The Broad Stage - Among the First to Announce 2020/21 Season
The Broad Stage performance of “The 7 Fingers : Passengers”, performing dazzling acrobatic and aerial feats - scheduled for February 2021. (Photo Courtesy of The Broad Stage).
During a time when many Performing Arts Centers are unsure about what the next season may hold, Rob Bailis, Artistic and Executive Director of The Broad Stage, along with Santa Monica College (SMC) Superintendent Dr. Kathryn Jeffery, and The Broad Stage Board President Richard Kendall, announce The Broad Stage’s impressive 2020/21 Season.
The Broad Stage, located at the Performing Arts Campus of SMC, along with SMC said they “realize that this announcement comes at a delicate time, as the arts are reeling from the pandemic,” and guidelines for reopening the country and reinventing daily life are continually in flux. Rather than keeping the arts on hold, Bailis, who is in his first season leading The Broad Stage, said, “I believe performing arts organizations grow in the soil in which they are planted…”
“There is an inextricable bond between the needs and nature of a given community and the artists whom they call to illuminate, perplex and evolve their way of life. This is never more important than in times of crisis.” Bailis has been committed to “planning a season that must respond to these urgent conditions and uncertainties.”
In response to COVID-19 health concerns and safety protocols, Bailis and his new leadership team consisting of Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Rimmer and Chief External Affairs Officer Shana Mathur, have worked together with SMC, the City of Santa Monica and Los Angeles County to create modifications for the 2020/21 Season.
Rimmer said they have also been in conversation with “performance venues throughout the region on how to return safely to public performances indoors, including ingress/egress, queuing for restrooms and concessions, required facial coverings and enhanced sanitation procedures.”
Two nights of duets by multi Grammy winning artists, Cuban Jazz Pianist Chucho Valdez, Jazz Vocalist Dianne Reeves, and Jazz Saxophonist Joe Lovano. (Photo Courtesy of The Broad Stage).
Mathur is also aware of the emotional toll on audience members who in a pre-COVID world frequented live performances. The double-edged sword is audience members who are saddened by staying away from the theatre, but anxious to return.
To these audience members, Mathur says, “the safety and personal comfort of our [Broad Stage] customers are paramount. We want people to purchase tickets with confidence, knowing that we guarantee refunds for cancelled performances, or even if they have a change of heart due to uncertainties associated with gathering in person. We are hoping that people will invest in the future with us by buying tickets now, in support of the artists we champion on our stages and the broader community which we serve”.
Superintendent Jeffery further emphasizes the commitment of SMC to support the performing arts and the community. She said, “for twelve seasons The Broad stage has become a Santa Monica College symbol of hope, optimism, and a clarity of vision through the artists on our stages...as we always consider safety, we intend to keep that beacon shining as bright as possible…”
The new season will be condensed, with performances taking place inside The Broad Stage’s three performing arts spaces from mid-January through July 2021. The season will begin outdoors with the Fall 2020 world premier of the theatrical chamber opera, “Birds in the Moon” by Mark Grey and Julia Canosa i Serra, directed by Elkhanah Pilitzer.
“This opera is transported in a shipping container which transforms into a state-of-the-art, self powered stage,” said a representative from the Broad. This format “will take the performance to a variety of outdoor locations around Santa Monica where social distancing protocols will be in place.”
The performance includes an instrumental quartet, a singer, an actor, soundscapes and video projections.
The opera symbolically addresses immigration, migrants, human rights and choices made by necessity. It depicts this “desperate search for a better world, as a migration or desperate flight to a better life.”
Another unique offering is the Los Angeles premiere of Heartbeat Opera’s “Fidelio”, where actual prisoners sing the parts of prisoners in the opera by combining live performance with video from people who are incarcerated and in prison choirs across America.
Yo-Yo Ma and Austin Mann - present the Los Angeles Premiere of Truth, Trust and Service- How Culture Connects Us. (Photo Courtesy of The Broad Stage).
More outstanding season 2021 performances include Grammy winning artists Diane Reeves, Chucho Valdez, Joe Lovano, Stanley Clarke, Takacs Quartet, Munyungo Jackson, Keb’ Mo’, Yo-Yo Ma and Austin Mann, as well as a stellar line-up of dance, theatre and poetry.
Bailis said, “as we face these challenging times filled with frustration, grief and loss, I am all the more moved to introduce a group of artists whom I know we can turn to for healing, inspiration, and breakthroughs toward the betterment of our society.” With this season’s logistics, vision and purpose, The Broad Stage may have created a template for theatres across the country.
Ticket sales will be offered to the public beginning June 3. The Broad Stage offers SMC student rush tickets and spotlight talks, as well as Q&A’s, master classes, and open rehearsals for some performances. For more information please visit thebroadstage.org
