LOOKING FORWARD: LILY TOMLIN/JANE WAGNER CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
INTERVIEW: JON IMPARATO
Artistic Director/Producer
BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO
Now almost a year into the ongoing pandemic our fond memories of live entertainment seem to be waning—and too much so for my liking. Just like that rare blue moon we saw last Halloween, the ancient ritual of live theatre is now deemed rare and magical—an artifact of the “before times”. Even so, if we take a moment and tune out the din of social media, the news, our own inner anxieties and frustrations, I know we can recall, maybe even find hope in, our memories from the “before times”. The feeling of eagerly sitting in a full theatre as the lights begin to dim. The sound of an orchestra tuning moments before they play a majestic downbeat. The smell of popcorn wafting around a movie theatre like tasty electricity. The restless anticipation of waiting in the wings before making your first entrance on stage. The sound of applause that roars in a venue like thunder that means no harm. You see these memories are not dreams—they were real. And whenever these memories start to get fuzzy all we need to do is take the time to summon them, thus reminding ourselves that they will return.
In the spirit of looking forward, what’s next for live entertainment? Broadway has announced its return for Fall 2021—well what about L.A. and the rest of the world? When will we be able to appreciate the performing arts in person again? That date remains to be seen. Accordingly, what have performing arts organization been doing since the shutdown? How has this impacted them both now and in the future? In the next couple of weeks, I will be publishing interviews with artistic directors of various performing arts organizations in L.A. and they will answer these questions and many more. In this Tin Pan L.A. exclusive Jon Imparato Artistic Director/Producer for the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, tells us about the future of theatre for his organization and the steps they are taking to keep it alive.
What is your fondest memory of live theatre by your organization before the pandemic?
We were entering tech for a production of Hair. We were so excited about spectacular set, costumes and how well the band sounded with the cast. We shut down the production two days later.
What do you think the “new normal” of LA theatre will look like in the next one to two years?
I think there will be no live theater until January of 2022. It will take a year for everyone to be vaccinated, ease their fears and be sure there are no other stains to be frightened of.
Once theatre is allowed to open how will the ideal notion of physical distancing have an impact on your future seasons (programming, scale, etc.)?
It’s hard to say. I think in our 50-Seat Black Box it will be an issue. I can turn our 200-Seat theater into 130 seats with social distancing.
How has the COVID pandemic impacted your organization and its current programming?
We were able to produce the first original piece of theater in Country. We did an original play called March in October in our new parking garage. The garage theater production ran for 6 weeks. We were able to get 18 cars into the show each night. We had to close down due to the huge spike in COVID.
Do you have any words of hope for the performing artist community (actors, musicians, dancers etc.) that are mostly out of work at the moment?
Art always prevails even in the most horrific situations. Inside the concentration camps there was a female quartet and other small ways that people who were incarcerated kept art alive. If art could exist even in the smallest degree, inside the worst human conditions it will survive this pandemic.
How can audience communities best support its theatre companies during and after this pandemic?
We just have to help each other. We are promoting other theaters productions. We are storing three theaters in LA’s lighting grids while they had to leave their theaters. We are all in this together.
Economically, what do you think it’s going to take for theatre, non-profit theatre in particular, to reemerge?
We need to lower ticket prices. Find creative ways to get people back to the theater so they feel safe.
OTHER LOOKING FORWARD INTERVIEWS:
PAUL WONG, Member the Committee of Artistic Directors, Musical Theatre Guild
JULIE BERSANI & MALCOLM BARRETT, Co-Artistic Directors Ammunition Theatre Company
caryn desai, Artistic Director/Producer of International City Theatre
