GPAC’S ‘Grove’ schedules outdoor music movies
Described by publicists as “a dynamic new outdoor venue,” The Grove at the Germantown Performing Arts Center is making its debut as a public arts space this week with a series of movies about music, accompanied by live performances by such Memphis musicians as Mark Edgar Stuart and Art Edmaiston.
A covered, 70-foot-wide stage constructed in the woodsy area just north of the performing arts center, The Grove has space enough on its shady lawn — branded as the “Trugreen Lawn” — to accommodate about 1,200 patrons, who are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and so on.
A plaza — branded as the First Horizon Foundation Plaza — occupies the pedestrian entrance to The Grove. The plaza features a covered bar area with seats, room for food trucks and a performance space for small combos.
At about half the size of lawn in front of the Levitt Shell, the 1,200-”seat” Grove lawn is relatively cozy. But it will seem plenty spacious for the first few nights of events: Adhering to what GPAC executive director Paul Chandler describes as a “conservative and safe” interpretation of social-distancing guidelines, attendance for the opening week of events will be restricted to 65 patrons per night.
“We’re going to grow slowly, until we can reach our capacity audience,” he said.
Some three years in the making, the $7.5 million venue — funded with $2.5 million from private donors and foundations, a matching grant from the city of Germantown and a $2.5 million state grant — was designed to be a functional and versatile twin of the indoor stage at GPAC, which opened in 1994. “We call it an outdoor reflection of our indoor space,” Chandler said.
The Grove was scheduled to open May 2, and a full range of live performance events of all types was planned, including performances of the IRIS Orchestra.
“We used to plan about five months to 18 months in advance,” Chandler said. “We plan about seven days in advance now.”
Extreme circumstances aside, screening events always were intended to be part of the mix. And not just movies: For example, The Grove screen can simulcast live events taking place inside GPAC.
To that end, The Grove stage was built with what Chandler calls a “giant” — it’s 18 feet high and 31 feet wide — and “extremely high-definition” screen. The