Throughout the pandemic artists of all genres have shown us what it means to think outside the box, and instead of running out of ideas 15 months in, the creative community seems to be picking up steam.
Local playwright Jim Dalglishâs new play, âTeacher of the Year,â which is being presented episodically beginning Friday, May 28, was conceived as a work to be performed under the constraints of the pandemic and to be presented entirely online. In a statement, Mr. Dalglish explains how he decided to take things even further: âI decided to write a new play that couldâ¦not only accommodate social distancing, but also use new media to explore how the pandemic has altered the way humans have adapted to connect with each other.â
In-theater, outdoor shows to highlight new season at Cape Theatre
The theater company s 70th anniversary couldn’t have come at a better time, a season of renaissance
Barbara Clark
COURTESY PHOTOS
Blessings of the spring! A brand-new outdoor stage is about to be built at Cape Cod Theatre Company / Harwich Junior Theatre in West Harwich to host this season’s schedule of family-friendly performances.
As the company begins its return to a “new normal” of in-person activities and connections, CCTC will also open the doors of its traditional theater building for indoor, in-person performances of more adult-themed shows, albeit with reduced seating.
How we can entertain ourselves this summer is becoming clearer, as two more Cape Cod theaters, music festivals in Orleans and Provincetown, and a Martha s Vineyard book festival are among the latest groups releasing their plans for the season.
And this entertainment is all live, all in person. (Remember when that wasn’t even a question?) Some of the events are indoors, most outdoors. Take a look:
Provincetown Theater
Provincetown Theater patrons will spend late June through September outdoors, in the new “Playhouse in the Parking Lot.”
The season brings the theater alive after a 16-month hiatus, using a stage being set up in a fenced, park-inspired setting outside the 238 Bradford St. theater. The shows there will include two Cape Cod premieres and one American classic.
Area musicians and bands were playing, sometimes on tour, with many more dates lined up.
Then everything shut down.
And so did hundreds of local people’s jobs, hobbies, creative outlets and social lives.
Unlike reopening restaurants, museums, art galleries and shops, it’s been nearly impossible to produce or welcome audiences to live theater shows and concerts for the past year beyond small outdoor, drive-in or one-actor/one-musician shows. There are glimmers of hope for live events in coming months, but many people believe large-group entertainment may be the last part of the arts and life to get back to “normal” once the pandemic eases.
Meditative music to start the evening
Provincetown Theater will debut pianist/music director John Thomas’ seven-week virtual program “Music Without Borders,” a half-hour weekly program Sundays through March 7 of “peace serenity and beauty” through meditative music. The schedule offers a mix of classical, gospel, jazz, improv and original music from many countries, with Thomas (recently back from a Fulbright grant to Bulgaria) performing on the theater stage, and videos of musical guests. The series will include 38 pieces of music filmed over the several months, including Bulgarian, Japanese, Mexican, Argentinian and Turkish pieces. Guest musician Sunday will be jazz saxophone player Ken Field.