SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | MARCH 29, 2020
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Virus has Scottsdale musicians singing the blues BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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Hey, Austin friends! I’m comin’ for ya!” southern Scottsdale resident and fulltime musician Chad Rubin wrote on Facebook on Feb. 25. Rubin was gearing up to perform as a sponsored artist for Atari and the Antstream Arcade, calling it one of his biggest live performing opportunities – “if not the biggest.” Ten days later, though, Austin canceled this year’s South by Southwest festival, marking only the beginning of a slew of canceled gigs for Rubin. “This has been a tough time for everyone,” the singer-songwriter said. “I have lost thousands of dollars in work as well as major opportunities to potentially further my career.” Rubin is a multi-genre songwriter who
Scottsdale resident and full-time musician Chad Rubin was supposed to perform at SXSW this year. Since it was canceled, most of his upcoming live gigs were canceled. (Daniel Ruben)
performs frequently in Scottsdale, including W Scottsdale, Boondocks, and Kazimierz Wine & Whiskey Bar, where he’s had a residency since it reopened last year. But in the wake of the coronavirus, he’s had 80 percent of his upcoming gigs through the summer cancel on him. And for the remaining gigs on his calendar, he has conflicting feelings about performing. “My No. 1 thing right now is I have parents who are in their late 60s and I wouldn’t
put myself in any kind of situation where I put them in any kind of harm’s way. There’s not an opportunity or a number on a paycheck at this point,” Rubin said. As listeners increasingly turn to streaming services to listen to music, musicians tour and play gigs to support themselves. A 2018 survey by the Music Industry Research Association and the Princeton University Survey Research Center in partnership with the Recording Academy’s MusiCares found that live performances were the “most common income source for musicians.” But as businesses close their doors and postpone or cancel events, it leaves many musicians, including Rubin, without work. “My main source of income is playing live,” Rubin said. “I do it to get better, and
see MUSICIANS page 16
Local actress entertains kids with remote events BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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local actress dressed up as Cinderella sits on southern Scottsdale resident Sara Bernstein’s back patio, a laptop propped in front of her. Cinderella is reading a story into the laptop camera to more than 200 children watching remotely across the country. This live virtual event is a new, free offering from Scottsdale-based Storybook Entertainment, a company owned by Bernstein that’s hosted nearly 3,000 character-themed parties for infants, kids and teens since 2014. With Bernstein’s clients canceling parties in the wake of the coronavirus – nearly 30 over the span of two weeks alone – she launched the virtual events to not only continue paying her cast of nearly 30 contracted actors but also continue to do
what her company does best: put smiles on children’s faces. “As I’m monitoring the chat, I’m seeing the 10 pages of smiling faces of all the little kids in their houses, smiling and dancing and playing. For me, that’s just heartwarming because everyone’s nervous right now and everyone feels the stress but seeing smiling faces for a half hour of little 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds who are just having joy for a little while. It makes my heart happy,” Bernstein said. Bernstein makes no money from the virtual events but still pays her cast – and will continue to do so, at least through March. “I’m trying to find a few ways to keep their income streams a little bit, and then hopefully it will translate to other possible work,” she explained. The 20-to-30-minute events take place via Zoom nearly every day with a differ-
Local actress Karissa Anderson-Self, dressed up as Cinderella, reads a story to the kids who tuned into Storybook Entertainment’s first live virtual event. (Storybook Entertainment)
ent activity planned for each event. So far, each has attracted more than 200 kids. In addition to story time, participating kids can also color with Beauty, play games with Tianna, do yoga with SpiderHero, dance with the Little Mermaid, paint with Rapunzel and sing with the “Frozen” sisters. Characters and activities vary but every event encourages attendees to give back to a specific charity. The first two charities Bernstein chose are Alice’s Dream Foundation and Arizona Helping Hands. She had spoken with her friend Sherie Siegel, Arizona Helping Hands corporate engagement officer “about how we could do a charitable aspect of it as well.” Alice’s Dream Foundation is a Maryland nonprofit that provides durable medical
see STORYBOOK page 16
