Michigan State University Friends of Theatre and Okemos and Grand Rapids Schuler Books are working together to help keep Summer Circle Theatre free in 2022.
MSU’s Summer Circle Theatre has provided free performances of musicals, comedies, drama and children’s shows to the East Lansing community throughout June for 60 years. It has also provided a free Kids’ Camp to acquaint local youth with theatre skills.
However, the pandemic has put “free” in jeopardy for the 2022 season.
Putting on productions and providing the camp free of charge creates a significant cost to the Department of Theatre, and this year, the department might not be able to pay.
The main source of funding for Summer Circle Theatre is audience donations, but the pandemic has canceled shows for the past two years.
MSU theatre professor and Summer Circle Artistic Director Rob Roznowski said that this interruption has caused significant financial harm to the program.
“One of our main funding sources is donations from the audiences,” Roznowski said. “So, it's been really hit by the fact that we're not able to produce and then get donations for the work that we do. So, this year it's really kind of tentative.”
In order to try and fulfill its mission of offering theater for free, Summer Circle Theatre will be reducing its output and its staff for the 2022 season.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on the performing arts, and with the Omnicron variant, some theatres are being forced to shut down just months after reopening.
Restrictions on gathering, unemployment and changes in consumer behavior have all combined to create significant hardships for the U.S. theater industry. In quarter three of 2020, when COVID-19 protocols were in full swing, revenue for tax-exempt performing arts companies dropped by 54%, according to the National Endowment for the Arts.
For theatres that rely on community support and volunteers, this revenue is hard to make up.
“We’re looking at any revenue stream that we can find to get people to show their support because we get audiences there over the summer, probably on a big night we get 300-400 people there in that courtyard watching free theater,” Roznowski said. “So, we're just trying to make it, people to show their support for coming there for over 60 years to watch Summer Circle.”
Many theatres will turn to their local communities to help support them through this challenge. Summer Circle Theatre is no different.
To help bolster their revenue, Schuler Books will be joining with the department’s Friend of Theatre group to help assist Summer Circle Theatre with funding for this season.
From Jan. 23-29, the Okemos and Grand Rapids Schuler locations will donate 20% of the sale of books, music or other merchandise, with the exclusion of magazines and gift cards, if customers mention the code “MSUFRIENDS.” Online, patrons can use the code “MSUFRIENDS” to ensure the donations will go to Summer Circle.
Schuler Books is an independent Michigan bookstore that offers new and used books, puzzles, games, greeting cards, magazines, educational toys and more. Grand Rapids Schuler Books event coordinator Samantha Hendricks said they are happy to do their part to keep Summer Circle Theater afloat.
“We like to support local organizations that are doing good in their community, and MSU Friends of Theatre came to us and asked if it would be something that we'd be able to do,” Hendricks said. “We do that for lots of different organizations, and we were happy to be able to help them.”
Summer Circle Theatre does not have a set return date for the 2022 season yet, nor does it have an announcement of the season.
Individuals can find information for donating directly to the program by visiting Summer Circle Theatre's website.
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