‘The arts always find a way to survive’: How Orlando arts organizations are getting creative to weather pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been more than two months since rehearsals were paused, theaters went quiet and productions were called off. Since then, Orlando arts organizations have gotten creative trying to find new ways to bring the arts to our community from a safe social distance.

Channel 9 spoke with the leaders of Opera Orlando, the Orlando Ballet and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra about what it’s been like to innovate their organizations on the fly and what they think the future holds for the arts community once lockdowns are lifted.

“The arts are still here,” said Gabriel Preisser, executive director of Opera Orlando.

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The way they reach you right now just looks a little different than performers on a stage in a crowded auditorium.

Each organization said it's taken its talents online, offering everything from virtual lessons to livestreamed performances.

The opera is hosting weekly livestreamed interviews with artists as well as putting together a virtual fundraising concert with its youth program to benefit Orlando Health. The concert is scheduled for May 29.

The ballet started a podcast interviewing people from the world of dance and completed its dance school curriculum online. Its wardrobe department traded costume work for crafting face masks, donating 4,000 so far to donate to Orlando Health with the help of community volunteers.

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And the philharmonic partnered with Orange County Public Schools for an online music instruction program, giving students the opportunity to have private instruction with philharmonic musicians.

“It’s amazing what you can come up with when you have to,” said Paul Helfrich, executive director of the Orlando Philharmonic. “They say necessity is the mother of invention, and we’ve definitely seen that.”

Cheryl Collins, executive director of the Orlando Ballet, said the COVID-19 pandemic forced art organizations to fast-track their digital offerings. Once her organization can go back to “normal,” she said the virtual innovations will become part of their regular programming.

“For us, this is now a supplement, but it’s not just temporary,” she said. “We want to have that be part of our business model going forward.”

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Preisser said a silver lining of having to adapt during the pandemic has been finding new ways to leverage Opera Orlando’s online platforms to connect with its patrons.

“It’s been a great way to interact with our audience and something we’ll continue to do,” he said.

Once the organizations get the green light to roll back the curtain and return to the stage, there are dozens of new scenarios that leaders never would have imagined considering even three months ago.

Helfrich said it’s one thing if audience members need to sit 6 feet apart, but what about orchestra members? How does it work having the first chair clarinetist 6 feet away from the second chair clarinetist and perhaps 20 feet away from the first trumpet player?

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How do intermissions work if an auditorium of people get up to use the restrooms at the same time?

What happens at the end of a production when everyone wants to leave the theater at once?

Helfrich said the organizations are looking at various answers to those questions as the guidelines coming out remain fluid.

“If we look three months into the future, things may be very different then. It’s foolish to say we know how it’s going to be,” Helfrich said.

“Between the two extremes, we have to look at possible scenarios and how we will respond," he said.

Collins said she is hopeful that the ballet will be able to go ahead with its planned season in the fall, making adaptations as necessary.

“It’s a delicate dance for everybody, but I think the public is hopeful,” she said.

Preisser the pandemic will have a certain impact in the short term of how productions will go on, including a lot more hand sanitizer and changes to seating arrangements. But long term, he said using the Spanish flu as an example, in two or three years he imagines things will get back to “normal.”

“The arts always find a way to survive,” he said.

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