More Than a Little Help From Our Friends
By Melissa Nicholson, Gamut Theatre Executive Director
May 1, 2020
We are in Week 7 of Working from Home. It never occured to me that a functional theatre company could successfully work from home, but here we are. My husband and Gamut Co-Founder/Artistic Director, Clark, and I are hunkered down in Millersburg, PA. It's a small town located in northern Dauphin County in South Central PA, about a 35-minute drive from downtown Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has always been its own microcosm of the nation itself, with thriving cities such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg; as well as beautiful wide-open spaces and sparsely-populated farmland, mountains, and rural areas. Today, our Governor announced that many of these rural counties will be moving to Code Yellow (Proceed with Caution) for opening businesses, while our region remains in Code Red. The three-tiered, color coded reopening process has made it very clear that theatres will not open until Code Green, so we are in it for the long haul, as we had anticipated.
Clark and I are thankful that our daughter, Carolina, is living with us (last year she was working in Chicago, far away from family) and she still has her AmeriCorps job, also working from home. My 91-year old dad, who lives in our house, is doing well and feeling good. Go, George! Clark has had relatively good health since having his kidney removed last December, but because of his compromised immune system from Lyme disease, I insist on doing all of the shopping and anything that requires interacting with other people. I have become a pro with hand sanitizers, antibacterial wipes, and mask wearing. The New Normal.
My work schedule has been surprisingly busy during Quarantine, and now I finally have a chance to write an update on All Things Gamut.
We have kept our 7-person staff on payroll and continue to employ our 2 full-time interns. There is enough work to keep everyone busy for the time being. We have been taking this time to get many administrative items in order, including our first ever Policies and Procedures Manual and an annual workflow document (thank you, Gamut Production Manager, Alyx!) Lyeneal, Abby, and Janos have been personally contacting every ticket holder and education program registrant, and Erin is my right hand: balancing the books, paying the bills, making bank deposits, and all of the detail work that allows me time to think and handle “big picture” items.
Because of the close proximity of our Company Housing downtown, our Technical Director, Ross, checks on Gamut daily and has been doing several clean up and organizing projects around the theatre. Thank goodness he does! Just last night, as I was writing this, he encountered a broken sump pump in our basement and a nearly flooded shop. He and Erin and Will (who all live in company housing) and Clark (who drove down for the emergency) with masks on face, swung into action to clean everything up, while waiting for the repairman. Today we installed a new sump pump (that certainly wasn’t in our COVID-19 budget analysis), but it could have been so much worse if we didn’t have Ross checking the space on a regular basis, and the help of the other core company who live so close.
The first few weeks of Stay at Home were very stressful for me, but we were able to map out a COVID-19 Action Plan based on budget projections and some programs available through the CARES act. On April 1, we made the decision to cancel all public programming in Gamut’s physical location through September 1, and then created a budget based on that plan.
We were fortunate to receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan (which becomes a grant when used for payroll, mortgage interest, and utilities.) This allows us to keep everyone on payroll through the end of June. Over the summer, we will do a series of furloughs (including Clark) and layoffs and reduce to a bare bones staff, utilizing independent contractors as needed.
We have applied for a $2,500 grant from a local COVID-19 Community Response Fund and a $10,000 grant from a Harrisburg Neighborhood Business Stabilization program. Fingers crossed!
But not everything is budgets, analysis, and crisis. Here are some of the fun things we have been working on, and I keep PR Manager, Will, hopping: updating our website pretty much daily.
FREE PROGRAMMING
Once we got things administratively settled into the new routine, we embarked upon staying connected with the public. We have three ongoing programs that we offer free of charge. If folks are able and would like to, they can make a donation to support our work.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
“Learn Something New” airs each Wednesday at 2:30 PM LIVE on Facebook. In this series, a different member of the Gamut Team shares a skill, hobby, or interest. After it airs live, the video is published on YouTube. You can see an archive of past videos on our website.
A LITTLE HISTORY
You can learn about the history of Gamut Theatre by reading How We Came to Run the Gamut by Artistic Director, Clark Nicholson. Every week or two he posts a new chapter, also available on our website. He’s up to Chapter 3!
TEACHER RESOURCES
Gamut provides a teaching resource with Clark’s Shakespeare Questions (CSQ). CSQ are short (3-minutes or less) videos for teachers to use in their virtual classrooms, asking students to consider and discuss various questions and ideas related to the works of William Shakespeare. CSQ are free of charge and may be utilized by anyone with an interest. Guess where you can access them? Yep, on our website.
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT
As of April 30, we have raised $33,000 from individuals for our COVID-19 Relief Fund. Gifts range from $5 to $5,000. This funding will go a long way toward stabilizing our operations so that when the time comes that we are able to produce again, we’ll be there to do it. :)
THANK YOU THURSDAYS
We are so very grateful for every one who donates money, time, or services to Gamut Theatre, and on April 30, we began “Thank You Thursdays,” where we post a list of everyone who has contributed to Gamut’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. Beginning May 7, we will present a Gammy Award (yes, that’s right, a GAMMY AWARD) each Thursday to someone we feel who has gone “above and beyond” in service to Gamut Theatre.
NEW PROGRAMMING!
While we are unable to host live theatre performances or classes at our theatre, we have 3 programs now available that we hope will raise some Gamut revenue this summer. If you have any children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or kiddos in your life (and remember, thanks to the internet, they can reside anywhere in the world!) help us spread the word.
A POPCORN HAT POP-IN PARTY
“Once Upon Online” Party - great for ages 5 - 9!
GTSVA
Gamut Theatre Summer Virtual Academy for ages 8 - 16.
A new online format = new opportunities! We were able to go beyond geographic limitations and secure an excellent teaching staff. Likewise, our student body can come from all over the world! Meet the Staff and see “8 Great Reasons to go GTSVA this Summer.”
PHP GOES DIGITAL
Popcorn Hat Players Digital performances! Many events are now going virtual this summer, and beginning May 19, we will be able to provide full-length digital performances of some of our favorite PHP children’s shows. Popcorn Hat will be providing a digital performance for the City of Harrisburg’s Virtual Artsfest, and we are in discussions with several library systems to provide digital performances for their summer reading programs as they begin to consider transitioning their special events to an online format.
A UNIQUELY GAMUT ADVANTAGE
Because we provide company housing, four of our actors have been in quarantine together since the very beginning. This is beneficial because they are able to act together safely, and that’s why we can record digital performances. Our PHP digitals have a COVID-19 pre-show that explains safety procedures to children, why our actors are allowed to be in close proximity, and feature a fun Sing Along song of “5 Rules of COVID-19” sung to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” written by our own Erin!
As we close out Gamut’s 27th Season, Clark and I reflect often on the ups and downs that running our own business has brought to us over the past three decades. We are Co-Founders of Gamut Theatre and built this company with nothing but an idea, a pickup truck, and a will to do it. Along the way, we have collaborated with so many of you to make that dream a reality and surpass our expectations. In many ways, these past two months have felt like those days in the beginning: coming up with innovative ideas, staying flexible, worrying about the money, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. The main difference now is that we are not alone in this endeavor.
There is no doubt in my mind that Gamut will live to play another day. This is not done through wishing it to be so, it’s accomplished through careful planning, creative thinking, and more than a little help from our friends.
Many thanks to all of the Gamut Family!
Gamut Theatre is looking forward to the day when we can once again present innovative, live performances for your enjoyment. Until that day, we will continue to think creatively on how to serve our community and advance our mission to tell classic stories in new and exciting ways. Stay up to date on the latest at www.gamuttheatre.org.