![]() ![]() If you really want to play and really want to work, I think there are some artists who will get out and do it along those lines.Ī graphic look at the seating strategy for the concert. MB: Well, I don’t think so, I think if bands can decide to leave all their stuff – go back to when you were 16 and you played in a garage band, and all you had was one guitar and one amp and a small drum kit and – maybe if you were fortunate enough to have a dad who played, you’d have an Ampeg bass rig, you know – you can leave all the stuff, you don’t need guitar techs and drum techs and all that. ML: So you could do acoustic acts – I think that’s the kind of stuff that really makes sense in this reality – MB: The state of Arkansas has upped it to one-third capacity, which will put us at about 365. ![]() ![]() ML: You have a seating capacity of 1,100 – what sort of working capacity do you have with the current constraints? And we’re actively selling tickets – people really do want to get out and see a show. MB: Well, we played the May 18th show, and everyone who was there had zero fear. The modified operation protocol for the event posted on the TempleLive website. Are you seeing people who are scared to come out? Or are you seeing people saying “I can’t wait to come out to the show?” How’s that look to you? ML: Another one of the hurdles is that even if you open back up, at the end of the day, if people don’t want to come out and see a show, you’re stuck. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has come out and said that this virus doesn’t really have a longevity on hard surfaces, so it’s about managing contact with someone who is actually shedding a virus, who may cough or sneeze, or something along those lines. Hopefully, politics will get out of the way, science will be allowed to take over, and we’ll realize that you can get back to normal activity if you just wash your hands. You’re going to have to rely on livestreams behind a pay window to increase your reach and generate revenue on that side, because bar sales are going to be negated – people are wearing masks, and they have to fight through that. We know what our production costs are they’re relatively fixed. Mike Brown: It relates to your expenses, really – talent costs, production costs, and labor model. TempleLive vice president of operations Mike Brown outside the venue. Now, there were people in the room, but you were far under your regular capacity. And I think one of the elephants in the room here is that for some shows, selling 20 percent of the seats means there won’t be a show because you’re losing money. ![]() Michael Lawrence: Some of the guidance that we’re seeing here is reduced seating capacity – 20 or 30 percent of your regular seats. In 2014, the duo turned a hundred-year-old, 53,000-square-foot Masonic Temple building into a concert venue, with a strategy that prioritizes and streamlines the experience for the visiting artists and production staff, an approach that has left TempleLive well positioned to face the current production industry difficulties. Besides the reduced capacity (which at time of press had been expanded to 30 percent), the TempleLive website provided an overall modified operation protocol.Īfter the show, I followed up with Mike Brown, TempleLive vice president of operations, and Lance Dierker, the venue’s production manager and also audio, video and lighting integrator at Audio/Video Designs in Oklahoma, for a conversation about the present realities of operating a concert venue amidst the lockdown. The venue’s normal capacity of 1,100 was reduced to 20 percent, allowing 229 people to attend the performance by Bishop Gunn frontman Travis McCready. On Monday, May 18, TempleLive in Fort Smith, AR hosted what is being considered the first socially distanced concert in the United States in the wake of COVID-19. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |