Small Charlotte arts groups get creative in tackling coronavirus challenges

Like other arts groups at the start of the novel coronavirus crisis, Brand New Sheriff Productions stopped rehearsals for “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf” in March because of COVID-19 regulations.

“We froze,” said Rory Sheriff, founding artistic director and CEO of Brand New Sheriff. “We were in a state of shock, not knowing how to maneuver or navigate through this thing. Everything was unclear.”

Other small nonprofit arts organizations such as Charlotte Civic Orchestra and dance company Caroline Calouche & Co. faced similar issues. They shuttered their seasons early and scrambled to decide what to do about future productions.

The Observer checked in with these groups to see how they were handling the issues roiling arts groups big and small. Concerns about safety for audiences, actors and staff dictated how these organizations proceeded.

Caroline Calouche & Co.

Caroline Calouche, artistic and executive director for Caroline Calouche & Co. is staying positive as she moves most events online for her aerial and contemporary dance company.

It’s an opportunity to expand the group’s audience, she said. In July, its virtual show, “A Love Show,” was watched by people in Charlotte and in other countries, including Arizona, Brazil and Costa Rica.

Caroline Calouche & Co. received a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan and a resiliency grant from Foundation for the Carolinas. Due to the nature of the loan, it made sense for three independent contractors to become full-time employees, increasing the full-time staff from two to five.

The company’s dance school, the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center, opened in mid-September for in-person classes at 30% capacity with mask wearing, social distancing and safety protocols. The classes teach acrobatics, aerial, ballet, hip-hop and jazz for ages 6 and above.

The season’s schedule is a combination of outdoor and virtual productions, starting with “Animalia,” an outdoor family show with limited in-person seating on Oct. 3. The performance will feature dance and circus acts with an animal theme. It may also be seen virtually.

“Dance and Circus for All” is a live virtual broadcast on Nov. 21 and 22. Caroline Calouche & Co. partnered with the Arts & Science Council for this repertory production showcasing local and national dance and circus acts, and new works.

“This one speaks to what’s happening in the world,” Calouche said of the show. “There’s going to be some light pieces. There’s going to be some comedy. There will be some serious content.”

Instead of “Clara’s Trip,” the organization’s annual holiday event, students from the dance school will be performing “A Christmas Carol” virtually on Dec. 19 and 20. Household access passes for all the virtual shows may be purchased online.

Calouche hopes to open with “Rouge” for Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 12 and 13 at the Booth Playhouse.

“We love interacting with the audience,” Calouche said. “The live virtual shows are great, and they’re keeping us relevant. It’s a fun task to see if we can still do that through a screen.”

But she added, “No screen is ever going to replace the intimacy and the energy you have with being in-person.”

Brand New Sheriff Productions

Brand New Sheriff produces original plays and musicals, as well as popular adaptations that highlight the Black experience.

Sheriff formed the company in 2013, which received nonprofit status in 2015.

Since COVID-19 hit, he hasn’t cut his full-time position or the four part-time staff who work with him. He’s using a grant from the Arts & Science Council and recently applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

“We’re maintaining,” Sheriff said. In addition to planning for additional fundraising and applying for grants, Sheriff said, “We’re trying to do virtual shows and solicit for donations and reaching out to our past donors and emails lists.”

COVID-19 isn’t Sheriff’s first hurdle. When he started Brand New Sheriff, he wasn’t getting Black people to come to his productions in uptown Charlotte.

“Our demographics were white seniors,” he said. “They were packing the house. We were putting butts in the seats, but I wanted African Americans to (have) these experiences and learn this history.”

Sheriff fixed the problem by bringing the performances to community centers where Black people live. Residents interacted with the actors, making them comfortable with the theater experience, Sheriff said.

It worked: Last season, all four performances at the Duke Energy Theater were packed with a diverse audience.

The rest of 2020 will be virtual.

Brand New Sheriff will offer workshops and masterclasses online. In October, the theater company will start stage readings once a month on Zoom and Facebook Live. It will do this until actors and audiences can get back in the theater.

For more information about these free activities, people can sign up for Brand New Sheriff Production’s mailing list.

Sheriff hopes to open the 2021 season with “A Soldier’s Play” in February at the Duke Energy Theater.

“I am looking forward to picking up the momentum before we left,” Sheriff said. “I’m looking to some type of return back to normal, just a little daylight — the good old days, way back in March.”

Charlotte Civic Orchestra

Geoffrey Whitehead, artistic director and principal conductor for the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, admits he thought the novel coronavirus initially might blow over.

The orchestra’s last show was on March 8, and now, nothing is scheduled for the rest of the year.

The orchestra includes 70 volunteer members, approximately 40% are men and 60% are women. Some are music teachers, professional musicians or hobbyists whose ages range from teens to late 60s.

“They love playing music,” Whitehead said. “It’s infectious. They’re so excited.”

The orchestra usually plays five concerts a year.

Ticket sales from the orchestra’s annual Christmas concert at Central Piedmont Community College is its largest fundraiser. The organization will take a big hit this year without it. Other funding sources include the Arts & Science Council and individual donations.

“That (Christmas concert) gives us our money for operating,” Whitehead said. “I don’t know how we are supposed to make do.”

Patricia Moehring, the organization’s executive director, and Whitehead are part-time employees for Charlotte Civic Orchestra. They stopped receiving pay in August, and the organization doesn’t qualify for a PPP loan because Moehring and Whitehead are independent contractors.

Charlotte Civic Orchestra decided against doing anything virtual, but hopes to do a live show in February. “All (are) eager to get back to playing,” Whitehead said. “But it’s a wait and see.”

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This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 10:07 AM.