From stage to screen: Queens Theatre moves online

Queens Theatre Executive Director Taryn Sacramone discussed the major financial impact of the coronavirus on cultural institutions. Photos courtesy of the Queens Theatre

By Victoria Merlino

In the beginning of March, the Queens Theatre was running a successful show, planning upcoming performances and preparing to put on a gala. But by mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered most businesses in New York City and forced residents to shelter in their homes, everything changed. 

“It was a very direct financial hit,” Queens Theatre Executive Director Taryn Sacramone told the Eagle. “We went from selling tickets to refunding tickets.” 

In the wake of coronavirus, the decades-old Queens cultural hub has had to rethink how to bring theater to the masses in the time of social distancing — and that means going from stage to screen in a very literal way. 

To continue to provide entertainment and a distraction from the pandemic, the Queens Theatre has begun to offer a slate of new online, interactive programming. The offerings include “digital story circles” where community members can share stories and interact with each other during the pandemic, and a series of segments instructing viewers how to do basic cooking, baking and crafting techniques. 

To Sacramone, the community that the Queens Theatre has built over the years is paramount, and something she and the theater wants to support during this difficult moment for the borough. 

Over time, you get to know the patrons of the theater, according to Sacramone — from the couple who appeared in a show together as kids, to students who attend school trips to the friends who attend shows together. “It gives me a deep connection with the community,” she said. 

“Cultural institutions were not built for social distancing. We’re built to bring people together,” Sacramone said, noting that drastically reduced revenue has challenged arts institutions and the workers that power them. 

Small and mid-size arts institutions throughout the city project major revenue losses — some risk losing over 50 percent of their operating budgets, according to research from the Center for an Urban Future. Many organizations across the industry — including at the Queens Theatre — have had to furlough workers. 

Earlier this month, the Queens Theatre joined more than 100 other cultural organizations throughout New York City to call for the federal government to support arts institutions through a stimulus package. 

“We need help at the federal level to keep these organizations ready for a reopening,” she said. “When the cultural scene is thriving in New York, it benefits everybody.”

Sacramone believes that both during and after the pandemic, arts institutions have something vital to offer the city. 

“This period of time will show the Queens Theatre is not [just] a building,” she said.