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April 17, 2020 | Together Apart,
WATCH: Town Hall with Artistic Director David Dower and Executive Director David C. Howse
ArtsEmerson has long believed that the community that makes up our audience is one of our most valuable collaborators. From focus groups, to town halls, to being pulled aside in the theatre lobby, we shape how we do our work from what we hear from you.
In this tradition, our Artistic Director David Dower and Executive Director David C. Howse checked in to see what’s on people’s minds and how an arts organization can be of service at this time. The following video was recorded on Friday, April 17, 2020 at 12PM EST. We’d love to hear what you think, so leave a comment below!
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Join us for the next Town Hall with David and David May 1 at 6pm and if you haven’t already, make sure to register for the Together Apart series to receive updates, access links, and viewing reminders.
Be sure to leave a comment with any thoughts or questions you have for our next town hall in the comment section below! You never know, David Dower might answer you right away…
As we continue to navigate through these unfortunate circumstances, we hope you will consider making a gift to ArtsEmerson by clicking here. Your generosity will help us deliver inspired programming to the comfort of your own homes while sustaining us for the future when we can commune in our theatres once again.
I was very impressed by just how open David and David were, especially with regard to programming the next season – whenever that can be. We are getting new experiences – Friday nights in our house is now watching the National Theatre stream from London. It shows how much we have and how much we are missing by not being in the same space as the performers and audience. It struck me that when I go to the movies I do like a pretty empty venue, but attending the theatre gains so much from a full house. Will be interesting as we start to get back. We were due to attend the first canceled performance of Plata (though had already decided to practice safe distancing and skip it). It’s probably not possible but once this is really over, fully over – post vaccine – back to full houses over, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back to a performance of Plata, just bracketing the whole experience.
I love that you want to start with Plata Quemada, Tim! That company is deeply embedded in our hearts after all they went through trying to get here. I don’t know if you heard the saga, but the tour was to start in Hong Kong but that festival was canceled for obvious reasons. So they flew directly to Nashville for those performances, landed just ahead of the tornadoes. The theater was hit and couldn’t be used so they canceled a show and moved the rest. Then they got here and COVID landed on us all mid-run. I was able to take them all out to dinner that Friday night just to have a moment of respite and celebration before they left. We’ll try to at least get a video of the performance up for everyone. And the company will, for sure, be back. Though whether with Plata Quemada or another work it is early to tell. ArtsEmerson commissioned Plata Quemada, though, so it would be especially nice for that to have its full due in town.
Thank you David and David for such a comprehensive and fun recap of where you’ve been, where you are and where you are going! We were not able to connect, and so thank you for putting the whole show online. It was nice to see you and we look forward to your evolving programming and occasional virus-side chats!
Thanks for writing, Chris! Hope you and David are both well. There is a lot of learning going on right now, and a lot of creativity, which makes this both a challenging and a rich time. We are finding a lot of value in sharing the whole process with people. Good thing, as it looks like we’re going to be Together Apart for a while at this point!