Orlando arts season preview
Palm: The 2020-21 campaign gets in gear — with new rules.
Curtain up! Mask up!
The 2020-21 arts season is finally in gear, though it certainly doesn’t look anything like the seasons that have come before.
Remember when a night at the theater meant making friends with the people sitting next to you during intermission? Now it’s all about keeping your distance.
The new etiquette doesn’t mean silencing your phone (though you should still be doing that!), it means keeping your mask in place (that’s over both nose and mouth, people). And who knows? Maybe there’s a benefit to that: Face masks could cut down on the irritating amount of talking during a concert or other production.
But let’s be real: There’s not much of an upside for cultural organizations or audiences during this coronavirus pandemic. Theaters, dance troupes, orchestras, museums — all face additional expenses and less income.
For us in the audience there are challenges, too: We have to make a lot of changes in the way we experience the arts.
Visiting an art museum these days doesn’t mean just dropping in. Most ask you to sign up online in advance for a specific day and time; that’s so the institutions can manage their capacity and keep visitors physically distanced for safety.
With many theater productions and concerts moving online, there’s a whole new technology to learn for many of us. Hard to believe there was a time when we didn’t even know that Zoom existed.
When we do venture to an event in person, things are unfamiliar. At the Garden Theatre’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” guests had to enter the venue by a particular door and wait to be dismissed from the theater like children being excused for recess — all in the name of keeping people distanced.
Some theaters aren’t selling concessions, some have canceled traditional post-show cast meetand-greets, some have eliminated paper playbills and tickets.
Other organizations have found whole new locations, which leads to questions for patrons about parking and seating. On Sept. 26, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will become the first U.S. symphony to give a full concert in a Major League Soccer arena when it opens its season in Exploria Stadium.
Yes, this is all quite disorienting. But here’s the thing: It’s all worth it when you hear the first notes from a violin or gaze upon a challenging painting or laugh as an actor delivers a zinger with comic panache. In unsettling times, the arts are there for us — to give context to what we are feeling, to make us think about others’ perspectives, to remind us we are not alone and, yes, to occasionally let us escape from reality for a couple of hours.
Take advantage of that — with proper care — and remember, that right now the arts need us to be there for them, too.
In this year’s Orlando Sentinel Arts Season Preview, we are listing events that can be attended in public, and those that can be enjoyed online at home.
Because the coronavirus situation could change at any time, it is even more important than usual to check with organizations before buying tickets or heading
out. The websites of the cultural groups have the most up-to-date information about their COVID-19 precautions, such as timed entry, temperature checks, mask requirements and more.
So dig in and find that piece of music that stirs your soul, that theatrical performance that touches your heart, that piece of art that makes you think. It might take a little more effort, but the payoff will be as rewarding as ever. This year, maybe even more so.