NPAC among venues surveying audiences

VW independent/submitted information

Sixteen performing arts centers and venues from around the state of Ohio, including Van Wert Live Events, are joining forces to survey the consumer confidence of their audiences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Venues designed to bring together large gatherings of people to experience a live performance are being hit especially hard by the pandemic. Their doors were among the first to close and will most likely be the last to reopen as bans on large gatherings are still in place throughout the state. 

“We know now is not the right time to reopen our doors and get back to business as usual,” explains David Mitchell, general manager of the Performing Arts Center at Kent State University at Tuscarawas who initiated the statewide survey. “Our industry is making decisions in the interest of public health and safety to remain closed for now and we’re working our way through strategies for how and when we move forward. Surveying our audiences will assist us in formulating those strategies.” 

The survey is designed to gauge when audiences will be comfortable coming back to theatres and venues to enjoy live entertainment again, whether it be a concert, Broadway show or family entertainment. 

“While several studies have been done on a national level, we know that every state and community is reacting differently to the pandemic and it’s important that we understand how Ohioans and our local audience are reacting,” said Van Wert Live Executive Director Tafi Stober. “While nothing beats the experience of attending a live performance surrounded by hundreds of people for a shared experience, we understand that there will be a transition time before we return to what we once considered as normal. This survey will help us understand the comfort level of our returning audience when bans on large gatherings are lifted.”

 “Live entertainment and the arts will never go away. It’s what makes us human to create and experience the joys that it brings,” Stober added. “When times are tough, people seek out the arts and crave the feeling of unity. We need the healing power of the arts more than ever now and we’ll be ready to provide those in-person experiences once again when the time is right.”

Participating venues whose seating capacities range from 901 to 2,592 include: Akron Civic Theater (Akron), Canton Palace Theatre (Canton), Clark State Performing Arts Center (Springfield), Marathon Center for the Performing Arts (Findlay), Marion Palace Theatre (Marion), The Midland Theater (Newark), Oberlin College and Conservatory (Oberlin), Peoples Bank Theatre (Marietta), Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas (New Philadelphia), The Ritz Theatre (Tiffin), Sandusky State Theatre (Sandusky), Stocker Arts Center (Elyria), Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium (Athens), Valentine Theatre (Toledo), Van Wert Live at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center (Van Wert), and The Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center (Lima).

Each organization is distributing the survey via email and social media. The survey can be found at NPACVW.ORG or through this SURVEY LINK. The Van Wert Live HQ and Box Office is located at 10700 Ohio 118 in Van Wert.