durham inc.
THE SHOW GOES ON: THE RETURN OF LIVE PERFORMANCES PUBLIC HEALTH RESTRICTIONS HAVE EASED, AND STAGE CURTAINS ARE RISING BY ANNE TATE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
fter a 15-month shutdown, after Labor Day. In-person events The Fruit reopened at its will be limited to the main level, full 1,100-person capacity including the first floor of the in June – nine weeks performance hall. At full capacity, earlier than planned – Hayti can hold up to 500 people, to host a Juneteenth but in September, only around commemoration with 150 seats will be available. music and an art show. Spaces in the Durham Arts Everything, including Council building are also opening admission, was free. “It slowly, Executive Director Sherry was intended to be this DeVries said. It began hosting celebration of, ‘Welcome limited in-person events in back, let’s do this,’” said October 2020 and offered 24 Tim Walter, founder performing arts camps and 11 of the South Dillard on-site classes this summer. The Street event venue. “It DAC hosted its first in-person wasn’t about making money. It Third Friday event in June for was about showing the art and 104 visitors total, with only 25 being back together.” people allowed in the In March, nearly a building at a time. year after the Hayti The PSI Theatre Heritage Center opened in July for THE FRUIT MADE closed to the public, a private, in-person $2,000 AVAILABLE its slam poetry dance performance TO HELP ARTISTS team performed for the first time MOUNT THEIR in the gallery for a since COVID-19 socially distanced, closures began. WORK AND in-person audience The arts nonprofit CHARGED THEM NO of 20. Hayti gradually hopes to bring the COMMISSION. resumed limitedtheater back to its capacity, in-person 175- to 200-seat programming in the capacity, but it’s still months following, undetermined when beginning with dance that will happen. classes, slam poetry, It’s a similar story artist exhibitions across the event and its music series, venue board: The Executive Director cinemas at The Angela Lee said. Carolina Theatre Hayti will open for reopened on July outside facility rentals 23, and its 1,000-
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seat auditorium will reopen at full capacity with a wave of concerts and live events immediately after Labor Day; the Durham Performing Arts Center reopened at full capacity on Aug. 2, kicking off the venue’s “August of Rock”; Motorco Music Hall reopens at its full 450-person capacity on Aug. 23; and The Pinhook will open to full capacity performances on Sept. 1, starting with weekend-only shows. Duke Performances will welcome visitors back to Duke University’s campus with a celebratory performance on the Baldwin Quad the last weekend of August, Vice Provost for the Arts John Brown said. Its multiple indoor stages across campus officially reopen for a booked fall season on Sept. 12.
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any adjustments were made behind the scenes to enhance safety at these venues, taking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and local health departments. Of course, protocols could change before and after reopenings based on the status of the pandemic and readjusted health guidelines. Nearly $100,000 worth of new sound equipment was installed
the week The Fruit shut down at the start of the pandemic. During closures, the basement bar and bathrooms were completely renovated. And now, there’s neon everywhere. “We gave studio space to a neon artist, and he pays us in neon,” Walter said. Hayti staff held bi-weekly meetings to ensure constant communication. They contacted vendors and performers and discussed multiple backup plans for each event, keeping busy despite Hayti’s closure. “In many ways, we have not skipped a beat,” Lee said. Hayti underwent facility repairs and renovations, some of which are still in progress due to logistical problems and supply shortages caused by the pandemic. As of press time, guests are required to wear masks and to practice social distancing inside the facilities. DPAC put together a “Safety First Task Force” of four senior staffers soon after it closed. They research how other performing arts centers across the nation reopened and plan safety improvements at DPAC at each weekly meeting. “We’ve logged over 1,500 hours collectively,” said Josette Roten, DPAC’s marketing and public relations manager. Updates include a new air purification system and increased disinfection of high-touch surfaces. The