Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Playing OUTSIDE

Some local venues take theater outdoors



Theatre Conspiracy started outdoor productions in October, with “Duck Variations,” above, and more recently, in December, they offered an abridged, one-hour version of “The Kathy and Mo Show,” below. Many venues are looking to do more shows outside during the pandemic. COURTESY PHOTOS

Theatre Conspiracy started outdoor productions in October, with “Duck Variations,” above, and more recently, in December, they offered an abridged, one-hour version of “The Kathy and Mo Show,” below. Many venues are looking to do more shows outside during the pandemic. COURTESY PHOTOS

“T HEATER CAN BE DONE ANYwhere. Truth,” says Bill Taylor, producing artistic director of Theatre Conspiracy.

And around Southwest Florida, various theaters, including his own, are proving that statement by taking shows outside their four walls and performing in the open air.

Due to the pandemic, Theatre Conspiracy in Fort Myers can no longer put on shows safely in the Foulds Theatre inside the Alliance for the Arts.

So, they moved them outdoors, with actors performing on a 16-by-12-foot wooden stage just north of the Alliance building. They’ve christened it the Green- Market Stage.

While some non-equity theaters have reopened, with limited, socially distanced indoor seating, and others have turned to filming or Zooming plays, some have returned to theater’s roots and hold performances outside.

Theatre Conspiracy started outdoor productions in October, with “Duck Variations.” More recently, in December, they offered an abridged, one-hour version of “The Kathy and Mo Show.”

 

 

“We made the commitment to do small work, low cost, entertainment-type stuff to get us through,” Mr. Taylor says.

This month Theatre Conspiracy will put on a trio of short plays: two by Alan Ayckbourn (“Between Mouthfuls,” “A Talk in the Park”) and one by George S. Kaufman (“The Still Alarm”).

“They’re some really funny one acts,” Mr. Taylor says.

The idea with each production is to present a performance that lasts one hour at the most. “We don’t want an intermission,” he says. “We don’t want people mingling.

“We want to keep everyone safe. They can drive in, (sit in a lawn chair,) see a show and leave.”

People are welcome to stay after the show, he says, and some have even showed up an hour or more early.

Patrons bring their own chairs or blankets and can purchase pre-ordered food from Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre (which has re-opened and provides indoor seating for its own shows.)

The Naples Players performing “As You Like It” outdoors. THE NAPLES PLAYERS / COURTESY PHOTO

The Naples Players performing “As You Like It” outdoors. THE NAPLES PLAYERS / COURTESY PHOTO

The 6-foot-by-6-foot squares (separated from each other by 6 feet of space) are $12.50 per person, for a maximum of four.

The Alliance has an amphitheater on the south side of its building, but that stage is so large and cavernous, actors can appear small and lost. The new stage is smaller, more intimate, in an enclosure of surrounding trees.

The theater is also offering concerts, with Patchouli scheduled for Jan. 24. More musicians will play in February and March.

In the beginning, the venue had to work to get the sound balance right, as it’s not an enclosed space. There’s also occasional noise from traffic at the corner of McGregor Boulevard and Colonial, especially from souped-up motorcycles.

The thing that surprised Mr. Taylor the most about putting on outdoor shows is the monotonous labor of setting up and breaking down the lights, microphones and sound board before and after every performance.

The cast of “Golden” performing outside at the Florida Repertory Theatre. FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTO

The cast of “Golden” performing outside at the Florida Repertory Theatre. FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTO

But the new outdoor venue is so popular he plans to build a sturdier, permanent stage in its spot, so he can continue to offer outdoor performances, even when the pandemic is over and people can safely congregate indoors again.

Naples Players

The Naples Players were among the first to move outdoors, says its executive artistic director Bryce Alexander.

“We announced outdoor shows in June; we pivoted to an outdoor season,” he says. “We got our city permits out of the way.”

In February they’ll present “Footloose: The Musical” in Baker Park.

Though the Naples Players have staged free Shakespeare performances on the plaza in front of its home, the Sugden Community Theatre, that space is not big enough for a paying, socially distanced audience, Mr. Alexander says.

At Cambier Park, they can safely seat as many as 400; at Baker Park, they’ll cap their audiences at “close to 300.”

 

 

The troupe’s also partnered with various places in the community, holding an event at the Naples Botanical Garden with live theatrical performances scattered around, such as Shakespeare in the orchid garden.

On Jan. 21 they’re partnering with the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens for “Wild Culture.” Billed as providing everything from “Shakespeare to Simba,” it’ll include performances from “Madagascar.”

“We knew pretty early on in the pandemic, we weren’t going to be bringing people back indoors,” says Mr. Alexander. “Part of our mission is providing artists a voice. We have great partnerships with the community, the city and the county. And we wanted to showcase those partnerships and utilize their facilities the best we could in order to keep the arts alive in the county.

“We’re lucky to live in a climate that allows us to produce shows outside in February,” he continues. “However, when you’re outdoors you have to deal with airplane noise that comes with living in Naples. There are a lot of private jets.”

It’s also a much less intimate experience.

Another drawback was being surprised at the fees some royalty holders are charging. “It’s harder to get permission to do titles outdoors,” he says.

Some want to charge the maximum of what an outdoor space could potentially hold, even if the theater’s seating is much smaller. Some shows, he notes, would have cost the Players $150,000 to do 10 performances.

He’s so pleased with the outdoor shows that he hopes to continue them, even after they open the Sugden’s doors in late April for an indoor production of “Calendar Girls.”

Florida Repertory Theatre

The Florida Repertory Theatre staff began brainstorming over the summer: what to do if the pandemic continues through the rest of the year.

“What is the one thing we have?” says Greg Longenhagen, the venue’s artistic director. “We do have space, we have outdoor space. And we were coming into a time period of the season where, if you’re living up north, you go inside. But if you’re down here, it’s more comfortable to be outside. So it seemed to make sense we would capitalize on trying to do something outside. The main reason, bottom line, is safety.”

While the Arcade Theatre is big, it’s not massive, he says.

“Outside seemed to be the safest way we could still continue to do live theater, and that was the impetus for us to move forward in that direction.”

So the venue rented a stage from the city of Fort Myers, and put it on its grassy parking lot located between the theater and Edwards Drive.

Up to 50 to 70 patrons can attend one show; the theater sells seating pods of 12-by-12-foot pieces of land separated by 6 feet from each other. Up to four people can sit in one seating pod.

Other businesses in downtown Fort Myers have been cooperative and turn down their music between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

“But any time you’re working outside, weather is a concern,” says Mr. Longenhagen. “We’re not in a tented area, and that was intentional. You don’t have anything above you but the night sky, and that’s part of the charm of the event. We’re more concerned about rain than cold. That’s one of the reasons we waited until October; we’re headed into what is traditionally the drier season.”

But patrons are urged to dress warmly and bring blankets, as some night temperatures dip into the 50s and a breeze comes off the Caloosahatchee.

Mr. Longenhagen notes they could have placed the stage in any number of places on the land but chose to have it facing the theater, so patrons see a backdrop of boats and the river when watching a show.

“That’s part of the ambience, the harbor behind it,” he says.

The way he sees it, theater is returning to its roots.

“If you go back, in Shakespeare’s time, they only performed in the day, in an open courtyard area. And before Shakespeare’s time, in northern Europe and England, people would travel through villages on a cart and perform. That’s how theater was done, always outside.”

“Godspell” runs Jan. 26-Feb. 6 and “Godspell Jr.,” which runs Feb. 9-14, will be performed by Florida Rep’s Conservatory of teen actors.

People are starving for live theater, he says.

“It’s not on Zoom, or a screen, it’s right there in front of them,” Mr. Longenhagen says. “When everything moves into normalcy … people are going to need theater, and realize how powerful it is.

“I think after the pandemic, theater is going to be bigger than ever.” ¦

One response to “Playing OUTSIDE”

  1. Edward Faiola says:

    Please send me the dates for chsrlotte county. Plays or concerts..thank you

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