Regional Spotlight: How the Billie Holiday Theatre is Working Through the Global Health Crisis

Now more than ever it is important to support theater and do our part to keep the art form that we love so much alive and as thriving as it can be during these unprecedented times. While the global health crisis has temporarily put the theater world on hold, pausing all live performances and large gatherings to help stop the spread of COVID-19, theaters around the country have taken a hit. During this time of adjusting to our temporary new normal, theaters are figuring out how to take care of their team, and discovering the best ways to virtually bring theater to audiences.

Through our regional theater interview series, we are checking in with theaters all around the country, talking to them about how they are handling these difficult circumstances, learning what they are doing to move forward, and discovering the best way for people to help regional theaters during this time.

Today we're checking in with the Billie Holiday Theatre. We chatted with Dr. Indira Etwaroo, Executive Director of the theatre.

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First of all, I want to check in on the health and wellbeing of everyone at the Billie Holiday Theatre. How is everyone doing during this difficult time?

Thanks so much for asking! As a team we are getting through this together and very much relying on one another. It has been quite inspiring to me personally. The team meets on Zoom regularly. This is not only to provide a platform for short- and long-term planning, but also to help keep the morale of the team up and to keep the team connected. We end each meeting with someone on the team sharing a positive affirmation and it really does wonders at keeping our spirits up!

Our hearts are with our community at this time. African Americans have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and we are the artistic anchor and theater home to the largest community of African Americans in the country. We are trying to remain as nimble and creative as possible to be of service: from moving content online to our costume team sewing face masks for vulnerable community members.

Note: Dr. Indira Etwaroo, The Billie's Executive Artistic Director, was diagnosed with COVID-19 and had to self-isolate in her home. She is doing well and is recovering and is still working.

What do the days look like right now for those who work at the Billie Holiday Theatre?

Morning check-in meetings via Zoom. Every role is working remotely. Department and other meetings are held via Zoom. Work is happening on flex basis because many staff members also have children and are home schooling. With both planning long -term and short-term with our #StayAtHome online reading series, we all have remained quite busy.

How much planning is going on both short term and long term for the theater? I would like to hear about the immediate plans for the theater, it's upcoming productions etc., and what the theater is hoping/planning for in future months.

Short Term - We have been working very hard in this interim period on The Billie's first online reading series - #StayAtHome. The Billie has always been an outlet and a gathering place for our Central Brooklyn neighborhood. In the midst of this pandemic, we wanted to continue to be a resource for our community and to find a creative way to stay connected to them.

We launched the #StayAtHome Reading Series in late March on our Facebook page with Richard Wesley's Autumn. Since then, we have been able to present readings regularly to our audience from our popular monologue showcase 50in50:Letters to Our Sons to, most recently, James Sheldon's Reparations, the critically acclaimed play that we presented as the highlight of our 2019 Fall Season last November. The reception from our audience has been really amazing with over 38,000 views and 5,000 comments from people from across the world.

Long Term - As with most arts institutions across the country, The Billie is pretty far along with our planning for the 2020-2021 Season. Of course, with things changing so rapidly and with so much of the near and distant future uncertain, we have had to reassess our original strategies and timing. The key now is constant and continued assessment of the landscape and flexibility. We are still holding our strategy meetings and planning and all of those things but we are now thinking of the long term through a different set of lenses given all that is happening in the world. We have to remain flexible and most of all, creative.

Do you have plans to bring any previously filmed productions/upcoming events/classes etc. online?

Right now, we are concentrating on presenting works for the #StayAtHome Series. The next presentation under #StayAtHome will be a special edition of 50in50 with 50in50:Love in the Time of Corona, which derives its title inspiration from the classic novel Love in the Time of Cholera by Nobel prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. 50in50: Love in the Time of Corona will have its premiere via The Billie's Facebook Live platform on Thursday, April 30th.

To mark this complex, ever-evolving, and unprecedented moment in our shared global history, 50in50:Love in the Time of Corona will feature stories from all people from all walks of life from across the world sharing how an act of love is guiding them through this global pandemic.

Additionally, The Billie has migrated classes for its Black Arts Institute, a partnership with Stella Adler Studio of Acting and NYU, as well as its Youth Arts Academy (YAA) to remote learning. Students will connect with each other and faculty through the platform Zoom and will maintain their normal class schedule to include Voice and Dialect, Movement Dance and Studio Rehearsal. YAA has moved to distance learning utilizing weekly classes presented asynchronously by the faculty on Vimeo.

What is the best way for people to help the Billie Holiday Theatre right now?

Individual donations are critical to our ability to continue to connect with our audiences during this time, and to start re-connecting in person once that is allowed, so we encourage anyone who has the means during these difficult times to donate to The Billie. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closing of theatres across New York City, the nation, and the world, leaving arts and culture organizations vulnerable, but none more so than those that serve communities of the global majority. Thirty percent of The Billie's annual revenue comes from ticketing, theatre rentals and other earned income streams that have been impacted by this pandemic. Individual support is especially vital to help us bridge that gap so we can continue to bring world-class art to our community.

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Learn more about the theatre at thebillieholiday.org. To donate, click here!