They’re back at the NAC
After shutting its doors due to the pandemic, the Norwich Arts Center starts offering concerts again
Last March, like every entertainment venue in the state, the Norwich Arts Center closed down. COVID-19 was raging, and Connecticut officials were trying to contain the spread.
More than a year later, NAC is opening its theater doors once again.
It will host its first performance on Saturday; it’s an acoustic concert by Mike Van & Friends featuring roots, rock and folk music. Mike Van Vlaenderen (aka Mike Van) is a member of the NAC board of directors, and the show will be a fundraiser for NAC.
Next up will be the return of NAC’s popular Blues on Broadway on May 12 with a concert by the Balkun Brothers. Then, d’Allegro brings in jazz, R&B, contemporary and easy listening music on May 28 for another NAC benefit.
NAC decided to reopen its Donald L. Oat Theater now because Gov. Ned Lamont is allowing 50 percent capacity at similar venues. That means the Oat Theater can hold 50 people.
NAC President Kris Nickerson says, “What makes us a little different from most theaters — you can picture, for example, the Garde; they have permanent seating. Ours is just one big open room, and we literally have folding chairs. So
we can decide if we’re going to set it up what we call cabaret-style — if a couple came in, we could set up a table with two chairs just for them, and then we can distance them 6 feet from the next group that buys tickets.”
In addition to distancing, there will be masks in place. All the volunteers working at the theater will wear masks, and NAC will ask guests to keep their masks on unless they are, say, sipping a beverage.
Nickerson says these first concerts are a great way to ease back into live shows because there are a small number of performers onstage; none of these concerts has a big band or a large cast onstage.
Financial challenges
Arts organizations have struggled financially during the pandemic, but NAC faced an additional issue.
NAC has no paid employees, and the grants and federal programs to help theaters and arts organizations during COVID have been for venues with paid staff, Nickerson notes.
“Because we don’t (have paid staff), we don’t qualify, so it’s really been a challenge to stay afloat, but I’m proud to say we have,” she says.
Through it all, NAC still had to take care of its building, located on Broadway in Norwich.
“If it wasn’t for our mortgage holder — they did a deferment for a year on our mortgage — things would have been a little different. But that was really a financial lifeline,” Nickerson says.
Gallery open, considering panto
NAC reopened its art gallery, meanwhile, before Thanksgiving, since there is a loyal following for its holiday show of work by artists and artisans that can be given as gifts.
That site was easier to reopen; with two doors, people could enter one door, walk through whatever exhibition was on view, and exit through the other door. In addition, the gallery doesn’t typically get big crowds, except for First Fridays, which haven’t taken place during the pandemic but are scheduled to return in May.
The gallery closed for about five weeks after Christmas, as some painting and cleaning was done inside, and then reopened in February.
As of now, the Oat Theater isn’t ready for a full stage production, but NAC folks are in very early discussions about the annual Christmas show, the panto, which is the most popular thing NAC does.
(A panto is a British theater piece performed during the Christmas season that is based on fairy tales and features broad humor.)
Asked how everyone at NAC feels about getting ready to have their first few live concerts after more than a year off, Nickerson says, “Oh, my gosh, we’re just so excited. You know, it’s what the performers live for. We’ve tried a few virtual things that have been successful, but there’s nothing like a live audience.”