LD Susan Rose Notes How Her Hometown’s Comeback can Serve as a Model for the Live Events Industry
The financial well-being of Pigeon Forge, TN exists because of an aggressive economic plan that centered around theme parks, outlet malls, and live music venues in the early 1980’s. Easily accessible by short driving distances to the surrounding states, the area is a hub of professionally-produced entertainment at an affordable price. It has always been a tourist attraction, first and foremost. It is also home to lighting designer and performer Susan Rose.
Ready, Set…Wait!
At the beginning of the year in 2020, Rose had been asked to design and program a show for the upcoming season at the Country Tonite Theater. She had just put the finishing touches on it and was ready to hand over the reins to co-designer/lighting director Marshall Whaley when the first effects of the Covid 19 pandemic fallout were felt in the Pigeon Forge community. All set to open in March, the director of the theater called in cast and crew to announce that their opening would be delayed to June at the earliest.
“This place overnight became a ghost town,” Rose says. “It looked like the apocalypse had finally come and stayed that way for two months. Never in history has the entertainment industry been shut down like this, to my understanding. Through our history of wars and the Great Depression, there was always entertainment available so people could escape reality for a few hours. This is the first time that our industry has just had the plug pulled out. We were not allowed to produce new shows, nor go to any existing shows.”
A Glimmer of Hope
Pigeon Forge has since gone on to offer a glimmer of hope, however, as a possible model to the rest of the industry on how to proceed forward. “The city and its attractions reopened in a small way on Memorial Day,” says Rose. “All our theaters are now open. We are doing full shows. Some theaters even do several a day. Restaurants and hotels are filling up again, and nobody is falling over dead in the streets.
“The people who are coming to the shows, the theme parks and the dinner theaters are arriving in droves from towns still on lockdown; they are literally starved for entertainment,” Rose adds. “That is an overused and somewhat jokingly stated cliché, but it has never had more meaning than right now. It is almost like a get out of jail free card. Wahoo, we can go out to restaurants, then to a show or get in go-carts!” Rose exclaims.
Well into September, the town continues on its forward path. Safety guidelines are attended to, and everyone observes the mandatory mask-wearing mandate. With theaters operating at half capacity, several places are doing three and four shows a day to make the financial side viable. “So, we’re busy, it’s working, and everyone seems in agreement that this is the way to do whatever the new normal will be. Sure, there is the occasional, ‘I know my rights, and you can’t make me do this!’ But they are few and far between.”
The theater that Susan designed and programmed, Country Tonite, does one show a day, seven days a week. “I am now the sub for a show I designed. Once a week, I replace Marshall Whaley, the lighting director, to give him a day off, since I am obviously at home. I may not be making as much money at home as I usually make on the road, but I don’t care. I am so ready to get back to work and do what I love to do. Having that privilege to be able to go in, run lights again, and hear live music once again is keeping me alive.”
The New Covid Normal
The first three rows in the theater are blocked out so the performers are a safe distance from the audience. The rest of the rows are staggered every other row to keep social distancing intact. Furthermore, there is a three-seat space between guests though couples can sit together. Backstage workers get their temperature taken by the stage manager before they are allowed in. Everyone wears masks.
“For myself, once I fire up the rig and lay in the pre-show look, I go back outside. I do a couple laps around the building and enjoy the fresh air until it is time to go back inside. I go straight to the booth, trying to avoid guests. At intermissions and end of show, it’s rinse and repeat. The after-show scene is different now,” Rose adds, “because we all avoid interaction as much as possible. Nobody is hugging, and no one is going to the local bar to have drinks. Everybody knows that’s best for all.”
Dinner theaters are a big attraction in Pigeon Forge as well. Rose attended one as a guest. These are small, intimate settings where the performers interact with those dining. Everyone wears masks, removing them only to eat. “These places are very aware of all the safety protocols and strictly adhere to them. Again, it is their livelihood. Everyone is looking beyond their health and the guest’s health with an awareness in the background that we are being watched to see how this experiment evolves. So far, it’s been great!”
The concert side of things is starting up again, with Maryville and the Sevierville Baseball Stadium staging drive-in theater concerts. “We do operate on a smaller scale here. Our overhead is nothing like the range in Vegas or Broadway or touring houses. We don’t house shows that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or bring in artists that require that big payday. We bring in the B-acts and we do quality productions with local performers and technicians.
“My point is we are keeping the entertainment alive,” Rose continues. “We’re working. At first, I was concerned. I felt like we were in a kind of Twilight Zone bubble here. Are we some kind of guinea pig? But everybody gets it. Everybody wants to be entertained. The people who chose this as a profession do so because they love their work; both the artists and all the people working behind the scenes to support them. To put it plainly — we are an essential business.”
For more information on Pigeon Forge and the Country Tonite theater, go to www.mypigeonforge.com and www.countrytonitepf.com.
