Covid-19 cases are surging as we run the marathon toward the end of this crazy pandemic year. While some cities are locking down activity and limiting gatherings again, others are gingerly opening up for more in-person business. It’s a mixed bag across the country.
In Texas, live indoor shows are safely returning to Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. In-house LD Bryan Schrumpf, who schedules LDs to operate or assist touring LDs with each show, says, “We’re trying to do as much as we can, even though every time something is booked it’s sort of hit or miss with reschedulings and cancellations. We have a socially distanced layout on the concert floor and new safety protocols. We still have a long way to go to get back to normal, but we’re doing our best to stay in the game.”
A cabaret-style layout serves as the basic template, with stage configuration and floor seating modified for each show. Seating in the mezzanine is done in distanced groups with specific seat assignments, and the balcony is closed. Masks are a must, and other usual Covid-19 precautions are taken seriously.
The venue is also home to a full broadcast studio and a separate production staff for the legendary Austin City Limits PBS show. The team began taping again, with some shows without audiences or with limited attendees. Longtime ACL LD Walter Olden said he’s moved his console to the main floor, which now allows only crew and cameras. There are no bleachers set up, and the mezzanine and balcony are closed. While it felt a bit strange, Olden was happy that the show kept up its musical tradition even in the pandemic.
Sooner Pivots to Home Staging
Production/lighting designer Sooner Routhier, responsible for the look of The Lumineers, Coldplay, KISS and other tours, is pivoting her stage design skills into a new side hustle: staging home interiors. She and a dear friend Kristy Reuter teamed up to form Fourth Wall Home Design (fourthwallhomedesign.com) to rock the house.
“We’re starting out as a home staging company with the hopes that it will build into interior design clients,” Routhier said. “We’ll be helping homeowners, builders and real estate agents sell homes in the booming Nashville real estate market. Staging a home feels a bit like set dressing an artists’ stage for a TV performance. So, it was a no-brainer pivot.”
Their services include staging for a vacation rental or home sell, as well as refreshing one’s own home to boost its personal appeal. “I was looking to start a business in Nashville that could be profitable quickly and still allow me to flex my creative muscles,” the designer says. “Turns out, my business partner wanted to start one last summer! So it made sense to start one together. The hope is that we can continue to run the new business through this hiatus from the pandemic and keep it going when the industry gets back up again.”
TSO Goes Virtual
It wouldn’t be the holidays without Trans-Siberian Orchestra (trans-siberian.com). This summer, the group announced “no tour.” But later, they announced they would perform. And they are, with a special, Christmas Eve and Other Stories Live in Concert, to be streamed on Dec. 18 at 8 pm EST. Their ticketed 90-minute show will combine both the identical East and West bands into one production from an undisclosed venue in Nashville.
Production designer/LD Bryan Hartley again promises a spectacle for the at-home audience. “It should be an amazing show,” Hartley says. Although the twin troupes toured with a production for this same Christmas album some years ago, this production will present an all-new design. “It’s an awesome feeling to be doing the TSO pay-per-view, since no tour is happening,” Hartley adds. “It still fills a void for us.”
Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Residency
Celebrating his 27th year with The Oak Ridge Boys, LD Dave Boots continues lighting their traditional Christmas concerts, but off the road in residence at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. Their Christmas in Tennessee dinner show runs 29 nights from Nov. 20 to Dec. 25.
“The Oak Ridge Boys are a great bunch of guys to work for,” says Boots. “We had 150 dates in the books for this year, but of course, like everybody else, we lost the majority of them. Opryland has taken a ballroom that generally seats 3,000 people at tables, and due to social distancing rules it now seats 440. They’re putting just four people to a table, or up to six people from one family. Thank God for Gaylord Opryland for doing this residency, or else I would probably be driving a dump truck by now!”
Super Bowl Weeknd in the Works
Another familiar tradition comes with the news that Bruce Rodgers and his team at Tribe are back to work on the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show slated for Feb. 7, 2021 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Tribe goes into their 15th consecutive year with the event, Super Bowl LV (55), featuring headliner The Weeknd.
“We are looking forward to presenting something special for the world to see,” Rodgers said. “I can tell you the creative development underway for The Weeknd’s performance promises to be a live 12-minute show designed to rival any of the previous 54 years of half time shows. We here in my studio are dedicating this design to all the people in the entertainment industry and looking forward to getting us all back to work soon!”
There are conflicting reports on whether the stadium seating will be full at 65,000 or scaled for social distancing, and Rodgers couldn’t comment on that. A lot can happen between now and then…
Got some good news on the horizon? Contact Debi to share your projects with readers at dmoen@plsn.com
