#SHARETHEGOOD ANNUAL REPORT ~ 2020
THE YEAR THAT ALMOST WASN'T... As we approach the end of 2020, it would be easy to focus on the things that we didn't get to do. After all, just three months into the year, everything stopped. And just when we thought things were getting better; they weren't. As of this writing, there is still much unrest and uncertainty. It is understandable how we all might want to hide under the covers and hope that the dawning of the new year brings better days. But we refuse to let this year end on a bad note. There really was a lot of good. So we hope you will indulge us as we reflect on some of the positive things that Town Theatre experienced in 2020. We're choosing to #sharethegood.
Thankfully, Town had completed three of its five season shows when the pandemic hit. At almost any other time in our season, having to stop suddenly ~ and then having the opportunity to start again ~ would likely not have been possible. Not wanting to lose connection with our community, we held our Poppins Car Parade on March 26. Members of the Mary Poppins cast journeyed through Columbia for 3-plus hours. We waived, we sang, we smiled and we cried... but we connected. It was amazing. Due to hard-working staff and faculty, we were able to quickly transition our youth theatre students at all levels to virtual classes ~ not missing a beat. That "boot camp" in interacting online allowed us to develop and host a successful summer camp program.
With fall came the restructuring of our youth theatre program. We still couldn't operate as a theatre, but we could teach online and in-person. Thankfully, the renovation of the Will Moreau Youth Theatre Wing was completed the summer before. That permitted us the space to conduct small classes so that students could distance appropriately.
We learned how to create outdoor theatre opportunities. Thanks to the Marwin Company and to the City of Forest Acres, we constructed temporary stages where we presented everything from a series of cabaret concerts to our Town Teen Troupe’s musical that had been postponed. We also held our first-ever outdoor Youth Theatre Fall Festival complete with a BBQ lunch!
The long intermission also afforded us time to do some important facility upgrades including major roof repair over the stage (thanks to a grant from the Richland County Conservation Commission), installation of ventilation systems to reduce the spread of COVID (thanks to the Board and a donation from Leah McNeely Tudor) and even repainting our lobby and reflooring the upper area of the foyer. Thanks to Mary Lynn Barnette, we were fortunate to receive a fogger using hospital-grade disinfectant to clean the theatre.
Our time of being "on hold" also gave us the opportunity to develop our "Return to Town" guidelines that addressed all areas of safety for the cast, crew and audience. Those plans were put to the test in October 2020 with the return (and conclusion of) Mary Poppins and the production of Mary Poppins Jr., originally slated for last spring.
Photos courtesy of GoFlashWin.com, Ashley Epperson & Town Theatre
SO WHAT'S NEXT? At this point, we plan to keep moving forward. Our youth theatre program has been revamped once again so that we are offering a short winter program which, hopefully, will be followed by a longer Spring 2021 option. Our 101st season will conclude with the production of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. We're working on those details and, as you might imagine, we have learned that our best-laid plans have to be flexible. We hope the summer will bring us one of our wellknown spectaculars allowing actors of all ages to enjoy the limelight once again. And, then we hope to move into the 102nd season just one year later than we originally anticipated.
The months since the theatre was forced to close have been challenging. After all available resources were used, our staff was trimmed by half. Those remaining do so at extreme salary reductions. Our goal was to survive and, while these changes cut deep, they were necessary. Our losses to date are just under $500,000. We feel fortunate to be one of the small businesses that could re-open. Limited productions and small youth theatre classes over the last quarter have given us great hope! It comes as no surprise, however, that we need your help. If you can consider a gift to Town, we’d be grateful. If you have already given, we thank you and invite you to share our story ~ or the impact that we may have had in your life ~ with a friend or family member. We are always looking to grow the Town Theatre family. We hope that as you reflect upon 2020, you can find some of the positives. We encourage you to #sharethegood.
Painting by Betty Beatty
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