The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Raising the curtain in the 440
While the pandemic grinds mercilessly on, local director and entrepreneur Angela Miloro-Hansen is not waiting for the return of live theater to get her fledgling community group back in action.
Formed in 2019 shortly after her departure from a longtime post at the defunct Geauga Lyric Theater Guild in Chardon, Curtain 440 is MiloroHansen’s own traveling theater company.
Starting a theater troupe without a permanent home when there are (fortunately) so many community theater options available in the aforementioned zip code is difficult enough.
Little did she know she would be doing so just a year before a global pandemic would basically shutter live theater indefinitely.
“There are the obvious hurdles theater is facing right now that everyone knows about — unable to gather in large groups, performing with or without masks, the risk of spreading COVID, and the loss of revenue,” MiloroHansen tells me. “What many people don’t understand is the emotional toll this is taking on artists, and just how severe the revenue loss is.”
While everyone has lost something, most folks have found a way to muddle through or resume. Live theater, however, remains dormant. It is an existential and ongoing crisis in the arts community.
“Theater people need to perform,” Miloro-Hansen says. “They need to create sets, build costumes, and explore other worlds and stories. And everyone relies on artists — this entire pandemic, people have turned to books, movies, TV shows, online plays.
“The arts are a crucial part of who we are,” she continued. “Being shuttered for the better part of a year has been demoralizing, especially when we turn on the Super Bowl and see thousands of unmasked fans crowded in the stands.
“Forgetting for a moment whether or not you believe that large gatherings should even be permitted at the moment — how are the arts supposed to justify seeing the huge push for sports to return to normal while not being able to have 15 people in a building to watch a show?”
Tough to answer. Of course, artists are used to getting sloppy seconds to sports. But the longer it goes on, the more our country takes an economic hit as well as an artistic one.
“So many theater people are unaware of this that I don’t expect the general public to realize — the current allowed seating occupancy for theatrical productions in Ohio is just 15%,” Miloro- Hansen says. “I can’t think of one single business that could survive on only being able to operate at 15%.
“For many of us smaller theater companies, that means we can only seat nine to 40 people per show. That doesn’t even cover the cost of royalties, let alone the time, set, costumes, props, tech, etc.
“Virtual productions bring in only 5-10% of what a normal live show would, and sometimes not even that,” she continued. “We are all still working and doing everything in our power to keep the arts alive, and we are doing it for no pay, and while watching large crowds at both local and national sport events.
“We need to be given a lifeline,” she added. “We are beyond ready to return to our craft, adhering to all the safety guidelines and beyond (theater people are nothing if not excessive!), and we need the support of everyone behind us.”
In this difficult environment, despite the economic headwinds she mentions, Miloro-Hansen is relaunching her theater troupe to serve those looking for an artistic outlet.
“We have just started working on our spring season,” Miloro-Hansen says. “We are doing three shows to be released virtually in April. It’s a whole superhero theme.
“‘Adventures of a Comic Book Artist’ is our youth musical with ages 6-16,” she continued. “Our two teen/adult shows are ‘Hammered: A Thor and Loki Play’ by Christian Borle and ‘Squirrel Girl Goes to College’ by Karen Zacarias. Both are Marvel Spotlight shows, so they are actually Marvel approved.
“We are rehearsing virtually over Zoom and will meet a couple times in person at the end of the process to film the show. That way, our virtual release will be as close to the real deal as we can get right now.”
As evidence that there is a demand for artistic content, Miloro-Hansen says she has 35 people working on these shows.
“It’s wonderful to be back with everyone even if it is over Zoom,” Miloro-Hansen admits. “We even are able to have actors take part that don’t live in the area, so it’s really fun to be able to expand our reach that way.
“Our biggest hurdle right now is definitely rehearsing a musical over Zoom,” she continued. “Internet connections are not created equal and it makes musical timing pretty difficult.
“It’s only our first week of rehearsal though, so we will figure it out. The arts are not nothing if not resilient and adaptable after this year.”
Ticket information will be available at www.curtain440.com in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, Miloro-Hansen looks forward to the return of live performance and the hopes of finding a permanent home.
She says that Curtain 440 has been working with Newbury Township for the past year about the possibility of occupying the former Newbury Auditorium left behind during the merger with West Geauga School District.
It’s a central location in Geauga County, only 10 to 15 minutes down the road from Chardon, Burton, Chester, Middlefield, and Chagrin, and could be such a permanent home for Curtain 440.
“The Newbury Task Force Committee is also exploring the possibility of turning the rest of the old school property into a community center which could host athletic groups, music programs, art programs, a commercial kitchen, and so much more,” Miloro-Hansen says. “We are all so excited about this possibility.”
The Newbury property is currently owned by West Geauga after the 2020 merger and negotiations are currently underway to decide it’s ultimate outcome.
“The community center is not the only possibility, but is definitely the one we are most excited about it,” Miloro-Hansen says. “Community support for this project is crucial to making it a reality. If you are excited about the possibility of a community theater and all that a community center has to offer in the heart of Geauga county, please let the West Geauga school board and the Newbury trustees know.
“When the pandemic is over, we are all going to want to flock to the theater for a live performance, and what a great place to do so.”