Rhinebeck’s Community Theater Perseveres Through the Pandemic
By: Raquel Lekic
Tags: Performing Arts, Arts And Culture, Theater, Theatre

On a Thursday evening at around 6 p.m., there is an undeniable energy at The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. Not too long ago, COVID-19 made a lively environment like this one seem unimaginable.

As the cast and crew prepares for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, there is one thing that is certain: theater is back.

According to their site, The CENTER’s origins can be traced back to the summer of 1998 when they opened the doors of the big, red, barn-looking structure to the public. Up until that point, performances had taken place from 1994 until 1997 in a tent on the property. In the time since those early summers, The CENTER has provided the community of Rhinebeck and the Hudson Valley with theater in just about every capacity, from summer camps and children’s theater, to virtual displays during the peak of the pandemic.

Babette Fasolino, a professor at Marist College, worked as The CENTER’s education director for almost 20 years. From the very beginning of the pandemic, she saw firsthand the struggle endured by everyone involved with the theater as COVID-19 made its way into the picture.

“It was so stressful,” Fasolino explained. “It was stressful for everybody, but we were really afraid with the type of business that we were in that we could not be viable.”

Creativity is not hard to come by in the theater business, so the crew at The CENTER came up with ways to keep things going as close to normal as possible. This came in the form of a masked, outdoor summer camp, complete with a stage built like a deck onto the side of the building. However, even in the months before summer camp was an option, the staff did what they could to keep providing the community with theater.

Olivia Michaels, media director at The CENTER, was also right in the thick of things when the pandemic hit and played a major role in the virtual distribution of theater to the community.

Olivia Michaels pictured outside of the entrance of The CENTER.

Staff members took part in a wide array of videos to keep the community involved, whether it be a tutorial for the dance from A Chorus Line (which was one of their outdoor, summer shows), or a series known as “Mystery Duets,” where people could submit them singing one part of a duet for it to be edited together with someone else singing the other part.

Other efforts included variety shows and a live-streamed telethon, in which the proceeds were split to support the Northern Dutchess Hospital, the Rhinebeck Fire Department, and the Baptist Home.

For many, The CENTER has become a safe space. Not being able to provide that sanctuary in the same capacity was difficult for pretty much everyone involved. One demographic that felt these effects was the local youth. As The CENTER provides various opportunities for kids of all ages to get involved, many have found their place among people with a common love for theater that they may not have in their school community. Students who might deal with bullying at school are able to detach from those aspects of their life once they enter the familiar doors of The CENTER.

“I think it’s one of the few places where somebody who is at risk can feel safe, can feel comfortable, can learn to express themselves,” said Fasolino.

Despite the difficulty of the past year and a half, The CENTER’s doors are once again open to the public as they continue to persevere.

“It provides a place where people can feel like they belong,” explains Olivia Michaels. “For people who love to perform but maybe don’t necessarily want to be on Broadway, or are just discovering their love of theater, or want to meet new people who have things in common, it’s a great community.”