From TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
After announcing its plans for the upcoming 2020-2021 performance season, the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) has turned its attention to reopening the Peristyle Theater at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA).
The historic concert hall is the main performance venue for TAPA’s constituent organizations—the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet—and is attached to the art museum, which reopened June 23. TAPA has petitioned the office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to permit the Peristyle to reopen for performances beginning in September. Representatives from the TMA have also requested the Governor to reopen the theater.
“The Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet are ready to perform at the Peristyle again,” says Zak Vassar, President & CEO of TAPA. “We’ve spent many months planning for our reopening and return to the performance stage. We are prepared to adhere to all safety guidelines set forth by the Ohio Department of Health. This includes social distancing in the hall and requiring audience members to wear masks. From sanitization stations and touchless ticketing to revised traffic flow through the hall, we are ready.”
In March, TAPA cancelled all performances through June in order to comply with the health and safety guidelines set forth by the State of Ohio during the coronavirus crisis. Since then, the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet have retooled their performances to permit social distancing on the stage and to provide safe environments for all performers, staff, and audience members. It has established safety protocol in alignment with the TMA’s proven reopening procedures.
The TMA can safely welcome over 500 people through its doors, but they cannot access the Peristyle today—even though it is under the same roofline.
“With a careful eye on the number of COVID-19 cases in Lucas, Wood, and surrounding counties, reopening the Peristyle is nonetheless a logical step forward,” says Vassar. “As we’re seeing in Europe and Asia, audiences need live performance now more than ever. The truth is, we need to redirect our minds from ‘doomscrolling’ and toward something more creative and positive. We need to turn off the newsfeeds and tune into something that fascinates us.”
For more information, please contact Allie Dresser, Marketing Manager for the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts at adresser@artstoledo.com.
