Vermont’s performing arts venues were the first businesses to close in March, and expect to be among the last to reopen once the pandemic wanes — but some worry they won’t be able to make it that long.
“Great shared experiences are an endangered species right now,” said Alex Crothers, co-owner of Higher Ground in South Burlington. “The entire performance arts sector is in an existential crisis.”
Crothers said that, in March, Higher Ground canceled 187 shows — and that included only performances booked through Easter. He said many more have been canceled since, and he expects it to be another full year before reopening is a realistic possibility.
“We’re completely shuttered,” he said. “There’s no takeout business, there’s no partial opening. Being partially open is not a business strategy; it’s just a way to lose more money.”
Other venues across the state agree. Nearly all of the big names in Vermont performing arts spaces have closed their in-person operations indefinitely, with only a smattering of online or outdoor shows to try to fill the gaps.
And their owners are worried that the federal relief money they received from the CARES Act won’t last long enough for them to get by.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt, held a press conference last week to talk about a bill he introduced earlier this year as part of the HEROES Act, called Save our Stages, which would provide $15 billion in relief funds to performance spaces nationwide.
“At some point, we’re going to get to life that’s normal, where people are going to want to go back downtown,” Welch said. “But if we don’t provide an economic lifeline to places like Higher Ground, my fear is that we get to the other side of Covid but we’ve left those institutions behind.”
The House passed the bill in early October, but it has stalled in the Senate. Welch said that, with a changing political landscape, he’s confident the measure will eventually become law.
The Barre Opera House received PPP grants and other federal help in the initial CARES Act that helped it stay alive through the summer, said Dan Casey, the executive director, but that money won’t stretch through the winter.
The money won’t stretch
“Our fingers are crossed for Save our Stages,” Casey said. “I think it’s going to be intrinsic to survival for a lot of theaters. We’ll make it, but we expect it to be a tough year — maybe tougher than the last year.”
In March, the Opera House happened to have already raised three-quarters of the money it needed to do major upgrades to the theater, so when the pandemic hit, it just pushed up the timetable and got to work early. Casey said that’s been their lifeline so far.
In June, a national survey found that 90% of independent music venues said they would have to close permanently within the next six months. Without a second round of funding heading into winter, that still holds true, Casey said.
“I think there has been a realization within our communities of the value of performance arts, and how important they are to our communities,” said Jody Fried, executive director of Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury. “We need to make sure we get through the winter because to lose even a single organization, let alone many, would be tragic.”
Crothers said even if Vermont is able to keep its Covid cases low, it can’t just be Vermont that reopens. Because bands tend to perform as part of larger tours, he said the whole country would have to reopen for Higher Ground to start operating as usual.
Crothers cited a study that found that every dollar spent at a music venue represented $12 going into the local economy at places like gas stations, restaurants and hotels. But he said it’s not just the economic impact that is so important.
“These are the places you go to see school plays, dance recitals, go on first dates, see mayoral elections happen,” he said. “These are really important parts of the community where it gives a platform for people to come together and celebrate and gather.”
‘Such a powerful force’
Grace Potter, the rock star from Waitsfield, said that, during the pandemic, she’s tried everything under the sun to replicate a live performance. But she said drive-ins and Zoom concerts don’t really come close to the real deal.
She said helping concert venues stay open “feels more powerful than anything else” she’s done during the pandemic.
“Live music is such a powerful force; it’s something that can only be felt and understood in that moment,” she said. “And a stage is the only place it can happen.”
Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury made it through the summer with a busy slate of 20 outdoor events at ski resorts and elementary schools, Fried said.
“But the expense relative to keeping people safe is very high,” he said. “You need a large-scale team in order to manage public health expectations, whether it’s sanitation of spacing or compliance with masks, so it’s very very expensive in these big spaces.”
Federal funding is Catamount Arts’ only chance of survival, he said.
“There are a few of us trying to keep doing it for the vitality of our communities, but the model itself doesn’t hold up,” he said. “It’s not financially viable.”
