Ocean City Theatre Company: COVID ‘Knocked The Wind Out Of Us’

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Ocean City Theatre Company never had a chance to open the stage curtain last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Few actors attended their Manhattan studio auditions in mid-March, and all of their shows in 2020 were canceled.

During the artistic director's annual “state of the stage” address in December, Michael Hartman reflected on drastic measures the company has taken to be sustainable in 2021, including downsizing its operations and laying off staff.

Hartman told Patch that without any ticket sales in 2020, the nonprofit theatre company reported a 70 percent loss in revenue. In the conclusion of his address, Hartman asked people to consider supporting the theatre company with donations.

“It knocked the wind out of us,” Hartman said to Patch. “In May we were faced with the reality that this isn’t going to happen. Even if we were able to have live performances, we knew we weren’t going to have the seating capacity to cover expenses. That’s one of my fears for 2021.”

The theatre company continues to grapple with the effects of the pandemic as they prepare for their upcoming season.

Reinventing Theater

While the company made significant changes to their business model, they continued to perform theater for children through virtual and socially distant outdoor classes in 2020.

Virtual classes will continue this year, though Hartman hopes to organize more live performances outside with limited seating capacities.

Their theater classes attracted 200 attendees, down from the 500 that usually participate in summer programs.

“As we look to future programming, we’re looking to see how we can produce theater that’s not losing money due to the limited audience,” Hartman said. “Will it be the season we planned on before COVID? Probably not. I am confident that we will have more of a physical schedule as far as more than virtual. It’s not going to be the exact same.”

Rippling Effects

Due to the loss of revenue in 2020, the company was forced to cut back on staffing and temporarily scale back on utilities, like internet, in the theater.

“We’ve done a lot of things internally as a board to cut down expenses and survive until the time comes to flourish,” Hartman said.

Without their busy schedule of performances, the theatre company did not hire the nearly 150 people they employ each year as designers, instructors and producers in 2020. The sudden loss of reliable work for these performers has pushed many thespians out of the industry, Hartman said.

As the company begins to rebuild its programming, he worries that it will be difficult to pick up where they left off without those staff members.

Even with cost cutting, the company still lacks thousands of dollars in income that would have came from ticket sales. Hartman said any and all donations will help the company keep the lights on in the theater until the day comes for shows to take place again.

“Just because we’re not functioning doesn’t mean the bills don’t stop coming. We need money to purchase shows before we can even audition or plan the show,” Hartman said.

Emotional Toll

While staff members changed how the theatre operated amid the pandemic, many former staff were faced with transitions of their own, as they adopted new side hustles or left the theater industry entirely.

Hartman knows staff members who have taken real estate courses, became licensed massage therapists or enrolled in college courses for a new degree.

“The morale has been rough,” Hartman said. “The reason why someone goes into the arts is because that completes them and for a year not performing, not creating, not being part of that process, it’s been quite sad."

Colleen Kreisel, a choreographer who has worked with the Ocean City Theatre Company for ten years, has seen how the pandemic impacted the mental health of performers at the theatre company in Ocean City and venues surrounding New Jersey.

“Our lives depend on gathering lots of people in one space, being in close proximity and singing or talking directly at them, and that has been totally taken away,” Kreisel said. “Everyone loves to go see shows and watch their Netflix shows, but there’s a disconnect that there’s people behind those things that make it all happen.”

Kreisel said it’s “soul crushing” that so many performers have lacked the support they need throughout the pandemic, either financially or emotionally.

Alongside national efforts to raise awareness about struggling theaters, Kreisel has started her own digital initiative to cast a spotlight on the role of artists and performers.

Through her social media account, Passion Work Wellness, Kreisel posts motivational content and wellness tips focusing on physical and mental health.

“As we transition back into whatever it’s going to be like, the artists are going to need support,” she said. “If we come back to theaters who have gotten millions in donations, but there’s no artists to fill them—it doesn’t work that way. Artists make the theater. It’s been a silent problem.”

Donations to the Ocean City Theatre Company can be made here, or by checks made payable to OCTC and mailed to 1501 West Ave in Ocean City.

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