What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1294363
In August, The Commons at TheatreSquared "tried out some new food and beverage options that were a hit for outdoor dining," says Bell, and "we're taking what we've learned and we've temporarily paused service to retool for a new schedule that will include evening hours, beginning in mid-October. "Stay tuned for the reopening," she adds enthusiastically. "If you haven't had the breakfast pizza with one of our new daytime ORA cocktails on a Saturday morning, you're missing out!" Even those who choose to see their theater in their own homes can enjoy that part of the ambiance, Miller adds. "Nothing can fully match the experience of joining in at the theater, but we've got some fun plans to make it special at home. We'll be offering café takeaway packages — including selected wines and gourmet snacks — for patrons to enjoy while they watch the stream. We'll have talkbacks with artists that patrons can join in, just as we normally do. "Sharing remarkable stories with equally remarkable food and drink is still a huge part of the experience we want our patrons to enjoy during this time." All in all, says Shannon Jones, T2's associate general manager, "the pandemic has really given us a chance as theatermakers to adjust and examine the way we do things as an artform. We — and many theaters across the country — have taken this pause to reevaluate ways to make theater a more accessible artform. Being able to explore this digital format has really widened our scope of accessibility, so we're reaching people not just in our area, but across the country and beyond. "Theater is incredibly resilient and adaptive, and it's important for TheatreSquared as an organization to adapt with the times," Jones adds. "We've been sharing a quote [from Toni Morrison] to help remind us of why what we do is important: 'This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self pity, no need for silence, no room for fear.' In a time when so much of the world is collectively trying to find our new normal, the arts and artists are here to rise to the challenge and create bold new work." "To paraphrase Monty Python, no one expects a global pandemic," adds Miller. "But we can make choices as to how we respond. The decisions we make right now are magnified in their impact, and we're all doing what's best for our company and our community to emerge stronger than ever on the other side of this. To those community members who are renewing their subscriptions, making special gifts, and calling us with words of encouragement: thank you. Your decisions right now really matter." This week's prize Like our page before this Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 11:59 pm to be entered to Win a $25 Gift Card to New contest each week! facebook.com/BestBranson Go to: facebook.com/BestBranson Like The Best of Branson on Facebook for a chance to win some Really Great Prizes! 40 WHAT'S UP! OCTOBER 4-10, 2020 COVER STORY Executive Director Martin Miller (left) and Robert Ford, artistic director for TheatreSquared, announced the 2020 season March 1 — and then the coronavirus swept into town and changed everything. (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/J.T. Wampler) T2 Continued From Page 4