Interview: Artistic Director Laura Nicholas on Centre Stage's Grand Reopening Season

After a year of being closed to indoor performance, Centre Stage's indoor venue reopens this summer with MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO Frank Sinatra.

The revue features a small cast and a live jazz band in an intimate - and socially-distanced - jazz club environment.

"We actually auditioned this show way back in February 2020," says Centre Stage Managing Artistic Director Laura Nicholas. "Ironically, this is the only show from the 2020-2021 season that is being performed exactly on the dates we originally planned!"

The full 2021-2022 Season kicks off in September with shows previously postponed as well as some new titles. See the graphic below for the full lineup.

BWW asked Nicholas to tell us about how she put together the new lineup and what changes we can expect with the return to live theatre.

---

BWW: How did you go about choosing the grand reopening season?

These shows are mostly shows that we previously had planned that we didn't get to do! In large part, we had already cast and staffed these titles in February 2020, so it seemed only natural to look at the work we'd already done and see how we could implement it into our new season. In thinking through all our new COVID protocols and safety measures, we also thought small casts through the end of the year would be safer for everyone involved.

BWW: How do you think rehearsals and performances will differ in the new environment?

We've spent a great deal of time thinking through all the details this past year. Our patio shows and virtual projects have really been helpful to us in learning how to effectively take care of the artists we serve. I feel like we are going into MY WAY in somewhat familiar territory as far as rehearsals are concerned.

Now, having a live audience in the theatre is something completely different! Don't get me wrong, we have spent a great deal of time thinking through all the details and I am confident we'll be able to keep everyone safe at our reduced capacity, but this is something we haven't done before. We're looking forward to making the absolute most of it. From the audience standpoint, I think it will feel different, but new. We've selected pieces that truly lend themselves to a more intimate setting and we're being thoughtful about the environment we're creating as a whole. We've started holding creative meetings already for several of our upcoming shows and I'm so excited about each and everyone of them! It's my hope that audience members will not somehow feel let down by being part of a smaller, spread out crowd, but instead feel like they are a part of something truly unique and special. That is what we're working hard to do!

BWW: Tell us about your new safety protocols.

Seating will be socially distanced in our theatre and seats will be sold in pods of two. We will also be requiring masks for entry and checking temperatures at the door. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the facility and signage will be posted encouraging social distancing and handwashing. We'll be opening the house an hour prior to showtime (as opposed to half an hour) to allow for staggered entry. Probably the most exciting part of being shutdown is that we had time to totally replace and upgrade our HVAC system with added ionization and filtration as recommended by the CDC. The air quality is much improved throughout the facility. Not to mention, we are able to better control the temperature in the theatre from the bottom to the top of our seating area! Although we know air quality, distancing, and mask-wearing are the keys to success when it comes to safety in groups, the theatre seats will also be disinfected after each performance with our hospital-grade, electrostatic sprayer for good measure!

BWW: What are you most excited about for the reopening?

Well, this is probably obvious, but just being about to commune with humans in the same space and share a theatrical piece of art! There is just no replacement for this type of experience and we have so missed having performances in our space. But, honestly, I'm also excited about not having to check the weather every ten minutes leading up to a performance (as I did religiously for our patio and parking lot shows)! I can't tell you how exciting it is to me to just be using our comfortable, cozy inside theatre space.

---

For more information contact the box office at 864.233.6733 or visit CentreStage.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.