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Art & Entertainment | 7
APRIL 2020 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
“While this will be quite a burden for us to overcome, through the generosity of
our patrons and support of our upcoming productions, we have full faith we will
weather this storm,” he said.
Across Roswell Road in Sandy Springs Plaza, Act3 Productions, a semi-profes
sional theater company, had already postponed its youth improv classes. The the
ater was alive with rehearsals for the upcoming April 10 opening of the iconic musi
cal “Cabaret.” Just days later, on March 16, Act3 turned off the lights.
“We shut down the space to all upcoming auditions, rehearsals and performanc
es,” said Mary Sorrell, executive director and board chair. “The safety of our pa
trons, students, actors and staff is always our highest priority so on one hand, it was
a difficult decision, but it was not a surprise. We play by the rules and do whatever
the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] tells us. We expect to be dark for
about eight weeks, given the current guidelines.”
During the interim, Act3 is expanding its virtual presence. On April 3, it was
scheduled to offer a virtual preview of “Cabaret” at act3productions.org.
“It replaces our [in-theater] 2020/21 season preview that was supposed to take
place on May 3. At this time, the release date for that is to be decided,” said Sorrell.
“Today’s technology gives us options we would not have had 12 or more years ago.”
Act3 will continue to pay its staff during the shutdown. Ticket holders will have
several options for cancelled or postponed shows. Those with tickets for “Cabaret”
may get a full refund, exchange the ticket for a future show, or make the ticket price
a donation.
Musicians to take a hit
“It already has hit my pocketbook,”
said Gransden, the jazz musician, who
has seen cancelations of corporate shows
and has other regular venues considering
changes. At press time, he was still plan
ning his own major event at the Sandy
Springs PAC, a Jazz Camp for Kids sched
uled for May 31-June 5.
Gransden said income is already un
certain for freelance musicians. “... [W]
e never really know what we’re going to
make each month,” he said. But the pe
riod of mid-March through early June
is typically a busy time when musicians
save money to make it through the slower
summer - and thus also an especially ter
rible time for coronavirus impacts.
At the same time, Gransden said, he
has considered canceling some appear
ances himself due to his own health con
cerns. “I do think about that now. I didn’t
think about it a week ago,” he said. “... I
come home to a 10-year-old son and a
wife, and [I have] parents who live near
me.”
Speaking on March 13, he said he had a gig that night “and I’m a little reluctant,”
but he was going to bring hand sanitizer and keep his distance from people.
“You want to encourage people to continue to support the arts and continue to go
out and support the venues, but at the same time if it’s a health risk to anybody in
volved, that’s the wrong advice to give,” he said.
David Reeb is a pianist at Von Maur in Perimeter Mall and plays at the Stone
Mountain Public House and Olive Bistro in Midtown for open-mic and sing-along
sessions. He also plays for weddings, parties and other social events, most of which
were postponed or canceled.
Early in the pandemic crisis Von Maur was still open and he was still playing. He
said he was taking precautions and sanitizing the piano, and people seemed to hon
or the social distance of six feet. “It’s wait and see and hope,” he said. But on March
18 the store closed.
Galleries move online
Art galleries within city or county art centers - like Buckhead’s Chastain Arts
Center, Dunwoody’s Spruill Center for the Arts and Sandy Springs’ Abernathy Arts
Continued on page 8
ft
You want to
encourage people to
continue to support
the arts and
continue to go out
and support the
venues, hut at the
same time if it’s
a health risk to
anybody involved,
that’s the wrong
advice to give.
JOEGRANSDEN
MUSICIAN
A
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