forum where people can come together, share an experience then talk about the viewpoints explored in the show with the artists and with each other. As our global community becomes more and more socially online, that type of personal connection is invaluable.”
“It has been almost a year since Arts Orange County, which monitored the health of cultural groups during the pandemic and helped organize financial aid, surveyed the local arts community. In April 2021, it reported financial losses of more than $121 million and about 2,700 staff reductions”
“This April, ‘Cry It Out’ is about new parents struggling to identify the best way forward – stay at home as a caregiver to their babies or return to the workforce either out of financial necessity, professional ambition or familial pressure,” Long said of an upcoming play at Chance Theater. “Although these are struggles that working parents have dealt with for many years, there is something about finding the right path forward that I think will resonate with our audiences.”
“I think what has changed the most is that our audiences are more adept at virtual tools and smartphone technology,” Long said. “Our patrons are now much more comfortable getting on a Zoom call or scanning a QR code to read the show’s playbill than they would have been before the shutdown. As an organization, we’ve also become better at online programming – our ‘Some Good News O.C.’ series, which combines positive news from our community with comedy bits and artist interviews, will be continuing for the foreseeable future.”
“During the shutdown, it became emphatically apparent that there is absolutely no substitution for the live theater experience, so we will do everything in our power to never shut our doors again.”
“The arts proved by their absence that no virtual experience equals the impact of experiencing a play, concert or work of art communally in real time.”
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