How the Summerville arts community is managing with the COVID-19 pandemic | News

SUMMERVILLE — In 1977, a group of local actors purchased a condemned downtown movie theater and turned it into a performing arts space.

Now home to the nonprofit theater group the Flowertown Players, the organization has gone from aiming for one of its more successful show seasons to restructuring to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like other groups and businesses, the Summerville arts community has been hit hard with a pandemic that’s put a halt to one of its biggest revenue streams — live events.

At the James F. Dean Theatre about this time last year, Flowertown Players was selling out all of its holiday shows in a building that seats 200. Only 40 guests can be in the building now.

“We have almost no revenue,” said Kelly O’Meara Hampton, executive director of Flowertown Players.

A few miles from the theater sits the home office of the Summerville Orchestra, another community-built performing arts organization. Since March, the group has had to put a stop to major orchestra performances.

It also hasn’t been able to have any full orchestra rehearsals this year. Across downtown on West Richardson Avenue, the Public Works Art Center opened in February. Three weeks later, the building had to shut down until the summer due to COVID-19.

“The new normal is sort of our normal,” said Jana Riley, executive director of the Public Works Art Center. “We didn’t have anything to compare it to.”

Leaders of these community-funded arts ventures said they are hopeful that they will manage through this difficult period. But they agree that the bulk of that hope relies on the community seeing the same value it did when the organizations were created.

“We have a long history in the Summerville area,” said Daniel Prentice, a board member with Flowertown Players. “We want people to recognize our value.”

Value of the arts

Some argue that the value of the arts in a community is solely around entertainment. Research has also shown that it can be an additional component to an area’s growth. 

In a 2016 study by Americans for the Arts, researchers looked at the economic contributions of the arts in over 340 communities and regions across the U.S.

They found that the nonprofit arts industry generated more than $166 billion in economic activity. Excluding the price of admission for an event, they also discovered that the average American spent $31.47 when attending programs like plays, art galleries and musical performances. 

This included things like paying for dinner before or after an event, hiring a babysitter, getting gas, dessert and paying for parking.

“They also support local artists,” Riley said. 

That economic benefit is where a lot of the tangible value of the arts in a community comes from, she said. 

Having been born and raised in the Summerville area, Riley didn’t see visual arts being heavily represented in the community. Directing the Public Works Art Center has built her own awareness. 

Riley said she doesn’t think a lot of people realize just how many artists live in the town. 

One of her fondest recent memories is when the center hosted its first community exhibition. It had 60 open slots for community members to place their art. 

“I said, ‘There’s no way we are going to fill half of these,'” she said. 

The center ended up with 61 submissions. Organizers had to get an extra canvas to hold the additional piece. 

“We don’t exist without community support,” Riley said

Diane Frankenberger owns People, Places & Quilts, which neighbors the Public Works Art Center. She was part of the group of community members who helped the center come together. 

The building was the former headquarters for the town’s Commissioners of Public Works. When the agency moved to a new location, Frankenberger and other residents wanted to make sure that whatever replaced the old Public Works building would be a community space. 

They eventually got the idea to create an art center. After several meetings, Public Works sold the building to the center. 

“They made it possible,” Frankenberger said. 

Most of the artistic outlets in town are based around a nonprofit. Prentice said people are often amazed that the town has been able to sustain a community theater like the Flowertown Players for long as it has.

The town and county governments have helped fund the theater over the years. Residents have also regularly donated and attended shows and classes. 

“The community is what created Flowertown Players,” Prentice said. “I think it speaks to the value.”

Hampton is the only full-time employee at the theater. Most are volunteers or do part-time work, like selling tickets.

Hampton said she is reminded of the theater’s value when people constantly reach out about their return to shows. She and others said they agree that the arts are vital to any growing area.

That’s why they said they know they will survive the pandemic. Riley argues that without artists any community is pretty much dead. 

A unique opportunity 

The month of March marked a dramatic shift in the arts community of Summerville. Events and fundraisers were either postponed or canceled. 

It also came with the a chance to try new things so the arts and artists could strengthen their longevity. 

Wojciech Milewski, music director of the Summerville Orchestra, said at the beginning of the pandemic things seemed bleak. The orchestra was created in 2003 with a small group of musicians playing together without pay. 

Though the pandemic stopped the musicians from performing in a traditional manner, Milewski said by the fall they had all new ideas. 

“It’s been an opportunity to try new things,” he said. “It’s kind of nice.” 

The orchestra has partnered with Coastal Coffee Roasters and filmed a digital performance series. It’s also done small jazz ensemble performances in Hutchinson Square. 

It’s not the same as performing as a mass orchestra in a theater, Milewski said. But it’s been way to maintain the joy of the art form. 

“It’s been sort of an interesting time,” he said. 

The Flowertown Players have opened the James F. Dean Theater for private events for anyone who is interested. The group has had to cancel five productions because of the pandemic. 

Each production comes with 11 shows, 200 seats worth $20 apiece. So the financial hit is real, Hampton said.

“Fifty-five shows is basically what we’ve lost to date,” she said.

The group has also tried to innovate because of the pandemic. It’s making plans to go back to its roots with hosting movie nights. It’s also been able to host small acting classes for children and young adults. 

The challenge with doing any kind of performance is that the actors have to be unmasked. Audience members are required to wear masks and practice social distancing with limited seating. 

Hampton said they tried doing digital performances similar to Summerville Orchestra.

“It certainly isn’t the same as being there yourself,” she said. “Somebody said to me once if you’re streaming theater, it’s basically television.

“You lose a piece of the art.”

The silver lining for these challenges has been thinking about innovative ways to keep Flowertown Players going. Hampton said they are talking with different neighborhoods about about organizing outdoor performances. 

While the colder weather is making that a challenge, Flowertown organizers are hoping that outdoor performances will be something they can do regardless of a pandemic. 

The Public Works Art Center is fortunate because it doesn’t do performing arts. It can still host galleries and small events. 

Though Riley said it’s unfortunate that it opened the same year as a pandemic, his team has made it work. She just hopes more people get in the habit of buying art to support the center and local artists. 

“Almost all the art in the gallery is for sale,” she said. “There’s pieces for like $20.”

Many say the best thing the community can do at this time is just remember that the arts still exist. Being all nonprofits, residents have the option to donate in addition to supporting some of the new, unique events.

“I’m confident this is temporary,” Hampton said. “And I’m excited about that.”