Inside Encore

April 2021

Dennis Elkins

Interim Executive Director

And, . . . it's already April!

I don’t know about you, but this Spring has been a roller-coaster of feel-ings - sometimes I don’t even know how to describe it.  This morn-ing, while scrolling through the news, I came across a NYT’s article about behavioral anhedonia, “a reduced ability to take pleasure in activities.” 

   Honestly, I thought I’d been handling this pandemic "quarantine" situation pretty well—I don’t need a much of an excuse to just stay home and work at the computer.  I very well could be a genuine misanthrope—but, actually, I love humankind and I genuinely miss all the interactions that brings.  I guess that’s why I love theatre.

   If you missed it, we've already closed our first show of the 2021 season, Almost, Maine.  It was a quite successful, artistically - even if I say so myself - but our numbers were small.  Yes, we had limited seating and I asked the audience to wear their masks (my actors didn't play in masks).  I'm assuming folks are still hesitant to be in large groups - and that's ok - it's best to play safe.  We attempted to provide a Video on Demand of the show, but few people took advantage of that - perhaps we didn't market that very well.

   I invite you to share with me their thoughts on how we're doing.  When do you think you'll be ready to come back to the theatre?  Would you like another chance to see the video of Almost, Maine?  Our next show, Leaving Iowa opens mid-June, would you like to watch the video of that show, instead of seeing a live performance?  Let me know what you think.