The best way to make sure something doesn’t happen is to plan for it.
That was certainly the case this year for the Kenai Performers. With more directors stepping up to put on shows than ever before, the theater penciled in at least seven productions this season. Most years, the organization puts on between three and five shows.
“The original plan for 2020-21 was going to be the biggest thing that we had done for a long while," said board member Rebecca Gilman.
Then, COVID-19 closed the curtain on the performing arts. The Kenai Performers still found ways to make it work, putting on a “throwback” concert via Facebook live in May and an in-person production of “Dancing at Lughnasa” in August.
They limited seating to half capacity and spaced audience members out in the Kenai Performers’ space on Kalifornsky Beach Road.
The peninsula was averaging fewer than five new cases most days at the time. Since then, the theater has adjusted to rising case rates by shuffling around its performance schedule and dialing back to three shows.
The first production is “Murder in the Cathedral,” written by T.S. Elliot and directed by Paul Morin. Originally slated for December, it was pushed to the end of February.
The theater hasn’t figured out whether that performance will be in-person or not, but it has the license to stream it virtually, if needed. It’s a similar situation for the second show of the season, George Brant’s “Grounded,” scheduled for March.
It’s a one-woman show. AnneMarie Rudstrom is playing the protagonist, a fighter pilot who has to switch gears when she becomes pregnant.
Gilman, the director, has wanted to do the show for a while. But it’s kind of perfect that it’s happening now. A one-person show is inadvertently very COVID-19 friendly.
Rudstrom said she knows there’s a possibility they’ll have to do the show virtually, but she’s hoping not.
“There’s something about that collective experience as an audience, being there together," she said. "So I really am hoping that things are moving in the right direction so that we can do that.”
Finally, in May, Kenai Performers will put on “Little Women,” the musical rendition of Louisa May Alcott’s novel.
The theater’s musicals are usually large productions with dozens of cast members.
Last February, right before COVID-19 hit, they put on “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” The year before that it was “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
They were slated to do “Mamma Mia” this year, Rudstrom said, but changed gears to “Little Women” because it’s a smaller show, with just 10 actors.
One of their cast members has experience with COVID-19 mitigation firsthand.
“One of the wonderful things that I actually have is that one of my cast members for ‘Little Women’ is Justin Ruffridge, who owns and operates Soldotna Professional Pharmacy," Gilham said. "We’ve been using him as kind of a COVID advice person. He was one of the ones we talked to before deciding to move the dates.”
For now, they’re rehearsing the show virtually, hoping to return to in-person rehearsals next month.
Rudstrom is the stage manager. She said they’ve figured out a method to learning the songs over Zoom.
“On their end, they start the music and sing along so that the music director isn’t starting the music, they have to do it on their end," she said. "And you just have to be aware that you can’t interrupt them, you wait until a song is completed, and then give feedback. So it does take patience and wait time. And it’s not the same as building chemistry and rapport together face-to-face. But I think it’s a good start.”
The show will go up at the Kenai Performers space. The troupe usually stages its winter musicals in the Kenai Central High School auditorium, which can hold a much bigger audience.
But with COVID-19 precautions, that smaller space is perfect. And cheaper. Kenai Performers President Terri Burdick said it cost about $50,000 to put on bigger musicals because of the rental fees associated with the space and royalties for scripts and music.
Burdick said part of the theater’s multiyear plan was an emphasis on mentorship for new directors. That’s helped the theater think big.
“For many, many, many years, we really only had two people that directed. Or maybe three," she said. "And so when you have so few directors, they get burned out really easy. And so a couple years ago, a couple other people said, ‘Well, you know, we’ll try our hand at directing.’ So that helped to increase the number of shows, too.”
Even though the theater was limited in what it could do this year, it’s a promising trend for future seasons.
